The month of July, 2001, marks a major milestone for the Western Cape Education Department.

After four years of planning, the WCED is now establishing new Education Management and Development Centres (EMDCs) in seven new education regions in the Western Cape.

Their objective will be to bring service delivery and development support much closer to schools in all areas, and to play a fundamental role in improving the quality of education in all public schools in the province.

The WCED has appointed seven Directors who will lead multi-functional teams of specialists at each EMDC. The Directors took up office on July 1, 2001, after six months of intensive training and planning work at the WCED’s Head Office in Cape Town.

The department has also appointed managers responsible for specialist services at each EMDC. Most of the appointees have taken up office and are assisting their Directors as they attend to all the activities required in establishing the centres in each region.

The EMDC management teams are currently introducing themselves to schools and other stakeholders in their regions. Schools will obtain further details on the services and support being offered by their local EMDC from the personnel involved.

To achieve this aim, schools will be encouraged to become vibrant, self-reliant institutions, capable of effective decision-making within an agreed framework.

The restructuring programme follows several years of collaborative research and development work by WCED task teams, in collaboration with NGO and donor agencies.

"The new approach of the EMDCs will require a detailed understanding of the problems facing each school and a customised approach to addressing them," said the Minister of Education in the Western Cape, Ms Helen Zille.

The seven new regions are Breë-Rivier – Overberg; Metropole North; Metropole Central; Metropole East; Metropole South; South Cape-Karoo; and West Coast-Winelands.

Implementation of the plan is at an advanced stage. Seven directors for each new region took up their positions on July 2, 2001, after six months of intensive training and preparation work at the WCED’s head office in Cape Town.

On July 5, the WCED finalised the appointment of 28 management staff , 21 of whom will take up positions in the EMDCs, and seven of whom will support the EMDC network from the department’s head office in Cape Town.

The appointments follow an extensive selection process. Teachers’ unions were represented on all selection panels, and the nominations were approved unanimously.

The EMDCs will offer a wide range of coordinated services, from curriculum and teacher support, to management and leadership training, human resource development, and strategic planning assistance.

They will promote parental involvement in schools, through school governance, local participation in the WCED’s Safe Schools Project, and the development of a broad teaching and learning culture in schools and local communities.

"The EMDCs will play a crucial role in developing best practice for education in the Western Cape, in partnership with all role players, to ensure that our school leavers can contribute to society as confident, well-educated and trained individuals," Ms Zille said.