1. The promotional copies of the Further Education and Training (FET) National Curriculum Statement, which contain the “Overview”, the “Qualifications and Assessment Policy Framework Grades 10 - 12 (General)" and individual documents for 21 subjects, have been sent to all high, combined and intermediate schools.
2. Schools which have not yet received these documents are kindly requested to contact the Chief Curriculum Adviser at their local EMDC.
3. At this stage the documents are available only in English, while the subject statements for Technology: Electrical, Civil and Mechanical; Engineering Graphics and Design; and Religion Studies have not yet been completed.
4. WCED officials and language experts have been involved in the development of the subject statements for non-official or foreign languages, such as German, French, Latin and Arabic. These subject statements will be available later this year, together with further details on how they will be managed.
5. FET NCS subject statement orientation workshops in each of the FET NCS subjects will be conducted in the third term. The workshops will be presented by EMDC curriculum advisers and senior curriculum advisers from Head Office. They will analyse the subject statement as published in Government Gazette 25545 (Notice 1407) [size: 211 KB] of 6 October 2003. It is envisaged that these workshops will provide a common understanding of the FET NCS policy framework.
6. These subject orientation workshops should also provide Grades 10 to 12 subject teachers with sound insight into the impact of the FET NCS policy on the subject statements. Teachers should, at the end of these orientation sessions, identify their upskilling or reskilling needs in their subjects and also in information and communications technology. In addition, these orientation sessions should provide teachers with a common framework in preparation for the FET NCS subject method training that will take place in the first term of 2005.
7. FET School Landscaping

A questionnaire is to be sent to schools requesting principals to indicate those subjects their schools are contemplating offering in the FET . This is an interactive process and there has to be alignment at local, EMDC and provincial level. It will provide an indication of intent by a school so that EMDC officials will be able to review the situation in their district. Principals will need to consult widely with the teaching corps, the governing bodies and school communities when selecting subjects to be offered. Principals are requested to complete these questionnaires as a matter of urgency so as to facilitate appropriate planning at school, EMDC and provincial levels.

To assist the FET school landscaping process, an annexure is attached providing a brief overview of the FET NCS policy framework. It shows the construction of the FET curriculum, the classification of subjects and the rules of combination. Three examples of FET school curriculum offerings are also included.

8. Preparation for the FET NCS: A multidisciplinary approach

Teachers and school management teams are encouraged to spend time working on the CD ROM in the WCED OBE multi-media package in preparation for the pending FET NCS workshops. This programme provides a very thorough introduction to OBE.

The PACE intervention training programme is running to a close. An envisaged 800 teachers of Life Orientation in Grades 9 and 10 will have undergone training to assist learners when selecting their subject packages for the FET and considering related career opportunities. The response from schools in certain areas has not been very positive. Those schools who have not yet registered must do so immediately by contacting the project manager, Ms B Prince, at telephone number (021) - 4672589 or at e-mail address bprince@pgwc.gov.za.



SIGNED: D.R. SHEPHERD
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2004:06:18

Annexure  (size: 22 KB)