To gain more insight into childhood education and methods of aligning education practices effectively, President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and European Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, will visit the Funda UJabule School at the Soweto Campus of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on Friday, 16 September 2011.

The Funda UJabule School, part of the University’s Institute for Childhood Education (UJICE), within the Faculty of Education, and the Department of Basic Education serves as a training school for university students of the Foundation Phase Teacher Education Programme to improve learner performance in literacy and numeracy at primary school level. This programme is part of a broader collaboration that the European Union and South Africa have developed over some years.

President Barroso and Commissioner Piebalgs, joint by Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education, Prof Saartjie Gravett, will be conducting a short question and answer session regarding the realities and challenges in childhood education and teacher development.