Parents of Lenasia Secondary School (Lenz High) Grade 8 students are finding Term 4 challenging due to ongoing concerns about the maths teacher. Students have complained that instead of proper instruction, the teacher has primarily been posting work on the board without offering guidance since Term 1.
Parents have been voicing their concerns since before school term 3 closed, it was a good opportunity though as their voice of frustration was heard where a facilitator from the district was sent to assess the situation and was then placed at the school to teach the learners. Learners was excited for a few days till the facilitator had to leave for urgent work and unfortunately it has been unpleasant as now there is no teacher for the grade 8 students. Exams are approaching, and parents and students are worried about how they will perform on their final maths test in order to receive a passing mark.
This is what some people have remarked when parents voiced their concerns.
“Since students are not being taught the material covered in the Grade 8 curriculum, we are quite dissatisfied with the results of our attempts to replace the maths teacher at Lenz High. Students are anxious because they haven't finished their year's syllabus and they have to choose their courses in grade nine. How can they pursue pure math after what they experienced with a teacher who didn't teach the concepts and then another teacher who came in and left maths as a free period?,” an angry parent said
A second parent disappointedly said: "When Mr. Bennette (district facilitator) was teaching, my child was ecstatic and delighted to share with me what she was learning since she understood the mathematics syllabus. However, a few days later, there was no teacher, and my daughter was returning home feeling let down. All of the students were given optimism by the teacher that they would grasp mathematics, but the bright spot has turned into a dark one.”
She further explained that her daughter and she both enjoy maths, but were left in disbelief when her grades fell 20% from the previous term due to tuition. When her tutor enquired about the section that was overlooked, she informed her that they never do it, so the tutor never addressed that portion of the paper. I'm very disappointed that my child will have to bear the consequences of their maths teacher's ineptitude.
A third parent expressed her concerns about her child and other learners saying; "My daughter is in grade 8. Last term they wrote a maths paper that was based on work not taught. Currently there isn't a maths teacher which is putting alot of strain on my child as she is stressing about her final exam. There is no teacher teaching them. And she scared that once again the exam will be based on things not taught.This is ridiculous. Something needs to be done as soon as possible."
Action SA’s PR Councillor Zahid Zadie Jainoodeen said: “Parents need to take a stance and make their voices heard and seen by doing this in a diplomatic, amicable, and civil manner. When you sit back and expect something to happen on the basis of hearsay, it is just done as a ploy to take the stain of their backs and silence the parents. There is absolutely no need to act in an immature fashion. But at the end of the day, it's the force in numbers that makes the difference.”
Cllr Zadie further questioned about how exactly does the department expect the kids to be ready and prepared for the final examination action when they are already back by one full term with the curriculum. How do they expect to cramp 2 terms of the maths curriculum into the pupils with full understanding and know how in a span of 2 weeks as that's what is left before final examinations begin.
We are currently awaiting the response from Steve Mabona, the media spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education, who was contacted for comment.
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