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Media Release

22 March, 2006

WCED gets ready to track learner progress

Statement by Cameron Dugmore, MEC for Education in the Western Cape

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has completed the first phase of a major new Learner Tracking System for the province.

The system, the first of its kind in South Africa, is designed to improve efficiency and the quality of education in the Western Cape.

The system consists essentially of a single database of all learners in the Western Cape’s public schools, from Grades R to 12. The database will provide a powerful management tool for both schools and the administration.

The first phase of the project has involved completing the database. The WCED will mark this milestone with a presentation to interested parties today (Wednesday, 22 March 2006).

The department will also present awards to schools that have excelled in the way in which they have supported the project to date.

The WCED started work on developing concepts for the system in January 2006.

The department worked with the provincial government’s Centre for e-Innovation (CeI) on developing the database before issuing a tender for service providers to assist with implementing the project.

The WCED launched a campaign in July last year to inform schools about the system and the process involved in providing data for the central database.

The department and service providers provided software for offline capturing of data and training on how to use it. The database is known officially as the Central Education Management Information System (CEMIS).

Schools and the project team then began the mammoth task of capturing information on about 900 000 learners at more than 1 500 schools, as well as information on teachers at these schools.

The data includes about 20 fields of information on each learner, to provide sufficient data to analyse trends and develop interventions to meet specific challenges.

The project team toured schools to assist with the process where necessary. By the end of October, the team has collected all the data and uploaded it onto a central server.

The system has allocated a unique identification number to each learner. The project team assigned promotion codes to each learner in December 2005 and has assisted schools in capturing new registrations since the start of the 2006 school year.

The central database is now complete and can now be used to track further progression learners at individual schools, as well as movement between schools.

The system represents a major step forward in the way we gather information on our learners.

Previously, we used manual surveys to determine overall numbers in the system. While many schools use databases, others do not. Up till now, the province has not had a central database of all learners at our schools.

We have moved from counting heads to counting people. We are now in a much better position to tailor the education system to meet the needs of our learners, especially in our poorest communities.

The system will assist us as we implement the province’s Human Capital Strategy, by providing accurate, up-to-date information needed for day-to-day education management and for strategic planning.

In addition to monitoring progress in schools, the system will allow more detailed analysis of the drop out rate in high schools, as well as movement between schools and movement in and out of the province.

The system will provide much more accurate learner numbers, which will in turn enable us to allocate resources more effectively and efficiently, using current rather than dated information.

The system will also benefit schools, by making it easier to capture information on new registrations. Schools will save time by not having to complete manual surveys every year. They can also import information on learners when developing new administrative systems.

The completion of the database has been a remarkable achievement, given the size of the task and the tight deadlines we set for completing the first phase of this project.

This achievement is the result of hard work and the commitment of all role players to work together to ensure success.

These role players include our schools, our Education Management and Development Centres in each district, our Research Directorate, our service providers, Deloitte and SAB&T, and the provincial government’s Centre for e-Innovation (CeI).

Our investment in information technology in recent years has been a critical success factor in this project, and will continue to play a key role as we build our education system.

We thank all those who have done so much to ensure the success of the project to date, and look forward to working with all role players to realise the potential of this system in the years ahead.

From the left, Peter Present, Director of Research in the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), Margaretha van Zyl, of M M Mateza Primary School in Thembalethu, George, and Ron Swartz, Head of Education in the Western Cape, at a celebration to mark the end of the first phase of the WCED’s Learner Tracking System project. Ms Van Zyl received a laptop on behalf of M M Mateza, as the school that had excelled the most in ensuring the success of the project.




Issued by:
Paddy Attwell
Director: Communication
Western Cape Education Department
Tel: 021 467 2531
Fax: 021 461 3694
Email: pattwell@pgwc.gov.za

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