Learner population increases by close to 300 000: Gwarube
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Basic Education Minister, Siviwe Gwarube says the learner population has increased by close to 300 000 in the past five years.
Gwarube briefed the media on the impact of the budget cuts on the education sector at a provincial level.
This follows the recent special Council of Education Ministers Meetings held to discuss pressing sectoral matters including budget cuts.
Gwarube says the budget cuts have led to an increase in the teacher-learner ratio.
She says, “Nationally, the number of learners within the education system have increased by approximately 292 000 over the last five years, as a result learner and teacher ratios which are steadily increasing across the provinces.”
“Now it’s important to retain a manageable learner and educator ratio because that means that we are able to make sure that the quality of outcomes is looked after. Once your ratios are big and class sizes are bigger, we are unable to guarantee that we have the same amount of outcomes that we need,” she adds.
