Recently she returned to the classroom as part of an international campaign for education with the theme: “Each child needs a teacher”.

Learners of the Oscar Mpetha Secondary School were warned during the early morning gathering in the hall that the “new teacher” must not be messed with.

“I know many torture tactics to maintain discipline without reverting to corporal punishment,” she joked.

Thre threat was not put to practice however, as at the end of her first lesson about opposites and comparisons in poetry the ministry could only complain that her Gr 12 class was too quiet.

The learners enjoyed the lesson and said they would like Pandor to visit them again to help with their preparation for the June examination.

Learners in another Gr 12 class had trouble with a newspaper report dealing with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Pandor said later she was of the opinion that the learners do not read. They also spoke Xhosa and she had to remind them that the subject was English,

According to her it helps if teachers are multi-lingual, because then they can explain difficult concepts in the home language of the learner.

Pandor said preparation of lessons takes up much time. This would have been difficult without the necessary resources.

“My photo copier went on the blink and I had to ask someone to make copies. Fortunately I could download the poem from the Internet and I have volumes of poetry from which I could select.”

Matric results at this school have showed a downturn in the last number of years. The minister encouraged learners to dig in and grab the opportunities offered to youngsters. She said the school had enough teachers and that they were positive.

.Meanwhile, Dave Balt, president of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation (NAPTOSA), warned that 20 000 teachers were leaving the profession every year, but only 6 000 new teachers were trained.

“It is clear that the department of Education must consider measures to keep teachers in the profession and to bring in new teachers.

“The cost of training a teacher stands at between R20 000 and R30 000 per year and entrance to the profession is limited to those who can afford training. These future teachers are mainly from the middle classes and mainly white.”

NAPTOSE thinks the poor reading ability of learners in Gr 3 and Gr 6 who were recently tested, is caused by a shortage of teachers capable of teaching basic reading and writing skills in local languages.

Balt said provincial budgets must make provision for the training of specialists in the field of early child development.