DIRECTORATE: SCHOOL HEALTH SAFETY AND LEARNER ENRICHMENT

(i) School Health and Lifeskills:

• The Department is providing care and support for teaching and learning (CSTL) to all schools in the Province to ensure unhindered access of all learners to quality basic education as well as their retention, support and improved academic performance that is free of health and psychosocial barriers.

• To ensure achievement of this objective, the National Treasury through the Department of Basic Education (DBE), has availed the HIV/AIDS Lifeskills Conditional Grant to address social and structural drivers of HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and Tuberculosis (TB) for the benefit of learners in targeted high burdened schools, to ensure learner access, retention and academic achievement within the basic education sector.

• To access this Conditional Grant, the Department has to develop a fully costed Business Plan with real learner targets and activities or programmes that will address the health as well as psycho-social barriers that will affect teaching and learning. 

• The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) provides this support by ensuring placement of Learner Support Agents (LSAs) in the identified schools 

(ii) Access Promotion:

Access promotion is a Unit of Social Support & Learner Enrichment (SS &LE) sub-directorate of School Health, Safety and Learner Enrichment (SHS&LE) Directorate. It is composed of three sub-Units as follows:

- Hostel Management and Services (HM&S);

- Scholar Transport (ST) and

- School Safety (SS)

These three sub-Units find expression in the Department’s Annual Performance Plan (APP) under Programme

(iii) Learner Enrichment Programmes: (Sport, Heritage Programmes, Arts and Culture)

a. To promote unity in schools for functionality.

b. To promote national reconciliation, national identity, social cohesion and transformation.

c. To curb violence in schools and vandalism.

d. To reduce teenage pregnancies.

e. To curb all social ills (drug & substance abuse, bullying etc).

f. Produce responsible citizens.