By TDN

Mahikeng-The process towards the development of a Provincial Teacher Development

Institute to provide continous professional development to teachers has commenced in earnest and is expected to gain momentum with the recent

endorsement it has received from the Provincial Executive Council (Exco).

A R7million project for the renovation of the former Tlhabane College of Education to serve as a site for the establishment of the institute to be supported by 33 District Teachers Centres to serve as local support sites for teachers across the province is in the pipeline.

The site was identified by the Provincial Department of Education as the most suitable as it has enough space for future developments. In addition,the existing buildings used by the former college has hundred and twenty rooms for residence and a number of offices that will as residential facilities and house offices of professional teacher development officials and other relevant staff for the envisaged institute.

The other contributing factor that makes the site ideal is that it is a government property and therefore no cost will be incurred to purchase the property.

“The contribution of all stakeholders in the education sector and the role that the institute and the district centres will play towards meeting the development needs of our teachers through qualification based programmes will go a long way towards improving the quality of our public education system and overall performance that should translate into excellence” said Premier Thandi Modise.

The move to establish the institute follows the Teacher Development Summit that was held in June-July 2009 which laid the basis for a new,

strengthened, and integrated National Plan for teacher development.

The summit itself was inspired by the move to improve the ailing teacher development and training that the post 1994 democratic government

inherited.

The inherited system was characterised by poor teacher education Development and limited or lack of opportunities for quality teacher education, mismatch between demand and production, fragmented approach to

teacher education, and inefficient and poorly monitored funding mechanisms.-TDN

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