Re-tooling and re-skilling of educators in multigrade schools : promoting quality education in farm schools.

Multi-grade education is currently a national priority. Situational analyses carried out by Adele Gordon (1987, 1999), Grey (2001), Lungwangwa (2000) and Potenza (2000) have indicated that quality education in multigrade schools is suffering. Visits to farms in South Africa by journalists of leading newspapers like Jabusi, Letsaoleo, Mecoamere (Sowetan, 1999 & 2000) and Thompson and Mboyane (City Press, 1999 & 2001), respectively, have confirmed the findings in respect of farm schools, leading to this study. Attempts were made from 1980 to 1988 to address these problems. The previous Department of Education and Training (DET) implemented a programme to assist and develop farm schools. This programme was the result of the recommendations of a synthesis report in 1986 on black schools in rural areas, including farm schools. A number of reports and memoranda contributed to the above programme, for example: • a memorandum about the upgrading of farm school education; • a committee report on the provision of education on smallholdings and small farms; and • an investigation into the facilities available to learners in rural areas (July 1983). A new view of multi-grade schools in the Limpopo province is related to a study undertaken in 2000 by Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa. Although the study concentrated on the Limpopo province, the findings and recommendations were submitted so that they could be applied nationally, some even worldwide. These findings and recommendations were presented at national level during the UNICEF conference in Durban during 2000. Workshops were scheduled throughout the country to address the recommendations of the studies of 2000. These recommendations largely involved the services of NGO's. The NGO's had a lion's share in the recommendations, as indicated by those who participated in the study. It appeared that districts were not up to standard. They had no structures in place to address the challenges of multi-grade teaching. It was also evident that districts had no programme to present and were looking for a way to remedy the situation. The NGO's in the districts were consequently appointed.Prof. T.C. Bisschof