News24 reports that the reaction of some primary school principals in Cape Town to news that pupils would have to write the Annual National Assessment (ANA) tests from Thursday was negative.
They said there had been too little notice and there was not enough time left in the year. One primary school principal said he only saw the circular from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on Wednesday and that he was "shocked" because pupils were not prepared. Despite the short notice, DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said it was "nothing that is logistically impossible" and that all schools must conduct the ANAs between Thursday and 4 December. Perivale Primary School Principal Denzil van Graan indicated: "I don’t think we will write because it’s not feasible. It’s not going to serve the right purpose." The ANAs, which test literacy and numeracy, were initially scheduled to start in September, but were postponed after teacher trade unions objected to them in their current format and asked that they be remodelled. A task team was set up and a mediation process followed, but this week the DBE indicated that the tests would nonetheless proceed.
- Read this report by Jenna Etheridge in full at News24
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