Despite being excluded from the calculation to determine the APS required for admission to universities, Life Orientation remains a compulsory subject in the FET phase. Life Orientation takes valuable school hours from those pursuing a field where LO is not required. Due to the pandemic and rotational learning, learners are anywhere from three quarters to one full year behind where they should be based on statistics from UNICEF.

In 2018, the Department of Education has mentioned plans about incrementally phasing Life Orientation out in Grades 10 to 12 starting in 2023, however we have not received updates on the plan since early 2019. Given the current reputation of the Department, many are starting to doubt the plan and are expecting another wave of excuses.

The Department's plans to recoup lost time by "adding classroom time" and/or "cancelling the October school holidays" are not long term solutions. 

While we feel that Life Orientation is an important subject, learners should have the freedom to decide whether they want to learn more.

Some sources + articles (will be updated routinely):

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/learners-south-africa-one-school-year-behind-where-they-should-be

https://www.news24.com/parent/learn/learning-difficulties/opinion-lets-remove-life-orientation-plus-another-elective-from-grade-10-11-and-12-curricula-20210831