Home News Comment on the DRAFT POLICY now!

Comment on the DRAFT POLICY now!

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The Pestalozzi Trust has issued a Level 1 Regulatory Alert. This means that regulatory changes are planned that will directly impact your freedom to home educate. The Draft Policy on Home Education is a Level 1 Regulatory Danger.

The comment deadline is Friday the 8th of December, 2017. Although the time is short, we still have sufficient time to submit our comments in time.

The Pestalozzi Trust prepared resources and guidelines to help you. How to use them:

  • First read the Fact Sheet.Act Sheet to understand the overall drift of the Draft Policy:

(1) A Draft Policy Fact Sheet.Act Sheet

  • Then read the Step-by-Step Guide as a summary of what to do:

(2) A Step-by-step Guide to the Draft Policy

  • Then choose a template to draw up your letter:

(3) Home educating families:  Draft Policy Submission Letter for Individuals Template

[(4) Draft Policy Short and Simple Extension Request (ONLY if you are extremely pressed for time)]

(5) For Cottage Schools Owners and Parents: Comments Template for Cottage School Parents and Comments Template for Cottage School Owners.

When we spoke to Phindile Ngcobo at the end of last week, she said that she had requested extension from the Minister, but had not received a reply yet by that time. She promised to let us know as soon as she has received a reply from the Minister.

So please submit your comments – don’t let this opportunity pass you by! By taking part in this campaign, you are making and changing history. Please make your voice heard!

26 COMMENTS

  1. As n concern parent about my Child education, I put my child education as a high priority and my right as parent is to educat her the way I want. Nobody can tell me what to and how to educate my child

  2. My son has learning challenges. He was seen by a educational phycologist who told us to accept that he would never fit into a main stream school. His education is extremely important to us and we are doing whatever we can to help him reach his academic goals with materials & pace that is suited to his learning needs- this would not be possible under the restrictions that Educational Department wants to now put in place. We still seek professional help for him and respect the educational field but not everyone learns the same.

  3. We want to keep on homeschooling. It is the best choice for our kids to shape their future and for them to walk in their calling

  4. I have two daughters in Grade 5 & 7 they are happy at home and homeschooling them has made a positive impact on them as young children. They have improved in Languages and math because when they don’t understand a concept we take our time. My one daughter experienced bullying at the tender age of 9years old and this is one of the reasons I have decided to take the responsibility as parent for my children’s education seriously.

  5. My son has add and dyslexia, has medical issues and has had numerous surgery done, he has been bullied right through out school in the last seven years and got to a put where he was suicidal and was not learning anything. Since we have taken him out and educated him ourselves there has been a vast improvement in his learning abilities as well as self esteem

  6. The Deputy Director-General: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring
    Department of Basic Education
    222 Struben Street
    Pretoria
    0001

    05 December 2017

    Attention: Ms P Ngcobo

    I am a homeschool mom of my 3 children aged 15, 12 and 10 years. I have been homeschooling them for 6 years now and they are doing so well. My girls were not doing well in the normal schooling system and I decided to homeschool them, since that time they have grown from strength to strength. I have been homeschooling my son since he was 4 years of age and today he reads, writes and does math like a pro.

    I would like to comment on the policy but am unable to for the following reasons:
    1. I had no prior notice of the release of the policy or its contents and have not had time to read through, understand and consider it’s contents.
    2. I have just finished commenting in the BELA Bill and it is unreasonable to expect me to comment on two important documents within a space of two months.
    3. My children are just finishing off with their end of term and year and it has been a very busy period for me.
    4. The policy is very complex and I do not understand it fully. I would like time to study it in detail and determine how it will impact my family, because of the complexity, I will not be able to do so before the 8th of December 2017.

    I would therefore like to request an extension until the 28th of February 2018. Please will you consider my request as soon as possible and that I be informed of the decision as this is the future of my children and I believe that I as parent have the right to choose the best education for my children, no one else knows what is best for them except myself.

    Please do not share any of my details with any third parties.

    Thank you,

    Bronwen Du Preez

  7. As a mother of 3 Children not only am I frustrated with the schooling system but extremely annoyed by the fact that there are not enough english high schools in the helderberg area.
    As any parent, we want the best for our children and expect training to be given that makes them contributors to society and not drainers. I am forever grateful for the home schooling programme because for a second time round we have been able to supply an education to our children because they choose to learn. What value would they have added if they were forced to drop out… I shudder at the thought.

  8. Hi. My name is Jaco Nieuwoudt and I am a professional in the engineering field. My wife, Lidette, used to be in the IT field before giving it up to home educate our 5 children. We believed (and still do) that it would be the best way of ensuring the quality of their education. Our children, ranging between the ages of 4 and 13, have been home-educated from the start and it is an ongoing process.

    I will no longer procrastinate on this issue seeing as I am not, neither do I ever plan to be, a politician. I am however a no-nonsense individual, so let’s dispense with the pleasantries: I do not accept that a government with the (questionable) competence of appointing a common criminal to the highest office, one with questionable abilities for the most trivial of tasks (counting), has the savvy to tell me how my kids need to be educated. In an ever increasing competitive environment, I want to ensure that my kids have the tools necessary to keep ahead of the pack. (I certainly do not want them on my back forever!). I have faith in my wife’s abilities as the main educator. I’m afraid the same cannot be said about The Department of Education based on their miserable track record. I also do not subscribe to the notion of wasting an already limited household education budget on unnecessary and highly obsolete assessments. The money will go towards subject matter, period. If assessments are required, you are more than welcome to fund it out of the taxes I’ve already paid. I certainly cannot afford being liable for it with the skyrocketing cost of living due to our (Government induced) failing economy. So, in short, I am asking you to stop criminalizing hard working, law abiding and contributing (tax-paying) individuals who only want the best for their offspring (as enshrined in our constitution) and start addressing the REAL challenges this country faces like stopping the rot at executive level. (You know the unabated stealing of those taxes).You owe it to the people of this country.

  9. […] Homeschooling and Cottage School circles are once again abuzz because hot on the heels of the DBE’s BELA Bill (Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill), which was published in October and which gave society one month to submit comment; the Department of Basic Education has recently published a “Draft Policy on Homeschooling” and has once again invited comment. The deadline for comment is Friday, 8 December (yes, I know, that’s now just 3 days away!) The BAD NEWS is that even if you did send in a submission in regard to the BELA Bill, you need PLEASE to send in a separate submission in regard to this Draft Policy on Homeschooling. The GOOD NEWS is that Karin van Oostrum and her colleagues at Pestalozzi Trust have been working tirelessly in an effort to compile the appropriate guidance for homeschoolers, cottage schools and educators in general to access, in order to make their personal submissions. Please follow this link for Pestalozzi’s VERY comprehensive information and guidance, including templates for you to use (it’s as simple as a paint-by-numbers); and then PLEASE send in your submissions! This D-AFT POLICY (no need to check my spelling, it was intentional!) needs to be taken off the table and a workable, reasonable and constitutionally aligned new DRAFT POLICY created. https://pestalozzi.org/web2/en/2017/12/04/comment-on-the-draft-policy-now/ […]

  10. I stand upon my childs right to education. in the best possible manner. Cottage schooling affords my child the opportunity to get one on one time with the teacher while his special educational needs are met.

  11. I have four children and live on a farm. I have home-schooled them since 2006. My eldest has graduated as an chemical engineer at and university and has a good job. the second is qualified as an fashion designer and a ballet teacher (she has her own business). The third has finished a short course at Varsity and is coming to farm with his father. The fourth has just finished Cambridge AS levels, she intend to study B Com. None of the kids ever wanted to go to school again. All of them took part in a lot of activities during school and at varsity, their peers and lecturers could not believe that they were home-schooled. They were better in planning, researching, discipline and in time-management. I found that home-school children are more confident and happy individuals, they communicate better with very young up to very old people, they do not have half as much emotional issues as their friends in schools. You can ask the B Sc-, B com- and engineer-faculty at UCT and Stellenbosch what they think of home-school children who did Cambridge exams (there is a few outstanding students there).
    Since being home-schooled my eldest started to love chemistry, the second was very quiet in school she did not have friends.. at home she became very sociable, the third was easily distracted in a school-class. all of them excelled at home. they quickly learned to finish work before lunch so they could have more time for tennis, ballet and gymnastics. They took part in Eisteddfod and various competitions to ensure well balanced children. It takes a lot of discipline to educate your own children.

  12. I am the grandparent of two home schooled children. My little grandson is dyslexic, and since he has been working from home with my daughter, there has been a vast improvement in his abilities.
    We realise the importance of schooling for these young people. They are the future of our country. Added to that, it will make a vast difference to who they are as people.
    We feel it is very important that they continue being home schooled, as they are doing now.

  13. Parents have the Constitutional right to choose the curriculum that best suits the needs of their children. I cannot see how imposing a broken system on anyone will be in the best interest of children. We are using a curriculum that is listed as one of the top in the world and you want to force us, parents, to use one that is one of the worst in the world. In my opinion, your actions are what should be looked at as damaging to kids, as forcing something that clearly isn’t working on families who chose a better system is going backward not improving things.

  14. We have 3 children and have been home schooling for the last 5 years, it has been great to see how they progress at home with their learning. We have the option to give them access to different curriculums that suit their learning styles and are world renowned. We spend a lot of time with their educational need and they have been benefiting from the one on one time, they are well mannered and have great social skills with young and old. We can’t see how regulating the curriculums and treating home schoolers in the same light as public schooling is beneficial to our children’s education. We also find that having these policy changes made so late in the year when we are focusing on finishing our year with our children gives us very little time to spend on the request for submission to this policy change. We therefor also want to point out that we have not had ample time to look and understand all the aspects of this policy draft. We stand firmly in the believe that we are giving our children better opportunity than is currently available in the school system.

  15. Is this an attempt to capture our education and our children we have recently been graded as the lowest as far as literacy goes out of 50 countries!

  16. My children have learning disabilities and will get lost in a class with 60 – 70 children per class. We also stay in a town with no school and the nearest school is a english school our home language are Afrikaans.

  17. Our believe is that our children is a gift from God to ģuide them through life and all it’s demands. My girls have certain learning dissabilities of which government schools can not help them because of so many reasons like overcrowded classes, bullying, teachers scream and shout and treat them like outcasts. It is in their best interest to homeschool them in a comfortable and relaxed environment to prepare them for the future.

  18. Hi my name is Potlako Khambule I’m not currently homeschooling though I have wanted to for the past two years. Unfortunately black people are not familiar with homeschooling so I had to research and fight to get my point across. After speaking to an expert on the matter I realized that the concerns raised by my sons grade R teacher were based on a lack of consideration for the child’s needs. Teachers have it hard more especially teachers in the townships so I don’t blame her it’s mainstream education as a whole it limits the children. I have decided to homeschool him in the coming year as I now know that he needs to have one on one lessons and education that is more practical. As a black woman I want him to know more about himself as an African so I want to teach him African studies which is something that he would have only been exposed to at tertiary level. I am looking forward to this new chapter in our lives and as someone who comes from a previously disadvantaged background I am grateful that freedom has afforded me the opportunity to teach my children what I want them to learn. It would be a shame if laws compromised our rights to this AMAZING experience.

    • Hi Potlako
      What a wonderful opportunity for your family! Congratulations with your decision.

      Let us hope and pray that he will in turn be able to teach his son one day, without state interference.

      Regards
      Karin

  19. Hi my name is Potlako Khambule I’m not currently homeschooling though I have wanted to for the past two years. Unfortunately black people are not familiar with homeschooling so I had to research and fight to get my point across. After speaking to an expert on the matter I realized that the concerns raised by my sons grade R teacher were based on a lack of consideration for the child’s needs. Teachers have it hard more especially teachers in the townships so I don’t blame her it’s mainstream education as a whole it limits the children. I have decided to homeschool him in the coming year as I now know that he needs to have one on one lessons and education that is more practical. As a black woman I want him to know more about himself as an African so I want to teach him African studies which is something that he would have only been exposed to at tertiary level. I am looking forward to this new chapter in our lives and as someone who comes from a previously disadvantaged background I am grateful that freedom has afforded me the opportunity to teach my children what I want them to learn. It would be a shame if laws compromised our rights to this AMAZING experience.

  20. Wanting to force a curriculum onto parents who are shaping the future of our land, is pure selfishness and stupid. Home Education has proven to bring well educated, well behaved and more appreciative individuals into this world. Why interfere with something that, has had and still is, achieving excellent results. By doing so you will be setting this whole country up for more failure than it is already experiencing. Give us what is rightfully ours, the chance to choose which education our children get, and pay more attention where is needed.

  21. By homeschooling our children we are busy laying the best possible platform for them from both an eternal and temporary point of view. Which parents don’t want the best for their children? I’m praying that our leaders will have wisdom and make the best choice for the country’s next generation and more generations to come.

  22. Just did our part as an homeschool family and submitted our comments on the draft policy! Also told my wife that before long we as homeschoolers will become provisciant in commenting on laws, policies and procedures at the rate things are going now ?.

  23. .Our choice to Homeschool, Never was based on the Racial or social reasons implied by Mr. LESUFI. As a matter of fact i believe that this choice wasnt made by us, but that God has chosen it for us!! Both my children has sensory issues. My youngest severly. He recieves his therapy by a qualified OT, and is responding wonderfully. I will not take him to a school that does not have nessasary qualified teachers to help my children and overcrowded classes. The schools in our area does not cater for these children. We as parents are merly using our constitutional right to give our children the education that they deserve. We read at least 50 books a month. Chose the best maths curiculum we could find and afford. The best possible firts language (afr) and incorporated 3 other langueges. ENG, Zulu and french. My children are exposed to so many recourses. They constantly learn. They socialize, that includes the rainbow nation. We do the nessasary traveling to expose our children to positive people. Our goal is to bring up strong and skilled individuals to enter the south african workforce. We as parents are merely using our constitutional right to give our children the education that they deserve. We read at least 50 books a month. Chose the best math curriculum we could find and afford. The best possible first language (Afr) and incorporated 3 other languages. ENG, Zulu and french. My children are exposed to so many recourses. They constantly learn. They socialize, that includes the rainbow nation. We do the necessary traveling to expose our children to positive people. Our goal is to bring up strong and skilled individuals to enter the South African workforce.

  24. I’m a mother of 3…. and i stand firmly on my constitutional rights to educate my children using a curriculum that i see best fits and suits their needs. My kids have beem failed by the system way too many times. And nobody understands my kids, their strengths and weaknesses more than I.

  25. I am a tutor who has home-schooled two ADHD learners (grades 6 and 7). They have faced ridicule and bullying because of their ADHD. Since they started home-schooling this year, I have seen happy, intelligent and comfortable learners develop at their fullest potential. Home-schooling has helped many other learners who have learning challenges and bullying. The DBE has to consider the reasons, benefits and outcomes of home-schooling before passing any bills.

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