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4 Jun 2010

Mr MJR de Villiers (Democratic Alliance, Western Cape) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:

(a) What are the details of the teacher performance appraisal system (TPAS) of her department, (b) what role players are involved in the development of the system, (c) when will the system be completed and (d) what process will be followed to implement the system?

Reply:

a. The Department of Basic Education has been implementing the integrated quality management system (IQMS) since 2003. The system is used to identify needs for teacher development purposes as well as evaluate educators for payment of rewards for good performance.

Due to the challenges that have been experienced in implementing the system, a decision was taken at the Teacher Development Summit held in June 2009, that the IQMS be revised through delinking instruments for performance measurement from that of developmental appraisal.

A simplified and streamlined instrument for both developmental appraisal and performance measurement needs to be developed. In line with the above decision, a new teacher performance appraisal system (TPAS) is being developed. The system will have the following components:

• Purpose

The purpose of the TPAS, amongst others, is to assess the levels of competence of educators, to enhance good performance and to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools.

2. Roles and responsibilities

The principal will be responsible for assessing teachers with the assistance of the school management team.

3. Performance appraisal instrument

The performance standards in the current IQMS instrument for educators will be streamlined and simplified.

4. Implementation process

It is proposed that the performance appraisal of educators will be conducted annually by the principal during the 1st quarter of the subsequent school year.

There will also be informal quarterly assessments. This will allow for the appraisal to be holistic and be based on the educator's overall performance over the previous 12 months.

5. Moderation

The moderation process will form an integral part of the system in order to validate and ensure consistency in the application of the TPAS. The moderation of the educators' scores will be conducted by the district office, under the supervision of the district director.

(b) The Department of Basic Education will be responsible for developing the system in consultation with the unions represented in the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC).

(c) It is expected that the system will be finalise in the ELRC by the end of 2010, for implementation in 2011.

(d) Once the system has been finalised, the Department of Basic Education will be responsible for the training of all principals and circuit managers. This will be followed by an advocacy campaign for all educators.

Source: Department of Education

Issued by: Department of Basic Education
4 Jun 2010

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