UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

2024 JAN/FEB FI CONCESSION EXAMINATION

PRACTISING WORKPLACE ENGLISH

ENN1504: PORTFOLIO
Marks: 100
Duration: 7 Days
Primary Examiners: Mr RN Maluleke
Secondary Examiners: Dr M Madileng, Dr K Gazu and Mr M Ralushai

This examination question paper consists of 8 pages.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. This question paper contains ONE question which is compulsory.

2. Read the instructions carefully to ensure that you meet the requirements of the
question.
3. Pay attention to the following aspects when you answer the question:
• Content
• Structure
• Style
• Language accuracy
4. Use the checklist provided to make sure that you have answered the question. Copy
the checklist and paste it at the beginning of your script as a cover page.
5. At the end of your answer, paste/type the declaration, which is found at the end of this
question paper.
6. Submit the following as part of your portfolio: the completed checklist, your answer
and the plagiarism declaration.
7. When you have completed the portfolio, save everything as one pdf file and email it to
Ms N Masilela at masilnc2@unisa.ac.za on or before 19 FEBRUARY 2024.
8. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
9. Note that any incidents of cheating or plagiarism will be punished severely. This may
include non-allocation of marks.

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PLEASE COMPLETE THE TABLE BELOW AND USE IT AS YOUR COVER PAGE

FI CONCESSION PORTFOLIO

STUDENT NAME

STUDENT NUMBER

SUBMISSION DATE

PLEASE COMPLETE THE CHECKLIST BELOW AND ATTACH IT TO YOUR

ANSWER SCRIPT

CHECKLIST

Is there a student name and number on YES (put your initials here)
the cover page

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Plagiarism declaration attached? YES (put your initials here)

QUESTION 1: Did you answer it? YES (put your initials here)

Are you submitting the correct YES (put your initials here)
portfolio and the correct file?

Format if typed:

Arial font

Font size 12

One and a half to double line spacing

Leave sufficient space in the margins for

marker notes.

Format if handwritten:

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Neat and legible

All pages scanned in 1 file in the correct

order

Did you edit your work? YES (put your initials here)

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 Did you convert your document to YES (put your initials here)
PDF?

Did you remove any password YES (put your initials here)
protection?

QUESTION 1: MINUTES OF A MEETING

BACKGROUND

Members of the School Governing Body (SGB) of the Mountainview Secondary School
are holding a meeting to discuss the deteriorating state of discipline by learners at the
school since corporal punishment was outlawed. Learners have been very
disrespectful towards their teachers and there have even been physical altercations
involving some learners and their teachers. The principal of Mountainview Secondary
School, together with her management team, has recently pleaded with the SGB to
intervene as this has become a crisis. In turn, the SGB, convened a special meeting
to address issues to do with the total collapse of discipline at the school ever since
corporal punishment was banned by the department of education.

INSTRUCTIONS

Below is a transcript (exact words written down) of what was said under the agenda
item 4.1 of this meeting presented in the form of a dialogue. As the secretary of the
SGB at Mountainview Secondary School, it is your duty to take minutes during
meetings. The principal of Mountainview sought the assistance of the SGB to find ways
of returning the school to normal functioning. At this point, the meeting was discussing
agenda item 4.1 Alternative disciplinary approaches to be adopted at the school.
Write minutes of a meeting for agenda item 4.1 only. This means that the complete
format for minutes is not required. Remember that in taking minutes, we carefully select
and summarise information, and make changes to style and grammar. Note that you
should not record what each person said in turn. You should use the linear format of
minutes (in sentences and paragraphs). Your minutes must be 1 page in length.

TRANSCRIPT

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Mr Hasan (Chair): Ladies and gentlemen, we have so far addressed most of the
crucial issues that are affecting the school and the community, in
general. We are now progressing into this crucial agenda item
4.1. Alternative disciplinary approaches to be adopted at the
school. I think we are all aware of the requests that the principal,
Dr Sodi, has made towards the SGB committee at our last
meeting. The principal unequivocally expressed her concern of the
total breakdown of discipline at the school because of the banning
of all forms of corporal punishment in all schools in Mzanziva. I
will now give the principal, Dr Sodi, an opportunity to explain the
situation and some of the pressing disciplinary issues at the
school. Over to you, ma’am.

Dr Sodi: Thanks very much, Chair. On behalf of the School Management

Team (SMT) and the office of the principal, I would like to restate
the fact of the disciplinary situation that has gone out of control at
the school. Since the department of education outlawed corporal
punishment, the learners have taken it to mean that everyone
could do as they wished. There are a lot of incidents of gross
misconduct by learners almost daily. The situation has even
affected the state of teaching and learning as well as the school’s
results across the grades, and results have markedly gone down.
It is precisely for these reasons that we have asked the SGB to
help with suggestions to return the school to normality. We
sincerely think that the SGB could use its wisdom to suggest new
and novel ways to ensure that our learners behave in an
acceptable way for the school to have a chance of running
successfully.

Mr Hasan: Thank you Dr Sodi for putting the matter into proper perspective.
I think everyone is in a good position to assess the situation and
make a meaningful contribution in trying to deal with the crisis that
we are faced with. The floor is now open for everyone to either
contribute towards these alternative disciplinary measures or

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 Even seek clarification on what we have heard so far. Oh, I see
Ms Dorothy’s hand is up. You can go ahead and make your point,
ma’am.
:
Ms Dorothy: I agree with the principal that the situation at the school has gone
out of hand and that the school cannot manage to turn things
around. I think that what is of utmost importance is for us to
recognise that the department of education was trying to stop the
abuses that had been perpetrated by some of the teachers while
applying corporal punishment at the schools. The department of
education also took into consideration that we are in a democratic
dispensation and our education system should be consistent with
democratic values. I do understand the thinking that went behind
this decision. In the same breath, I also think that this decision was
rather rushed as no alternative measures were put in place for
teachers and schools to fall back on. To be blunt about it, the
authorities left a big void by not proposing alternative disciplinary
measures for schools. The question for us now is what should be
done to restore order at Mountainview Secondary School.

Mr Dzavani: I hear what you are saying Ms Dorothy about democracy and how
we should change the way we have always dealt with issues. I
beg to differ about that approach when it comes to disciplining
school kids. I think we should continue with corporal punishment
at our school. We must adopt a stern approach and reinstate
corporal punishment. Those of us who read the bible will know
very well that ‘you spare the rod and spoil the child’. Talk to
everyone who has made it in life today and they will confess that
it was because of the constant corporal punishment that was
applied by teachers that made them who they are today. Let us
reinstate corporal punishment to bring back order to our school.

Mr Hasan: Thank you for your contribution and reminding us of what used to
work in the past, Mr Dzavani. There are two points of caution that

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 I would like to pass regarding what you have just said. First, it is
important that we appreciate that times have changed, and that
the mentality of the new generation has also changed. We have
to keep up with new trends even though we are old people.
Secondly, the banning of corporal punishment has been legislated
by the government and, therefore, it becomes the law of the
country. If any person goes against this and continues to apply
corporal punishment to school kids, such a person might find
himself or herself in trouble with the law of the country. This is
something that we all have to keep at the back of our minds. Let
us make suggestions that will be practical and not in violation of
any laws.

Mr Dzavani: My chairperson, after that explanation I clearly understand the

situation we are in. I withdraw my point about reinstating corporal
punishment, without any reservation.

Ms Puleng: Thank you for the withdrawal of the suggestion, Mr Dzavani. If I

may also weigh in colleagues, I propose that the school changes
the way teachers relate to learners and begin to treat these
learners with compassion and act like real parents to the learners.
This will give credence to the principle of teachers being ‘in loco
parentis’ to the learners. When they have won the learners over,
they could start to instil good behaviour, respect for elders and
accountability in them. This talks to change in mindsets and it will
surely be some time before any results are evident. At any rate,
good things come to those who wait.

Mr Josh: These are wonderful inputs, sister Puleng. Such ideas would
really form the foundation of a new way forward even though the
positive results might take time to be seen. In addition to this
strategy, I will propose that the school actively forms a much
closer relationship with parents. The school should regularly
involve parents in different activities at the school. It’s a fact that
many of the parents are not educated so a conscious decision

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 should be taken to bring all parents on board, especially parents
who have children at the school. When parents are drawn closer
to the school, the learners will realise that their parents are valued,
and it might be easier for these kids to cooperate with the teachers
knowing that they are being watched.

Dr Sodi: As a school, we appreciate the valuable contributions from

everyone. One may add that the department of education
recommends detention and a demerit system as a way of
disciplining learners who misbehave. So, our school has to include
such measures as well. One must acknowledge that there is hope
that things will change with time. Chair, I think that it would be
a good idea to have all these suggestions written up so that the
school could have a proper guide on the way forward. All other
rules that will regulate minor wrongdoings by learners will be
added to this document.

Mr Hasan: Before we could conclude our discussions on this item, are there
any members that have reservations or are opposed to these
ideas?

All: No Chair, we are in support of these initiatives!

Mr Hasan: Thank you so much everyone for these innovative ideas. I will ask
Ms Puleng to write down these ideas so that we will present them
to the principal and her SMT in two weeks’ time. The meeting is
adjourned until then!!

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Minutes of Meeting - Agenda Item 4.1: Alternative Disciplinary Approaches

The School Governing Body (SGB) of Mountainview Secondary School convened a

special meeting to address the deteriorating state of discipline among learners,
following the outlawing of corporal punishment by the Department of Education.
Agenda item 4.1 focused on exploring alternative disciplinary approaches to be
adopted at the school.

Mr Hasan (Chair) initiated the discussion, acknowledging the urgent need to address
the crisis and the principal's plea for SGB intervention. Dr Sodi, the school principal,
then detailed the gravity of the disciplinary issues, linking them to the ban on corporal
punishment. The School Management Team (SMT) sought the SGB's wisdom to
suggest new ways to restore order and normal functioning to the school.

Mr Hasan opened the floor for contributions, and Ms Dorothy expressed her agreement
with the principal's concerns while highlighting the need for alternative disciplinary
measures. She recognized the democratic values underlying the ban on corporal
punishment but criticized the lack of alternative measures proposed by the education
authorities.

Mr Dzavani suggested a return to corporal punishment, arguing its effectiveness in

shaping successful individuals. However, Mr Hasan cautioned against this approach,
emphasizing the changing times and the legal prohibition of corporal punishment,
urging practical and lawful suggestions.

Ms Puleng proposed a shift in teachers' approach, advocating for a compassionate,

parental role. She emphasized the importance of winning learners over before instilling
good behavior. Mr Josh supported this idea and added the need for a closer school-
parent relationship, particularly with less educated parents.

Dr Sodi endorsed the contributions and introduced the Department of Education's

recommendation of detention and a demerit system for disciplinary action. She

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suggested compiling all suggestions into a comprehensive guide for the school's future
disciplinary measures.

Mr Hasan sought members' reservations and received unanimous support for the
proposed initiatives. He concluded by assigning Ms Puleng to document the
suggestions for presentation to the principal and the SMT in two weeks, adjourning the
meeting.

The SGB members demonstrated a collective commitment to finding innovative and

lawful solutions to address the discipline crisis at Mountainview Secondary School.

Thank you.

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GRAND-TOTAL: 50 MARKS

PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

Name and Student number……………………………………………………….…………

I declare that this examination is my own original work. Where secondary material has
been used (either from a printed source or from the internet), this has been carefully
acknowledged and referenced in accordance with departmental requirements. I

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understand what plagiarism is and I am aware of the pertinent policies in this regard.
I have not allowed anyone else to borrow or copy my work.

Signature………………………………………………

Date………………………………….

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