What We Do

Programmes & Activities

The PROTEC Learner Excellence Programme spans 10-years with the initial focus being three years of school phase (FET); the post-school phase of four years of tertiary and a further three years on entry into the work environment. Throughout these various phases, PROTEC has designed programmes to assist the learners to succeed.

School Phase

Learner Selection Process:

Learners who meet the following criteria are selected into the programme: (1) those who achieve 50% and above in the PROTEC-designed selection test and (2) must be taking both Physical Science and Mathematics as school subjects

Baseline Study:

PROTEC conducts a baseline study or pre-test to determine which areas of the curriculum learners regard as problematic. In addition, learners’ performance in the final examinations for the previous three years in Mathematics and Science are analysed

Saturday School Classes:

(25 to 30 classes per annum): Learners gather at a site each Saturday for extra Science, Mathematics, English and World-of-Work lessons. The latter forms part of the Life Skills programme and includes leadership, interpersonal skills development and career development.

Vacation School Classes:

(10 days per annum): Learners convene at a site for a period of five days during two vacation periods to do practical and theoretical work based on the scientific/ technological theme selected for the vacation school programme. Themes for vacation schools are based on different industries in the economy such as engineering sectors (civil, electrical, mechanical, etc.), accounting, transport, communications, manufacturing and others

Work Experience (three days per annum):

The programme assists learners with the realities of the work environment and with career choices

Post-School Phase

Phase 1

Starts with the orientation programme that is designed to bridge the gap between the school phase and the tertiary phase. The programme is designed to reduce the massive dropout rate of first-year students who are not equipped to make the transition

Phase 2

The second part is the mentorship programme that is designed to assist learners with the vast array of problems encountered in tertiary life. These mentors are drawn from the PROTEC Alumni and are trained as mentors

Entry into the world of work

Phase

Students are equipped with skills and techniques to help them with entry into and the expectations of them in the work environment

Teacher Support

Our Project Model uses a Centre-based and Classroom Support Approach as this has proven, over the past 13 years, to be the most effective and efficient approach that impacts positively on the professional practices of teachers, as well as learner achievement.

PROTEC undertakes to deliver a programme that offers the following main interventions:

Three centre-based teacher training workshops during 12 days per year per subject (36 days total) will be conducted. The workshops will focus on relevant topics relating to curriculum content in Mathematics, Science and English (Grade 10-12). The workshops prepare teachers to deliver these topics in class and supply materials for these and other topics. The workshops run during school holidays and on selected days throughout the school year.

A programme of three classroom-based support visits per teacher per year will be provided including school-based quality assurance and regular monitoring. The programme of school visits is broken down into pre-lesson discussions on planning and preparation and post-lesson feedback discussions to ensure development for the teacher. Further training and support on the use of science equipment and mathematics kits are provided as an integral part of the school support visits.

Facilitation of the use of pace setters and learning programmes, work schedules and lesson plans within the teaching of Mathematics, Science and English in the project schools is encouraged. Examples of forms of assessment as required by each subject policy guideline are developed with teachers. This ensures that they implement a continuous assessment (CASS) process in accordance with the schools’ assessment policy.