SDC's education programme aims at improving primary education, through whole school development and capacity building at the level of the newly decentralised education districts in the Eastern Cape, as well as supporting job-oriented vocational training (FET). The education sector also aims at contributing to the reform of the primary education system at the national level with regard to subjects like citizenship education and human rights in the school curricula.

Our Programme

SDC has developed a very strong partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Education through the successful implementation of Ikhwezi whole school development project. The Ikhwezi project assists to upgrade primary school teachers, build management skills of school principals, school governing bodies and district officials. The project is managed by Media in Education, thus serving as a good example of collaboration between government and NGOs.
 
Realising the importance of job oriented vocational training and the need to implement Further education and training (FET) policies, SDC has entered into a partnership with different NGOs to assist the government in the implementation process. For example, it supports the South African Institute for Distance Education's (SAIDE) project that assists the government to implement FET policies in the country, and ITEC's FET programme in the Eastern Cape high schools.

Values and citizenship education is an important aspect of SDC programme. Partnerships have been established with the National Department of Education and NGOs. This was done through SDC's contribution to the national department of education's 'values in education manifesto', and the values project which focuses on subjects addressing citizenship education and human rights in the school curricula. The Centre for Citizenship Education and Conflict Resolution (CCECR) implements another SDC supported project, which assists with the inclusion of citizenship education in the schools in the Free State province.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is treated as a general concern throughout SDC programme. SDC supports the Media in Education Trust (MiET) "Learn About Healthy Living" project, which provides supplement HIV/AIDS materials for schools in KwaZulu Natal and the Eastern Cape. The project also provides training of teachers in the use of HIV/AIDS materials in schools, and has put more effort on bringing parents on board.

Our Partners