Department of Basic Education on 2nd and 3rd Quarter Report 2014/15, including: Progress and status of ASIDI

Meeting report

Opening Remarks

The Chairperson welcomed the members and emphasised the need for education to remain a priority. The Chairperson received apologies from the Committee Members who were absent.  

The Chairperson requested that the Department highlighted the core information in the interventions. 

Briefing by the Department of Basic Education on the 2nd and 3rd Quarter Report 2014/15

Mr Paddy Padayachee, DBE Director General, outlined the content of the briefing and handed over to the members of his delegation to proceed with the briefing.

Programme 1- Administration

Ms Stella Mosimege, Director: Strategic Planning and Reporting, DBE, Explained that the purpose of Programme 1 is to manage the Department and provide strategic and administrative support services

It was indicated that in Quarter 2, the department finalised two key appointments, these were the minister’s speech writer and the chief director for curriculum enhancement projects, completed and submitted all financial disclosure forms, facilitated training of 109 officials on various training programmes and that there were two transfers and 6 promotions within the department, facilitated training of 109 officials on various training programmes. It was added that in Quarter 3, no appointments were made, however that positions in internal audit were advertised and 37 officials attended Skills Development Training courses.

In the second quarter, the Minister, the Deputy Minister, Director General and all directorates in the Department were provided with legal advice. During this time there have been 13 cases; Managing all total of 34 litigations against the Department. It was noted that five cases are underway, nine had been finalised and 25 were on-going. She added that five Memoranda of Agreement and two Memoranda of Understanding were scrutinized.

In the third quarter, the Department Advised the Minister on ten issues scrutinised one Memorandum of Agreement and two Memoranda of understanding. It was explained that there are five items of legislation and nine policy instruments that the Department has been working with during the Quarter which are currently under review.

In Quarter 2, the Department was actively involved in internal audit, risk management and forensic audit activities and important meetings such as the Audit Committee were held in this quarter. It was noted that a committee comprising the DBE and Provincial Heads of Internal Audit and Risk Management was established to deal with the improvement of Audit Outcomes for the sector.

In Quarter 3, the Department completed nine assurance engagements and one Audit Committee meeting took place during this period. Additionally, Agreements with Cuba and Swaziland reached advanced stages during this quarter and will be finalised during 2015 in conjunction with DBE progress on agreements with Angola, Kenya, Serbia, Turkey and Guinea.

In Quarter 2, 13 editions of Thuto, 131 articles, media releases, policies, reports, manuals that have been uploaded on the website, 91 of manuals have been uploaded on the Intranet. In Quarter 3, 8 Thuto editions were published and 97 articles written and edited for publication. During this period, a total of 213 interviews were conducted and 32 statements were released as well as 25 direct media enquiries were received through e-mail and telephonic channels. The Department recognised 15,924 followers on Facebook, 30,400 followers on Twitter and approximately 2000 messages were received through the information e-mail system

In Quarter 2, the Department produced major reporting documents, such as the Annual Report for the 2013/14 financial year, the First Quarter Report 2014/15, and other sector reports. The first draft of the new Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan documents have been submitted duly to the DPME and National Treasury. Additionally, the Department held a research workshop on the “Differences in Learning between Boys and Girls”.

In Quarter 3, the  Annual Report 2013/14, 1st Quarterly report, Delivery Agreement Report for Outcome 1 served at various committees namely the the Portfolio, Select and Cabinet Committee meetings during this quarter.  Other sector reports, namely the Outcomes 7, 13, 14 as well as the Forum of South African Directors-General (FOSAD), State of the Nation Address (SONA) and Education and Health sub-committee reports were all compiled and submitted accordingly.

Programme 2 - Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring

Ms Mosimege explained that the purpose of Programme 2 is to develop curriculum and assessment policies and monitor and support their implementation.

Reading Promotion and Library Information Services:

In Quarter 2 Book Flood campaigns were held whereby four hundred and fifty books were donated by DBE officials during the campaign and Times Media Group donated 8000 books that were delivered to 50 NECT “Fresh Start’ schools.

Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL):

During Quarter 2, the preliminary verification monitoring and evaluation report on IIAL pilot was released on 10 July 2014.

During Quarter 3, the IIAL pilot extended to Grade 2 in the existing pilot schools and additional schools have been identified and added to the pilot study.

Further Education and Training (FET)

In Quarter 2, the DBE has launched national subject committees and Professional learning Committees with the support of the British Council. In Quarter 3, focused education is aimed at producing learners that are skilled in specific areas of expertise that will assist in strengthening the economy of the country. Ms Mosimege explained that Maritime Studies is one of the key subjects within the focus schools’ landscape and that the Department is continuing with the development of policy that will ensure that focus schools are identified and the curriculum is aligned to meet this requirement.

Ms Mosimege added that the multi-grade toolkit has been developed to enhance the delivery of the curriculum in multi-grade schools. Additionally, the DBE has developed a Turn-around Strategy and Checklist for Special Schools to monitor and improve the functionality of special schools.   

Early Childhood Development

Ms Mosimege explained that consultation on training of ECD practitioners and curriculum implementation for children from birth to four years of age, was currently underway. The consultation team comprises officials from the Department of Basic Education, Department of Social Development and Department of Health. Ms Mosimege added that during this quarter, an audit of existing registration of Home Schools as well as systems used by Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) to monitor such has been conducted.

ICT

In Quarter 2, the DBE has facilitated the creation of about 40 000 email addresses for 1508 Proof of Concept (POC) schools. Ms Mosimege added that 725 teachers have been trained by INTEL in the Proof of Concept districts and that  the DBE also facilitated the signing of the User Requirements for the first case of the implementation of the Broadband Policy which aims at connecting about 5 700 schools in the 10 and 20 km radius of the NHI pilot clinics.

Ms Mosimege noted that in Quarter 3, 12 Mobile version Grade 1 FAL interactive workbooks (Book 1 & 2) in IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho & Afrikaans have been developed. Ms Mosimege added that Broadcasting of Grades 10-12 programmes in critical/gateway subjects, including Maths, Science, Accounting, Life Orientation and Geography is being aired on DSTC Channel 319 and OVHD 201.Moreover, 133 additional schools have been connected in this quarter and thus increasing the number of schools connected during this financial year to 1783.

Furthermore, the following achievements were achieved per respective Quarter:

LTSM

Quarter 2: The DBE has printed 25 000 000 grade 1-9 volume 1 workbooks for the 2015 academic year.

• Printing of grade 1-9 volume 2 workbooks commenced in Quarter 2.
• Printing of grade R term 1 and 2 has been completed and delivered.
• Grades 3 Home Language Braille workbooks and grades 1-3 Home Language Braille Toolkits in all 11 languages have been printed and delivered.

Quarter 3: Procurement for the 2014/15 textbooks focused on top ups for all grades which is anticipated to take the sector to the desired level of universal coverage, a textbook, per learner, per grade, per subject.

• As at 5 December 2014, all 23 562 schools received Volume 1 Grade R- 9 2015 workbook consignments. 10 494 695 Volume 2 Grade 1-9 workbooks had been delivered to 9 760 (41.4%) schools by 5 December 2014.
• DBE developed, printed and distributed Grades 1- 6 Mathematics Braille workbooks and Toolkits to all 22 special schools in the country as well as Grades 1-3 Home Language Braille workbooks in all 11 languages and Toolkits. All Braille workbooks developed are accompanied by Teachers’ Guides.

Mathematics, Science and Technology Programmes (MST)

Quarter 2: An Integrated MST implementation plan was developed in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and Higher Education.

• South Africa achieved a bronze medal by Robin Visser, earning us first position in Africa and position 64 out of 103 countries in the International Mathematics Olympiad which was held from 3 – 12 July 2014 at the University of Cape Town.

Quarter 3: A draft document on the MST Strategy in Education for Schools has been developed and inputs from partners have been invited.

Kha Ri Gude Programme

Quarter 2: Classes for people with disabilities resumed early in July 2014.

• Existing monitors and co-ordinators were scrutinized further by DBE after their ID numbers were verified by Department of Home Affairs.
• Contracts of employment for volunteers over 65, volunteers currently employed by the state, and those involved in fraud and corruption practices have not been renewed.
• These volunteers are being replaced with unemployed graduate youth.
• Classes were envisaged to start on the 1 September 2014 and Monitors, coordinators, supervisors and educator volunteers (VEs) have continued to recruit learners.

Quarter 3: Advocacy campaign on Kha Ri Gude and Ministerial Roadshows were held in Limpopo, Free State, Gauteng and North West provinces.

• Recruitment was strengthened.
• The Service Providers were monitored and managed to ensure efficient and effective delivery of the campaign.
• Regular meetings and site visits were conducted and reports to that effect were produced.

Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development.

Ms Mosimege explained that the purpose of Programme 3 is to promote quality teaching and institutional performance through the effective supply, development and utilisation of human resources.

• The number of qualified teachers, aged 30 years and younger, entering the profession for the first time, has a 1 quarter lag, meaning that the information for quarter 1 is received in quarter 2.

            The number of appointed young teachers received during this quarter is 1730 received from Quarter 1.

PERSAL Data

Quarter 3: During the 3rd Quarter, the PERSAL data from the second quarter reported 3117 teachers appointed.

• The number of qualified teachers, aged 30 years and below, exiting the public service as teachers during the past year.

Quarter 2: 113 educators from quarter 1 data was reported. 39% which is 9 480 of 24 200 schools had all their posts filled permanently.

Quarter 3: 193 educators were reported from quarter 2 PERSAL data. 37% (8 930 of 24 200) of schools had all their posts filled permanently.

Quarter 2: 2 513 graduates who were funded through Funza Lushaka were placed in schools as at the time of reporting and a total of 1 328 remained unplaced.

Quarter 3: A total of 3 921 bursary recipients from the 2013 cohort had completed their studies which was an increase from 3 841 in August 2014.

• According to PERSAL data, 2 774 graduates were placed in schools. This brings the placement rate according to PERSAL to 70.7%. 
• The DBE continues to host workshops with pensioners in each province to address the pension payout problem.

• 2 850 Grade R practitioners nationwide have been supported to enroll in either Diploma in Grade R teaching (1 845) or BEd Foundation Phase (1 015)

Quarter 2: External moderators visited 2 665 schools to monitor the implementation of the IQMS.

Quarter 3: External moderators who are deployed by the DBE visited 2 239 schools to monitor IQMS summative scores. The target for both Q2 & Q3 had been exceeded.

Question 2: The sign-up and registration of HODs in schools for participation in the CPTD activities moved from 27 836 sign-ups to 32 000.

• 19 888 HODs had been registered and signed-up for participation in the CPTD Management System.
• District Based Recruitment Campaign for Funza Lushaka is underway and as at time of reporting about 2 000 learners were provisionally selected.
• The South African Standard for Principalship was approved for gazetting by the Minister on 7 July 2014.

Question 3: 908 schools were profiled during the quarter thus completing the last phase of the profiling of 24 270 schools countrywide.

Preparations for the 2015 SGB Elections: Reports have been received from Provinces on the state of readiness and support is being provided to provinces where the readiness is questionable. Election guidelines and training manual for electoral officers have been developed as further resource materials to support provinces. SGB elections for 2015 are scheduled to take place from 6 to 28 March 2015.

Training for principals: During the third quarter, preparations for the planned training of Principals on Curriculum Management were in progress, workshop with SAOU was held to refine the training materials.

Programme 4:    Planning, Information and Assessment

Ms Mosimege explained that the purpose of this programme was to develop policies and programmes to improve the quality of learning in schools.

NSC

Quarter 2: Preparation for the 2014 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations was at the peak during this quarter

• A total of 688 660 learners with 550 127 full-time and 138 533 part-time learners registered for their examinations.
• 130 question papers, 63 for the blind, 52 for the deaf and 70 non-official languages question papers have been handed over to PEDs.
• The monitoring of the preparedness of the PEDs to conduct the 2014 NSC Examination (State of Readiness) commenced on 8 September 2014.

Quarter 3: The 2014 NSC examination was written by 688 660 (both full-time and part-time) learners across 6735 examination centres, from Monday, 27 October 2014 to Friday, 28 November 2014.

• The administration of the examinations was successful. However, irregularities were uncovered in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
• There were 314 cases of serious irregularities, which related to behavioural offences and acts of dishonesty. This implicated 5305 candidates and it represents 0.7% of the total number of candidates.
• A preliminary report on the integrity of the NSC was submitted to the Minister of Basic Education and Umalusi on 24 December 2014 for consideration and approval.

ANA

Quarter 2: The Annual National Assessments (ANA) would be administered to all public and state-funded independent schools, from 16 - 19 September 2014.

• About 100 monitors were deployed by the DBE to monitor the administration process.
• There were challenges in some Provinces such as scholastic transport. This was ultimately resolved as all the affected schools were allowed to write ANA by the 26 September 2014.
• Verification process was done by two service providers SAB&T and Deloitte consortium

Quarter 3: During this quarter, marking and moderation of the ANA was held at centralised venues in each province from 3 - 11 October 2014, the capturing process started mid-October 2014 and was concluded by mid-November 2014.

• The DBE also appointed the HSRC to conduct an independent analysis of the learner scores.
• The Report on the Annual National Assessment of 2014 was released by the Minister of Basic Education on 4 December 2014, amongst others the following was reported:
  • The 2014 ANA results showed no improvement in the Grade 9 mathematics while languages have improved in the same grade
  • The results have been analysed and district reports have been done
  • The national average of 2014 ANA is below 50%
  • In mathematics, results are better in the Foundation phase than in the higher grades but in Home language, the difference between grades is minimal

Infrastructure

Quarter 2:

• On Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative, the APP target for 2014/15 is 150 but 92 projects were rolled out.
• Sanitation: 289 schools have been provided with sanitation
• Water:       267 schools have been provided with water
• Electricity: 275 schools have been provided with electricity

Quarter 3

• ASIDI project outputs show that 89 new schools have been completed by December 2014.
• In other projects, Free State has completed one school, in Mpumalanga, 3 schools have reached practical completion versus 7 schools in the WC.
• In terms of basic services, the following have been achieved:
  • Sanitation: 351 projects
  • Water: 318 projects
  • Electricity: 279 projects
• Provincial Education Infrastructure expenditure is currently at 74% (R6 550 531m) of the allocated budget.
• Conditional Grant spending is at 65% (R4 734 680m) of the allocated Grant

Quarter 2: A total of 153 vacancies have been filled with Built Environment professionals.

• This is part of the HR Capacitation initiative of head-hunting these professionals so as to speed up the rate at which the institutionalisation of the IDMS has progressed.
• By 27 September 2014, 23,582 schools with 10,670,673 learners had been uploaded successfully to LURITS with 2014 data.

 Quarter 3: The LURITS data had been received from a total of 24,202 (99%) public and 572 (18%) independent schools with 10,975,340 (89%) learners from public schools and 145,720 (25%) learners from independent schools.

Quarter 3: School Furniture

• Department of Basic Education: 129 806 desks have been delivered to schools in the EC, MP, LP, NW and KZN. An additional 228 675 desks will be delivered.
• Department of Labour: 83 040 desks for learners and 5 292 for teachers in 763 schools in Limpopo
• Department of Correctional Services: 2 357 desks for learners, 83 tables for teachers, 198 chairs for teachers in 35 schools in North West
• Department of Environmental Affairs: 44 406 desks in Eastern Cape and North West
• 67541 desks were ordered for 544 schools in the EC. Delivery started the end of November in 2014, to date 3125 desks have been delivered and further reports on any backlogs will be attended to.

Districts

Quarter 2: More than 600 district personnel across the 7 pioneer districts were coached on integrating data into their business processes and engagement with schools, the key focus was to strengthen and maintain sustainable high-level support in all 81 districts.

• The Minister had institutionalised quarterly meetings with district directors and has met with this layer of managers 12 times since the programme started.
• DBE embarked on a mission to profile all schools in districts in all the nine provincial education departments.
• 13 districts in 5 provinces, with a total of 2836 participants attended the training which was funded by the ELRC on functional and inclusive structures.
• The proposed 2016 school calendar was approved for publication by the Minister on 18-19 September 2014.
• The Ministry embarked on a National Outreach Programme that is targeting all the provinces to communicate the current administration’s sector priorities and non- negotiables. 3 provinces were visited in this period.
• Schooling in the Sterkspruit District was disrupted for 6 months due to conflicts between the District Office and SADTU impacting on teaching and learning in the District.
• DBE and the Eastern Cape Department of Education, on two occasions, held consultations with key stakeholders of Sterkspruit in search of solutions.
• The Portfolio Committee for Basic Education, accompanied by the Provincial Portfolio Committee and DBE officials visited Sterkspruit District to establish reasons for the stand-off between SADTU and the Sterkspruit District Management Team.

Quarter 3: In order to strengthen accountability as well as ensure we have the right people in the right roles in districts, the following was done:

• The tightening of Performance Agreements for District Directors to align more strongly with the core work of the Department - learning and teaching;
• The review and strengthening of recruitment and selection criteria and processes in districts and
• The sharpening of the roles and responsibilities of district staff, including curriculum advisors. 
  • The QLTC Coordinating Team (QCT) monitored the state of readiness in preparation for the reopening of schools in 2015 and the functionality of QLTC structures at school level, only three (3) provinces were monitored in this period under review due to limited personnel.
  • The 7th draft DBE Partnerships Framework and Internal Protocol has been developed.
• The DBE continues to monitor the implementation of existing partnerships and the initiation of new partnerships.
•  Partnership with the following continue to exist, Brand SA, Read To Rise, Copper Development Association Africa, Empowervate, South African National Zakah Fund, The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Massmart Walmart, Vodacom Foundation, AVBOB Foundation, Breadline Africa and SuperSport Let’s Play to mention but a few and  many others  in different programmes within the department

National Outreach Programme

Quarter 3

• The national outreach programme was arranged according to the allocation of provinces between the Minister and Deputy Minister,
• The Minister, in particular, oversees the Northern Cape, Free State, North West and Limpopo Provinces while the Deputy Minister takes particular responsibility for the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Western Cape Provinces.
• During the quarter under review the Minister visited Limpopo Province for a meeting with district officials and principals from Vhembe District, a follow up meeting was then arranged with the province once more to address concerns raised during the Minister’s visit.
• The Deputy Minister undertook visits to the Eastern Cape Department of Education.

Programme 5: Social Mobilisation and Support Services

Ms Mosimege said the purpose of Programme 5 was to develop policies and programmes to improve the quality of learning in schools

Quarter 2: The total number of schools visited by the Care and Support unit is 12 throughout the different provinces for monitoring purposes. The ISHP, HIV/AIDS Life Skills Education officials were monitoring in the provinces.

Quarter 3: The DBE exceeded its target to reach 3600 educators for training on implementation of sexual and reproductive health programmes for learners, 3 917 teachers were reached.

• DBE also commemorated World AIDS Day on 2 December 2014, targeting (10) secondary schools and 6 primary schools in Mount Frere District, Eastern Cape province.

Quarter 2: Parents in FS and WC Provinces supported the HPV Vaccination Programme. Consent forms were signed and parents attended the vaccination sessions to support their children.

• A strong partnership exists with SAPS in Western Cape Province who provided talks on substance abuse and gangsterism.
• 3 398 teachers have been trained to implement sexual and reproductive health programmes for learners this quarter. As a result Provinces procured and distributed 68 670 LTSM on sexual and reproductive health.
• CEM approved the implementation of the de-worming programme and is scheduled to begin in 2015.
• The draft National DBE Policy on HIV, STIs and TB has been finalised in August 2014

Quarter 2: The NSNP officials visited a total of seventy one (71) schools and six (6) districts in six (6) provinces to monitor and support programme implementation, monitor schools that were piloting the decentralised model and to collect baseline data on the schools that pilot NSNP breakfasts.

Quarter 3: For the period under review, against the target of fifty five (55), NSNP officials visited a total of sixty eight

(68) schools in four (4) provinces; viz. Eastern Cape (EC), Gauteng (GP), Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), Limpopo (LP) and North West (NW), covering seven (7) districts.

• The purpose of these visits was to monitor progress and support schools on the implementation of the programme.  However, the main focus was in Limpopo (LP) and North West (NW) provinces, where investigations of alleged food poisoning were conducted.
• The National Nutrition Week was successfully held in October 2014 in partnership with Nestlé SA and provincial departments (FS and KZN).

Quarter 2: The Department of Basic Education (DBE) in collaboration with Nestlé SA commemorated International Mandela Day at Mmatso Primary School, Hammanskraal Tshwane North District on 21 July 2014. 

• A total of 309 learners participated in the provincial elimination rounds for iNkosi Albert Luthuli Oral History Programme.
• A total of 99 learners from all the provinces, except for the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, attended the workshop for the annual School Moot Court Competition.
• As part of the Safer South Africa programme with UNICEF, the Department commenced training on Gender Norms and Gender Based Violence (GBV). The training continued through the 3rd quarter.
• The department supported by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP) have conducted nine Provincial Consultative workshops with stakeholders on the Draft National School Violence Prevention Framework.
• The 2014 SASCE National Championships was successfully held on 15 – 17 July 2014 where a total of 7 203 learners and 436 teachers from 201 schools attended and participated at this Eisteddfod.
• The 2014 School Sport League has held provincial tournaments and these leagues have integrated both able and disabled learners.

Quarter 3: Luthuli Oral History: 309 learners participated in the provincial elimination rounds. The final round was held on the 3-6 October 2014 with 64 learners participating using the topic “20 years of South Africa’s Democracy”.

• Moot Courts: 121 learners participated in provincial elimination rounds. The final round was held in October where 9 learners participated.

• Spelling Bee: The DBE Spelling Bee South Africa was hosted on 10 October 2014 at the National Library of South Africa and all provinces were represented by 3 spellers and one chaperone.
• Care and Support in Schools
  • Allocation of funds to provinces for the HIV and AIDS Life Skills Education programme has been released in two batches upon submission of a signed business plan.
  • 1 207 educators were trained on sexual and reproductive health programmes for learners.
  • The drug testing guidelines were developed through the support of UNICEF.                              

Expenditure and Financial Report

Ms Ntsetsa Molalekoa, Chief Financial Officer, DBE, explained that the total Appropriation budget of the Department for the 2014/15 financial year amounts to R19 689.873 million.

During the briefing the following was described:

• The majority of the budget (R14 668.790 million) was allocated to transfer payments as follows:
  • Conditional Grants: R13 576.952 million
  • Transfers to Public Entities: R1 054.853 million
  • Other Transfers: R36.985 million
• The remainder of the budget (R5 021.083 million) is allocated to the following:
  • Compensation of Employees: R315.560 million
  • Examiners and Moderators: R19.546 million
  • Earmarked Funds: R1 781.946 million
  • Office Accommodation: R158.813 million
  • Specifically and Exclusively Appropriated: R2 540.827 million
  • Departmental Operations: R133.299 million
  • Departmental Projects: R71.092 million

Roll-Overs Requested But Not Approved Per Programme

Reasons for Requested Roll-Over:

• Technical Secondary School Recapitalisation Conditional Grant - To cover the payment of accruals for the services rendered during 2013/14 and/or commitments made in the 2013/14 financial year. Since the request was not approved, the activities in the 2014/15 business plan will be affected.
• Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) – To complete projects in respect of construction of schools built with inappropriate materials, provision of water and sanitation that was already in progress at the end of the 2013/14 financial year.
• The total actual expenditure of the Department for the 2014/15 financial year as at 30 September 2014 amounts to R10 768.229 million
• The majority of the expenditure (R9 138.738 million) is made up of transfer payments as follows:
  • Conditional Grants: R8 112.970 million
  • Transfers to Public Entities: R1 001.175 million
  • Other Transfers: R24.593 million
• The remainder of the expenditure (R1 629.491 million) is made up as follows:
  • Compensation of Employees: R157.708 million
  • Examiners and Moderators: R5.084 million
  • Earmarked Funds: R376.742 million
  • Office Accommodation : R77.955 million
  • Specifically and Exclusively Appropriated: R884.073 million
  • Departmental Operations: R97.133 million
  • Departmental Projects: R30.796 million

Allocation against Actual Expenditure per Programme by the 2nd Quarter of 2014/15 Financial Year

Explanations for Deviations:

Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring

• The bulk of the allocation in programme 2, is for the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign and Workbooks earmarked funds. The classes for Kha Ri Gude commenced from 1 September 2014, the spending will improve from October 2014 once the claims for stipends for Kha Ri Gude volunteers have been received. The workbooks volume 1 has already been printed and currently being delivered to schools. The invoices for delivery to schools are received after all deliveries have been made

Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human Resources Development and Institutional Development

• The high spending in this programme was due to once off transfer to NSFAS for Funza Lushaka Bursaries, which was made in April 2014.

Allocation against Actual Expenditure per Economic Classification for the 2014/15 Financial Year

Reasons for Deviations:

• Goods and services
  • The main items affecting this item are Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy programme as well as Workbooks.
• Payments for Capital Assets
  • The main project affecting this item the ASIDI project. The slow submission of invoices is affecting the expenditure captured on the financial system

Allocation against Actual Expenditure per Item for the Second Quarter of 2014/15 Financial Year

Reasons for Deviations:

• Transfers to Public Entities
  • The high spending on this item is due to a once off transfer to NSFAS for Funza Lushaka Bursaries, which was made in April 2014.
• Schools Infrastructure Backlogs Indirect Grant
  • The low spending on this item is due the delay in the submission of invoices and non-performance of some Implementing Agents (IAs). The necessary processes are being followed to deal with the IAs that are not performing.
• Earmarked funds
  • Kha Ri Gude Literacy Project – The classes for Kha Ri Gude commenced from 1 September 2014, the spending will improve from October 2014 once the claims for stipends for Kha Ri Gude volunteers have been received.
  • Workbooks - The printing of Workbooks 1 was printed during August 2014. Currently the delivery of this workbooks is in process. The printing of volume 2 is in process. It is anticipated that the delivery of volume 2 will be completed by the end of January 2015.
  • Annual National Assessments – The ANA tests were written in September 2014 as scheduled. The Department is awaiting invoices in respect of printing, packaging and distribution.
  • NEEDU
  • In strengthening the capacity of NEEDU, 20 posts of evaluators were transferred from IQMS. The budget issue is being dealt with internally.

Reasons for Deviations:

• NSNP
• The Department’s unit continued with monitoring the implementation of the programme. The invoices for some of the interventions are still outstanding.
• Departmental operations
  • The high spending on operational budget was in respect of payments of Audit fees that were higher than anticipated as well as payments to SITA for the Department’s data lines, desktop support as well as data processing for the exams system.
  • Projects
  • The spending on projects is at an acceptable level, based on the fact that some of the activities of the projects are starting during the third and fourth quarter of the financial year .E.g. Albert Luthuli Oral History competition, National Teachers Awards etc.

Details of Earmarked Allocations/Conditional Grants against Expenditure for the Quarter
Explanations for Deviations:

Kha Ri Gude Literacy Project:

• The bulk of the allocation in respect of payments for stipends. The classes for the project only started on 1 September 2014. The stipends for September were only paid at the end of October 2014.

Workbooks:

• The printing of Workbooks 1 was printed during August 2014. In this period the delivery of these workbooks was in progress. The printing of volume 2 was underway. The delivery of volume 2 was intended for completion by the end of January 2015.

National Assessments:

• The ANA tests were written in September 2014 as scheduled. The Department is awaiting invoices in respect of printing, packaging and distribution.

NEEDU

• In strengthening the capacity if NEEDU 20 posts of evaluators were transferred from IQMS. The budget issue is being dealt with internally

Explanations for Deviations:

NSNP

• The Department’s unit continued with monitoring the implementation of the programme. The invoices for some of the interventions are still outstanding.

Departmental Operation

• The high spending on operational budget was in respect to payments of Audit fees that were higher than anticipated as well as payments to SITA for the Departments data lines, desktop support as well as data processing for the exams system.

Projects

• The spending on projects is at an acceptable level, based on the fact that some of the activities of the projects are starting during the third and fourth quarter of the financial year .E.g. Albert Luthuli Oral History competition, National Teachers Awards etc.

Details of Transfers against Actual Expenditure for the 2014/15 Financial Year

Reasons for Deviations:

• Transfers to Public Entities
  • The high spending on this item is due to a once off transfer to NSFAS for Funza Lushaka Bursaries, which was made in April 2014.
• Other transfers
  • The transfers under this item take place in the last quarter of the financial year.

Quarter 3 Financial Report

The following was noted during the briefing:

• The total Adjusted Appropriation budget of the Department for the 2014/15 financial year amounts to R19 689.873 million
• The majority of the budget (R14 707.790 million) is allocated to transfer payments as follows:
  • Conditional Grants: R13 576.952 million
  • Transfers to Public Entities: R1 054.853 million
  • Other Transfers: R75.985 million
• The remainder of the budget (R4 982.083 million) is allocated to the following:
  • Compensation of Employees: R315.560 million
  • Examiners and Moderators: R19.546 million
  • Earmarked Funds: R1 671.946 million
  • Office Accommodation: R158.813 million
  • Specifically and Exclusively Appropriated: R2 540.827 million
  • Departmental Operations: R133.299 million
  • Departmental Projects: R142.092 million

Expenditure As At 31 December 2014

• The total actual expenditure of the Department for the 2014/15 financial year as at 31 December 2014 amounts to R15 810.522 million
• The majority of the expenditure (R12 780.001 million) is made up of transfer payments as follows:
  • Conditional Grants: R11 706.571 million
  • Transfers to Public Entities: R1 028.014 million
  • Other Transfers: R45.416 million
• The remainder of the expenditure (R3 030.254 million) is made up as follows:
  • Compensation of Employees: R247.705 million
  • Examiners and Moderators: R10.895 million
  • Earmarked Funds: R1 043.340 billion
  • Office Accommodation : R117.696 million
  • Specifically and Exclusively Appropriated: R1 449.938 million
  • Departmental Operations: R101.531 million
  • Departmental Projects: R59.149 million

Allocation against Actual Expenditure per Programme for the 2014/15 Financial Year
Explanations for Deviations:

Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring

• The bulk of the allocation in programme 2, is for the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign and Workbooks earmarked funds. Although the classes for Kha Ri Gude commenced from 1 September 2014, the claims for stipends for volunteers have not yet been paid due to controls that the Department put in place to verify legitimacy of attendance registers of learners submitted by volunteers for their claims. The workbooks volume 2 has already been printed and delivery to schools is expected to be finalised by the end of February 2015. The invoices for delivery to schools are received after all deliveries have been made.

Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human Resources Development and Institutional Development

• The high spending in this programme, as previously indicated, is due to once off transfer to NSFAS for Funza Lushaka Bursaries, which was made in April 2014.

Allocation against Actual Expenditure per Economic Classification for the 2014/15 Financial Year

Reasons for Deviations:

• Goods and services
  • The main items affecting this item are Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy programme, Annual National Assessment as well as Workbooks.
  •  
• Payments for Capital Assets
  • The main project affecting this item is the ASIDI project. The slow submission of invoices is affecting the expenditure captured on the financial system. Detailed spending on this project is shown in slide 80.

Allocation against Actual Expenditure per Item for the Third Quarter of 2014/15 Financial Year

Reasons for Deviations:

• Transfers to Public Entities
  • The high spending on this item as indicated on the previous slides is due to a once off transfer to NSFAS for Funza Lushaka Bursaries, which was made in April 2014.
• Schools Infrastructure Backlogs Indirect Grant
  • The low spending on this item is due the delay in the submission of invoices and non-performance of some Implementing Agents (IAs). The necessary processes are being followed to deal with the IAs
• Earmarked funds
  • Kha Ri Gude Literacy Project – Although the classes for Kha Ri Gude commenced from 1 September 2014, the claims of stipends for volunteers have been delayed due to controls that the Department has put in place to verify the legitimacy of attendance registers of learners as submitted by volunteers for their claims.
  • Workbooks - The printing of Workbooks volume 2 was completed in November 2014. It is anticipated that the delivery of these workbooks will be completed by the end of February 2015.
  • Annual National Assessments – The results of the 2014 ANA were released by the Minister on 4 December 2014. The Department is awaiting claims for printing, packaging and distribution by provinces that printed the ANA assessment tests. The claims are expected before the end of the financial year.

Reasons for Deviations:

• NEEDU
• School evaluations continued in schools in Nkangala district, Mpumalanga province as well as provincial evaluation of the Eastern Cape Province.
• NSNP
• The Department’s unit continued with monitoring the implementation of the programme. The invoices for some of the interventions are still outstanding.
• Departmental operations
  • The high spending on operational budget was in respect to payments of Audit fees that were higher than anticipated, the Department’s communication services  as well as payments to SITA for the Departments data lines, desktop support as well as data processing for the exams system.
  • Projects
  • The spending on projects is at an acceptable level, based on the fact that some of the activities of the projects are taking place during the third and fourth quarter of the financial year e.g. Albert Luthuli Oral History competition, National Teachers Awards, etc.

Allocation for the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant for the 2014/15 Financial Year

Reasons for Deviations:

• The slow submission of invoices by IAs is of concern to the Department. Efforts are being made to visit the IAs to discuss the matter. Non submission of invoices by IAs at the end of the financial year will result in high accruals which are only paid with the budget of the following financial year which creates more pressure on the budget for that financial year.

Details of Transfers against Actual Expenditure for the 2014/15 Financial Year

Reasons for Deviations:

These transfers only take place in the last quarter of the financial year. The invoices for these transfers have been received and processed in January/February 2015.

Progress and Status of the Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI)

Ms Tsholofelo Diale, ASIDI Programme Manager, referred to the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant and explained that the purpose of the grant is to eradicate entirely inappropriate schools and to provide the basic level of water, sanitation and electricity to schools. Ms Diale explained that the grant is also referred to as the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI)

Ms Diale explained that the services provided on the four sub-programmes of the initiative adhere to guidelines relating to planning for public school infrastructure. Ms Diale described inappropriate school structures as entire mud schools, ‘plankie’ schools, corrugated sheeting structures and prefab schools which are no longer fit-for-purpose. Ms Diale indicated that the initiative aims to provide a water supply to schools where a water supply has not existed, a municipal connection where reticulation exists, Ground water exploration and boreholes where the yield and water quality is of acceptable standard and Rain water harvesting and Elevated water tanks for storage of potable water for immediate or future use. Ms Diale added that the initiative also aims to provide sanitation in schools where sanitation was not provided, Enviro-loos as well as and Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) Latrines, electrification. Ms Diale explained that the initiative intends to connect schools to the electrical grid through ESKOM as so far as is possible and that in the instances whereby grid electricity is not available, that solar electricity is provided.

Ms Diale indicated that since the inception of the initiative, that 92 schools have been completed as follows:

In Eastern Cape 78 schools have been completed

In the Western Cape 9 schools have been completed

In Mpumalanga 3 schools have been completed

In the Free State 2 schools have been completed

Ms Diale noted that the implementing agents for ASIDI’s provision of water are KZNED, WCED, NWED, GED, FS ED, CSIR, Mvula Trust, IDT, CDC and Mhlathuze Water and that all projects are in implementation. Ms Diale indicated that 342 schools have been completed since the inception of the initiative and referred to the number of schools completed per province.

Ms Diale explained that with regard to sanitation, the implementation agents are KZNED, WCED, NWED, GED, FS ED, CSIR, Mvula Trust, IDT, CDC and Mhlathuze Water and that all projects are in implementation. Ms Diale explained that since inception 351 schools have been completed.

Ms Diale added that the implementation agents for electrification in the ASIDI programme are WCED, GED, FS ED, and ESKOM and that all projects are in implementation with 288 schools having been completed since inception.

Report on Procurement and Delivery of LTSM for the 2015 School Year

Ms Diale explained that each year the Department develops a Sector Plan to guide and set timelines for provinces to procure LTSM in readiness for the new school calendar year by November of the previous school year. Ms Diale added that the plan is sent to provinces and that the provinces were requested to align their Management Plans to that of the Department. Ms Diale noted that the Department continuously reminds PEDs on the importance of aligning their Management plans to meet the end of November deadline for delivery of textbooks and stationery to schools. Ms Diale indicated that the deadline for provincial plans to be submitted to DBE is end of May each year.

Ms Diale indicated that schools place textbook orders based on projected numbers between June and July and that PEDs place orders with publishers between July and August. Further, publishers deliver to PED warehouses between September and October and the managing agents deliver to schools between October and November. Then, the schools declare shortages during January and February, Mop-up orders are placed by PEDs during January and February and Mop-up deliveries take place between February and March.

Provincial LTSM Procurement and Delivery Modalities

The following was describe per province:

Eastern Cape:

Textbooks for implementing grades are procured centrally by the province for all the schools, regardless of Section 21.1.c function or its quintile. Publishers appoint a managing agent to deliver textbooks to schools. The managing agent appoints SMMEs to deliver to schools.

Free State:

Schools submit their orders online and these are sent via the regions to the provincial office. The province consolidates quantities and places orders with publishers. PED officials manage district warehouses from where textbooks are delivered to schools. Manufacturers are appointed to deliver stationery.

Gauteng:

The province has appointed a managing agent to manage the procurement of both textbooks and stationery for only Section 20 schools. The managing agent manages the warehousing and distribution of LTSM to schools. Section 21(c) schools procure themselves.

KwaZulu-Natal:

The province has appointed a managing agent to manage the procurement, of both textbooks and stationery to schools.

Limpopo:

The province procures textbooks and stationery centrally for all schools. Publishers are invited to submit their lowest price. The province selects the three cheapest books on the revised catalogue and places orders in descending quantities of price and a single manufacturer is appointed per district to provide stationery to schools.

Mpumalanga:

All schools submit their requisitions for textbooks and stationery which are then verified and approved by Circuit Managers. The managing agent consolidates the quantities and places orders with publishers and stationery manufacturers.

Northern Cape:

Schools place textbook orders electronically. The province consolidates and places orders with publishers. Schools order stationery themselves

North West:

The province procures stationery and textbooks centrally on behalf of schools. The regions process orders for textbooks and stationery and forward the documentation to the province for payment.

Western Cape:

The province procures textbooks for all CAPS implementing grades centrally from publishers, directly. Schools procure stationery.

Delivery of Textbooks and Stationery by Provinces For 2015

• It should be noted that having procured textbooks for the roll out of CAPS in each of the implementing years, the 2015 textbook orders are ONLY TOP-UPS with the exception of Grade 12 Folklore which is a new genre for African Home Languages.
• Provinces placed orders with publishers with the exception of the Free State which had budget problems due to accruals.
• The top-up orders were expected to bring provinces to the expected level of universal coverage.
• It must be noted that provinces placed textbooks orders worth more than R3 billion for the 2015 school year.

Textbooks Retention and Retrieval

• Reports from provinces show that provinces have made retrieval and retention of textbooks a priority in all schools.
• A conclusive report is expected after the 2014 procurement cycle in February 2015.

2015 Workbooks

For 2015 school academic year, the DBE distributed the following Workbooks to all public schools:

•  Grade R Workbooks;
•  Literacy/language Gr 1 – 6 in 11 languages;  
•  Mathematics Grades 1-3 in eleven  languages;
•  Mathematics  Gr 4 – 9 English and Afrikaans;   
•   Life Skills Gr 1 – 3 in 11 languages; and
•   English FAL Grades 1-6.
•   Workbooks are printed in two volumes

Printing and Delivery of Workbooks

Printing of Grades 1-9 workbook 1 for 2015 academic year commenced at the beginning of June 2014 and was completed end of July 2014.

As at 30 September 2014, a total number of 19 439 (82.18%) out of 23 654 schools received 2015 workbook consignments.

An additional 1, 5 million per volume was printed to provide for delivery to the outstanding schools in the fourth term.

Grade R workbooks 1-4 and 40% of Volume 2 grades 1-9 were delivered to school in the fourth term.

EC, WC, MP, KZN, LP, NW and GP provinces formally requested 5% additional workbooks quantities through the DBE tender processes to address shortages.

Teacher Profiling

The Department explained that teacher profiling provided the basis for effective teacher recruitment, utilisation and support.

The Department explained that the Department aims to verify and capture or correct the relevant fields on PERSAL which included personal details, employment-related information and qualifications.

The Department indicated that his process of verification and capturing is hindered by the absence of PERSAL delegations, non-compliance with PERSAL delegations, ineffective capturing, lack of skills and knowledge on PERSAL; and absence of monitoring and evaluation.

The Department explained that HODs and MECs formally requested to intervene to resolve challenges to ensure the success of the project. MPERSAL data as at 31 August 2014 was analysed and a national report was formulated. Moreover, exceptions were identified per field. The exceptions were communicated to HR teams in the province for closure and letters were sent to the Heads of Departments requesting that they ensure that these exceptions are closed. 

The Department added that PERSAL Data as at 31 October 2014 was analysed to determine the extent to which qualification fields have been captured.

Mr Kojana noted the following preliminary findings from August 2014 PERSAL data:

• Only 5 out of 391 000 surnames were incorrectly captured and that these exceptions were found in the Gauteng Department of Education.

• 99.4% of First names are correctly captured.

• 99.2% of ID numbers are correctly captured.

• 98.4% of job titles are correctly captured.

• Only 181 incidents of incorrect rank have been captured on PERSAL and that these incidents involve capturing of Principals, Deputy Principals, Heads of Departments and teachers incorrectly. 
• What are the preliminary findings from August 2014 PERSAL data?

• Only four PEDs: EC, FS, GP and KZN have not ensured that the rank and job titles are correct and that there is a 97 % match between rank and job title in the sector.

• PEDs were requested to capture a minimum of three subjects that the teacher is qualified to teach and Gauteng is leading, with 70%, of minimum teaching subjects per educator being captured. The Western Cape and Northern Cape follow with 57% and 51% of minimum teaching subjects captured.

Major Tutoring Subjects

• KZN, LP, MP, NC and GP have captured 50%, 25%, 20%, 12% and 5% respectively. EC, FS, NW and WC are currently busy with capturing. It is critical that this field be captured and/or updated if we are to match what teachers are qualified to teach and what they are teaching.

Methodology

• PERSAL data as at 31 October 2014 for 9 of the initial districts was examined and the profiles in terms of qualifications, didactics and major tutoring subjects were drawn
• The following fields were considered:
  • Qualification (and whether it is professional teaching qualification);
  • Didactics 1; and
  • Major Tutoring 1.
• A percentage of the total number of teachers per district was calculated per field to given an overview of the progress made.

The Department, explained that subsequent to the capturing of profiles a qualification and utilisation profile  to determine the match between what teachers are teaching and what they are qualified to teach in all districts will be completed. Additionally, findings with regard to teacher profiles will be communicated to the Minister, MECs, Heads of Departments and all districts. Moreover, a strategy and implementation plan will be developed to address the mismatch between what teachers are teaching and what they are qualified to teach. The Plan to address the mismatch will be implemented based on the results of the profiling. Furthermore, the profiling of teachers has been included into Operation Phakisa to identify and resolve blockages within the project.

Post Provisioning Norms (PPN)

Mr Themba Kojana, Deputy Director General, DBE briefed the Portfolio Committee on the PPN and the following was indicated:

During 2013, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) commissioned research to review progress with the implementation of Post Provisioning Norms and assessing the impact of teacher provisioning, planning, utilisation and deployment through funding from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The service provider (Deloitte), conducted workshops in all nine provinces with key officials involved in the post provisioning process. The research work commenced in February 2013 and was concluded in September 2013.

One of the main findings of the report was the different ways in which the Post Provisioning Norms (PPN) and processes are implemented in Provincial Education Departments (PEDs).

Variances were noted in policy interpretation and implementation.

In July 2014, DBE officials undertook a visit to all provinces as a follow-up from the Deloitte’s report. The following practices were noted:

• Allocating additional posts to schools with learner growth (outside model);
• Running separate models for Ordinary and Special schools;
• Allocating additional posts to schools with curriculum changes;
• Setting minimum number of posts for small schools in model;
• Withholding any posts for targeted distribution outside model;
• Maintaining/increasing the number of educators without considering budget allocation;
• Targeting the maintenance/lowering of Learner: Educator Ratio;
• Non-redeployment of Excess educators without funding; and
• Not budgeting for ad hoc posts.

Across the nine provinces, three different methods of data collection were observed:

•   Paper based;
•   SASAMS; and
•   Online learner tracking.

It was noted that all schools are required to be on SASAMS by 2015.  This will greatly assist in negating data issues and issues emanating from the misalignment between EMIS deadlines and HR deadlines.  The availability of current data will also go a long way to assisting provinces with the provisioning of ad hoc posts.

KZN, EC, NC, LP and MP had noted the non-availability of clean data as an obstacle to the issuing of establishments. 

The targeting of a specific Learner-Educator Ratio to maintain the current warm bodies is another pressure or common way in which provinces are exceeding the affordable post basket.

Another common practice which opposes the distributive intent of the policy is the minimum allocation to schools e.g. no school should be a one person school.

It is also noted that some provinces are more lenient when it goes to the redeployment of excess educators from small/rural schools.

Identified Risks

• Allocating additional posts to schools with learner growth (outside model);
• Deviation from these norms would result in provinces distributing an unaffordable basket;
• Targeting the maintenance/lowering of Learner: Educator Ratio;
• Non-redeployment of Excess educators without funding;
• Not budgeting for ad hoc posts; and
• The issue of inaccurate data or typing errors is also one of the main necessitating factor for ad hoc allocations.                                 

Currently, all PEDs have declared their establishments for 2015 with the exception of Limpopo Province.

Recommendations

• The starting point for Post Provisioning should be to determine the number of posts the province can afford in accordance with the budget norms of 80:20 and 85:15;
• Training needs to be provided to both technical and management levels;
• PEDs to submit any deviations from the policy to DBE for approval;
• All provinces must adhere to the timeframes as recommended by the DBE for the PPN process;
• All provinces should have a functional Post Provisioning Team comprising of HR, EMIS and Finance;
• Migration to SASAMS should be fast-tracked and utilization of SASAMS data as the primary source of data for PPN is recommended; and
• All provinces must maintain Provincial Quintiles for the purposes of poverty redress in post provisioning.

Discussion

Ms Ms D Van Der Walt (DA) expressed concern regarding monitoring the norms and standards in schools.

Ms J Basson (ANC) referred to the presentation and remarked that the expenditure is small. She enquired as to what will happen to the unused funds and what the Department aims to do to address the unused expenditure.

The Chairperson referred to the Kha Ri Gude programme and enquired as to whether the outputs are satisfactory and that this should be discussed in another session.

Mr Padayachee responded that the bills are not the costs and that in fact, municipal officials use the schools to increase their revenue.

Mr Padayachee explained that there is a need for advocacy in education to assist in being responsible with resources and that the Department will return to the Committee to report on the progress.

Mr Padayachee referred to the Conditional Grant and commented that the Department reflects good spending based on the balance sheet. 

Mr Padayachee assessed that funds were used to relate to other issues and that the branch is assessing how to strengthen monitoring and effect school-based monitoring on the quality of the meals, with regard to School nutrition.

Mr Seliki Tlhabane, chief Director: MST and Curriculum (DBE), referred to Dinaledi schools and observed that most of the provinces are underspending and that in terms of the conditional grants that the is R170 million underspending. Mr Tlhabane explained that provinces have disputed this and said they have committed the funds.

Mr Padayachee indicated that the grant will consolidated and that with attention on the activities for the grant with better monitoring.

Ms Molalekoa explained that the nature of the projects results in late invoices and the grants which are distributed quarterly. She explained that they are aimed to ensure that the Department does not work overtime at the end of the financial year.

Mr Padayachee explained that the Department is monitoring the budget every second day however, not on the basis that any critical programme will be stopped.

The Chairperson thanked the Department for the presentations.

Training Programme for Senior Phase Subject Advisors and Teachers

The Department briefed the Committee on the Training Programme for Senior Phase Subject Advisors and Teachers and indicated the following:

• The Senior Phase and grade 9 in particular has recorded the lowest results over the years in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS) and Annual National Assessments (ANA).
• The peak in high failure, repetition, and drop-out rate starts from grade 9.
• The accumulated knowledge and skills gap from the lower grades and the inability to meet the cognitive demands of the Curriculum of the higher grades begins to reflect more in the Senior Phase.
• The interventions implemented over the years have yielded very little or no improvement at all, instead the results decreased as with the 2014 ANA results in Grade 9 Mathematics.

Explained that the Department has set a target to increase the number of learners eligible for bachelors programme to 300 000 by 2024, 350 000 learners who pass mathematics, and 320 000 learners who pass physical science. These targets are very ambitious, more than doubling the results achieved in 2010. We propose a target of 450 000 learners eligible for bachelors programme with Maths and Science by 2030.

Action Plan Goals

• Increase the number of learners in Grade 9 who, by the end of the year have mastered the minimum language and mathematics competencies for Grade 9.
• Improve the average performance of Grade 8 learners in mathematics.
• Improve the grade promotion of learners through Grades 1 to 9.

Short Term Interventions

• Training of subject advisors on content and methodology using SASOL INZALO titles for Gr 7-9
• Establishment of PLC Clusters
• Curriculum Coverage and Assessment (1+4 MODEL)
• Strengthening the Language of Teaching and Learning
• Train school principals on curriculum management
• Development and issuing  of lesson plans
• School Management to give special attention and support to the Senior Phase
• Increase the number of learners in Grade 9 who, by the end of the year have mastered the minimum language and mathematics competencies for Grade 9.
• Improve the average performance of Grade 8 learners in mathematics.
• Improve the grade promotion of learners through Grades 1 to 9.
• Increase the number of learners in Grade 9 who, by the end of the year have mastered the minimum language and mathematics competencies for Grade 9.
• Improve the average performance of Grade 8 learners in mathematics.
• Improve the grade promotion of learners through Grades 1 to 9.

Medium Term Interventions

• Proper matching and placing teachers and subject  advisors
• Investigate the possibility of increasing time allocated for Mathematics in the Senior Phase.
• Investigate the establishment of the national and provincial MST Institutes for Teacher Professional  Development
• Utilise various ICT platforms to support focus in the Senior Phase

• Finalization of provincial training plans for Gr4-7

Long Term Interventions

• Address all weaknesses identified in the Initial Teacher Development Programmes
• Institute a National Curriculum Review Process
• Investigate the possibility of allocating subject advisors per phase.
• Annual training of MST Subject Advisors in all phases to deal with identified problematic topics
• Annual training of HODs and Lead teachers in identified problem areas.
• Annual training of Principals with a focus on identified area of management.

Methodology

In response to the apparent perpetual under-performance in the Senior Phase, the DBE has developed a 3-Year Mathematics, Science and Technology teacher development plan to address the problem. The plan will be implemented in collaboration with Sasol Inzalo Foundation, and has been approved by HEDCOM and CEM. The Plan focusses on MST subject advisors, HODs and classroom based teachers.

The plan will be undertaken in three phases:

• The training is vital to address content gaps in identified topics, as well as the pedagogic skills.
• Mentoring and Support skills have been built in.
• A pre and post-test will be undertaken in all training sessions.

Training Teachers on MST

454 senior phase MST subject advisors were trained between October and December 2014. Training of HoDs and Lead Teachers is currently in progress in various provinces, and will be finalised by the end of February 2015.

The 1+4 Methodology

This methodology turns teachers into learners, promoting the principle of a teacher as a lifelong learner, one day of Teachers Learning ( preparing teachers to teach, one week at a time) and four days of structured, effective and guided teaching delivered by the same teachers in their respective classrooms.

Pre-Test and Post-Test Evaluation

On day one (each Monday), on arrival at the venue, teachers are exposed to a Pre-Test to assess their level of content knowledge of the Section of the curriculum to be delivered on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and on Friday. At the end of the day Teachers are exposed to a Post-Test to assess how well they have grasped the content which they will take to the learners in their respective classes in their schools.

High standards must be promoted at all times and that the target is that teachers obtain 80% and above in the Post-Test. Teachers obtaining less than 80% will be identified and support provided during the week of implementation and Subject Advisors will be expected to assist these teachers through Classroom Support Visits to increase their content knowledge.

Indicated that Either the Deputy Principals or the Principals in the schools will:

• be assigned the responsibility of managing Grade 7, 8 & 9, and
• Also have to play a critical role in supporting Maths Initiatives that are geared towards improving learner performance on Maths and Languages.

Timetabling

The following was explained:

• The school timetable must be structured in such a way that it will be supportive of this approach.
• The grade 8 and 9 maths teachers must not be allocated periods on Mondays but instead  be allocated double periods on Tuesday to Friday to compensate for teaching time lost while they were schooled on Mondays.
• The school management teams will have to ensure this.
• The school timetable must be structured in such a way that it will be supportive of this approach.
• The grade 8 and 9 maths teachers must not be allocated periods on Mondays but instead  be allocated double periods on Tuesday to Friday to compensate for teaching time lost while they were schooled on Mondays.
• The school management teams will have to ensure this.
• The school timetable must be structured in such a way that it will be supportive of this approach.
• The grade 8 and 9 maths teachers must not be allocated periods on Mondays but instead  be allocated double periods on Tuesday to Friday to compensate for teaching time lost while they were schooled on Mondays.
• The school management teams will have to ensure this.

The DBE will:

• provide overall leadership and oversight of the Specialised Support Team (SST),
• schedule monitoring and support sessions and inform Provinces and Districts accordingly,
• develop a comprehensive Monitoring Instrument that will be used by the SST members to collect data on all mathematics related issues in schools, districts and provinces, and
• Consolidate reports from all Provinces and compile National Quarterly Progress Report to inform the Sector on progress made and additional support required to enhance performance.

PDEs (Through Curriculum Heads and MST coordinators) will:

• address all emerging challenges that require provincial expertise,
• consolidate the district reports and submit them to the DBE, and
• Provide Districts and Schools with relevant resources to support teaching and learning.

District Directors (through Circuit Managers and mainly mathematics subject advisors) will:

•  Offer intensive and continuing support for teachers.
• offer support on content identified as problematic for teachers, especially if such support cannot be offered instantly, and
• Be responsible for compiling quarterly reports on all the monitoring and support programmes conducted, including those that were conduct outside the work of the SST.
• District Directors (through Circuit Managers and mainly mathematics subject advisors) will:
• Offer intensive and continuing support for teachers.
• offer support on content identified as problematic for teachers, especially if such support cannot be offered instantly, and
• Be responsible for compiling quarterly reports on all the monitoring and support programmes conducted, including those that were conduct outside the work of the SST.

The primary Resource will be the SASOL-INZALO Textbook that will be provided for all the teachers that transport, catering and other related costs will be covered by PEDs and that Lesson Plans and exemplar timetables will be provided to schools. It was recommended that models 1+4 and 1+9 be implemented as the first option and that that models 1 + 5 be considered as the very last option.

Discussion

Ms A Lovemore (DA) remarked that she has not seen any public support for the programme and would like to see this. Ms Lovemore noted that the Committee supports a radical intervention however, that the Committee cannot support no schooling for teachers on a Monday.

Ms Lovemore enquired as to who will train the teachers. She commented that subject advisors have been found not to be competent and would need to be trained however, the presentation indicates that they will support teachers.

Ms Lovemore enquired as to whether the Department consulted with centres of excellence such as Leap frog and Bishops.

Mr T Khoza (ANC) commented that it is a good initiative which should be supported however, that the Committee needs to know if the Department is able to support it in densely populated areas and what assistance will be available.

Mr Mweli responded that the Department would appreciate public support but that it is not the main objective. He explained that on Mondays learners will be engaged by teachers who are available and that the Department will deal with school management regarding no schooling on Mondays.

Mr Mweli explained that a plan had been implemented to support advisors and teachers.

Mr Mweli responded that the Department has consulted with partners and that it is not a priority to approach a single expert as the Department studies various models.

The Chairperson expressed support for interventions regarding Mathematics however requested a more detailed reflection of the results. The Chairperson further enquired as to the other possible modalities.

The Department explained that the teachers are trained for ten days with eight books in each subject and that the Department is emphasising planning by the teachers given maximum support to increase their content knowledge as a yearlong activity to provide the teachers with confidence using the codex.

The Chairperson expressed that it was necessary for these concerns to be raised and that the Committee supports the intervention for the sake of improving Mathematics. The Chairperson explained that the Committee will be paying close attention to progress in schools.

The Chairperson requested that the programme is monitored closely and wished the Department the best of luck.

The meeting was adjourned.