Progress Update on School Infrastructure; Implementation of History as a Compulsory Subject; with Ministry

Basic Education

19 November 2024
Chairperson: Ms K Maimela (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Video

The Portfolio Committee met on a virtual platform for briefings from the Department of Basic Education on school infrastructure delivery and the implementation of history as a compulsory subject in the school curriculum.

Members welcomed the Department’s efforts to develop a new history curriculum for Grades 10 to 12 which focused more on Afrocentric subject matter, as the current curriculum was deemed to be too Eurocentric. It was hoped that the learners would be instilled with a global and continental Afrocentric historical consciousness which would prepare them to be global citizens. Additionally, the new curriculum would introduce oral traditions and folklore for learners in Grades 4 to 9.

In the discussions, Members asked about the estimated cost of implementing history as a compulsory subject; the programme to eradicate pit toilets at schools; schools’ access to water in rural areas; the impact of rural-to-urban migration trends; and electricity provision at schools. Other questions concerned the proposed new history curriculum and the status of school infrastructure. Members asked about the Department’s collaboration with relevant stakeholders in addressing school infrastructure backlogs and requested specific statistical information from the Department.

Meeting report

Opening remarks  

The Chairperson welcomed Members to the meeting. It would focus on some key areas identified as important by the Committee. These were the provision of school infrastructure and a progress report on making history a compulsory subject in schools.

The Chairperson said she wanted to highlight how far South Africa had come in terms of schooling system infrastructure. A review done by government in 2014 on the status of school infrastructure indicated that the picture in 1994 showed immense backlogs in access to water, access to electricity, access to adequate on-site sanitation as well as access to laboratories and libraries. These were mostly in black communities and were caused by the disproportionate allocation of resources by the Apartheid government. The allocation of resources was minimal. For example, there were classrooms with 45 learners for one teacher. During that time, most schooling was in areas where black people were historically marginalised residents.

The country has come a long way since the dawn of democracy. New schools had been built and there had been a concerted effort to bridge the immense backlog,

However, there were still glaring gaps in public school infrastructure. The Committee’s discussion with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) ought to provide a comprehensive overview of how bad the situation was and what progress had been made. What were the challenges in providing adequate school infrastructure?

While one could speak of achievements in this area, there was still a prevalence of schools lacking adequate water supply and electricity. The lack of laboratories and libraries was still an issue, especially in rural areas. Internet access was a key infrastructure for effective education provision. This was still a huge challenge for schools in historically marginalised communities.

The Committee had received reports that South Africa had more than 24 000 public schools. She hoped that the Department would provide an overview of which of those were functioning. This was because some of the schools had been merged while others were no longer functioning.

The country had begun from a bleak picture and work had been done since then. Some people who had been to rural schools during the bad times could now return to those schools and see improvements. However, there were areas where there had been a change, and that was what the Committee wanted to focus on.

The Chairperson said the debate about history as a subject in schools had highlighted the importance of incorporating it into the curriculum. It fostered social cohesion and ensured that South Africans understood their responsibilities as citizens. South Africans ought to appreciate the journey that the country’s people have undertaken over the years. Once South Africans understood their history, it would assist citizens and future generations to become more patriotic, fostering social cohesion.

One of the key areas of engagement for the Committee was to receive an update on the ministerial task team (MTT) that was established to investigate the integration of history into the school curriculum. The Committee wanted to know how prepared the education system was to implement the recommendations of the MTT.

The Chairperson welcomed the Minister, Deputy Minister and their team to the meeting.

Minister’s remarks

Ms Siviwe Gwarube, Minister of Basic Education, noted that the Committee was meeting on World Toilet Day which was a global commitment to ensuring safe and dignified sanitation for all. 

She said the DBE’s Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative spoke to the commitment made by government to acknowledge that there was still inappropriate infrastructure such as pit toilets. They were unsafe and undignified for many South Africans. In achieving education outcomes, the Department had to create a conducive educational environment. In that vein, the SAFE initiative was established in 2018.

To date, the SAFE initiative has completed 3 145 out of the 3 375 targeted sanitation projects. Corporate and social partners helped the DBE clear the backlog. The previous day, she had been in rural KwaZulu-Natal, handing over flushing toilets at a primary school, which, for many years, had only basic pit toilets for over 600 schoolchildren.

The Minister said the  Medium Term Budget Policy Statement would have an impact on the DBE’s approach towards infrastructure delivery. The Finance Minister had announced that the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) and School Infrastructure Backlog Grant (SIBG) would be merged. This was so that funds would primarily be assigned to infrastructure and dealing with the infrastructure backlog at a provincial level.

Minister Gwarube said the DBE had argued that it would be useful for SIBG to remain with the Department so that it could intervene when provinces were not performing at the Department’s preferred pace. National Treasury argued that its decision would streamline grants.

This meant that the DBE had to reimagine how it dealt with infrastructure delivery. It had to adopt a more robust oversight rule. It had to do more grant management work with provinces and provide more capacity building for provinces to deal with infrastructure backlogs.

The Minister said she thought it was important to “flag” the matter with the Portfolio Committee. From the beginning of the new financial year, the Department would no longer have the SIBG.

She hoped that the presentation by the Department would show that it was not only concerned about numbers, but also with providing dignity and safety to people. She wanted the Department to highlight some of the challenges that they faced. Infrastructure was the education sector’s Achilles heel. It was a constantly moving target. However, she believed that the Department was energised to try to meet its commitments by the deadline of 31 March 2025.

Briefing: School Infrastructure

Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, Director-General, DBE, provided an update on school infrastructure. His presentation covered progress with infrastructure delivery; learner safety; support and monitoring of projects; and measures to counter poor maintenance and vandalism.

(See attached presentation for details)

Update: Implementation of history as a compulsory subject

Mr Pule Rakgoathe, Education Specialist, DBE, provided background information on the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) on the Implementation of History as a Compulsory Subject. The MTT was appointed on 04 June 2015 to advise the Minister of Basic Education on the possibility of offering history as a compulsory subject in the Further Education and Training (FET) band. The team began work in March 2016 and completed it in December 2017. The MTT report was presented to the public on 31 May 2018.

The report stated that some history should be made compulsory in the FET band and should replace Life Orientation (LO) as the fourth fundamental subject. LO  should remain compulsory in the  General Education and Training (GET) band until Grade 9, and the content should be strengthened. The report recommended that under GET social sciences, history should be separated from geography and be a stand-alone subject.

The MTT report noted that the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) had serious limitations and required a complete overhaul. The CAPS syllabus and content were deemed to be very Eurocentric and not focused on building the character of an African learner. Africa-centredness should become a principal in revisiting the content.

The presentation provided an overview of the draft GET curriculum framework for Grades 4 to 9. It would encourage the exploration of a complex and nuanced pre-colonial past and introduce oral traditions and folklore as elements of history. There would be an introduction to archaeology. It would provide an introduction to the development of pre-colonial African society as well as an introduction to world history.

The draft FET curriculum for Grades 10 to 12 would reintroduce learners to the key concepts in historical evidence, with a special focus on oral traditions. It would reintroduce pre-colonial epochs with a greater depth and complexity. The curriculum would include archaeology and palaeontology. There would be a focus on global history moving away from the parochial, Eurocentric and Cape-centric history of South Africa.

(See attached presentation for details)

Deputy Minister's remarks

Dr Reginah Mhaule, Deputy Minister of Basic Education, reiterated that infrastructure delivery was a moving target. The DBE faced new demands from cities, towns and metros because people were migrating to where there was economic activity. This created huge pressure on school infrastructure. For example, in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, an extra 60 schools were needed. 

The fact that the SIBG grant was directed to provinces presented another challenge. This was because the Department implemented projects at a national level with a bird’s eye view to focus on dire situations. Some rural provinces did not spend on infrastructure because it was difficult to attract the relevant professionals. That was why when the Department had to redirect funds, they went from rural to urban provinces. The DBE’s monitoring should be conducted at least monthly to monitor their spending, backlogs, renovations and infrastructure maintenance.

On the topic of history, the Deputy Minister commented that following the dawn of democracy in South Africa, most sectors of society indicated the need for history to be taught as a compulsory subject. The “new” South Africa should create a “cohort of new South Africans” who understand their origins. 

Because there were so many priorities in the DBE, such as aligning and coordinating 18 different departments, the attention of the Department was diversified. It had various issues to address such as girl children not being allowed to do maths and science. This was too overwhelming for a single education department.

The call for history to be made compulsory was not neglected but “remained behind”. That was why, in 2015, the Minister of Basic Education called for a MMT. The MMT investigated the possibility of making history a compulsory subject at the FET level because it was only compulsory from Grade 1 to Grade 9. The DBE wanted to make history compulsory in Grades 10,11 and 12 because it believed that at that age, the students were mature. Many learners dropped history in favour of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. 

The Deputy Minister said she wanted South Africans to understand their heritage and history. The Department believed that the Portfolio Committee would help it push for the successful implementation of history as a compulsory subject. The recommendation for the move was currently a work in progress and should be sped up. The next year would mark 10 years of the MMT. The Department felt that 10 years without clear fruit was not satisfactory. The history currently being taught was from a Western perspective instead of an African one.

South Africans should know themselves through history as it would instil a sense of patriotism in all, especially future South Africans. South Africa belonged to black and white as long as they were born in the country, had parents born in South Africa and had documentation proving their South African citizenship.

The Department could not wait 10 years for a progress report. The Department should consistently report on its progress in terms of teacher development, resource packages, and curriculum, as well as what exactly is required in those areas.

Discussion

Ms N Mashabela (EFF) asked about the estimated cost of implementing the history policy, including training materials and resources. Did schools have adequate infrastructure to accommodate the change? How many teachers are currently qualified to teach history?

What funds were allocated and utilised for infrastructure projects? What steps were being taken to ensure transparency and accountability in financial management? How was the Department addressing issues related to irregular expenditure?

Dr D Christians (DA) commented that it was exciting that history would be included in the curriculum going forward. This had been on the table for a very long time. She was aware that the process had not been finalised yet. Exactly what changes to the current history curriculum were proposed and which grades would be affected? Would it be only the FET band or the lower grades as well? How would controversial and sensitive historical topics be addressed? What would the timeline be for rolling out history as a compulsory subject? Had there been any engagement with stakeholders such as educators and parents? 

Dr Christians asked how South Africa’s diverse historical narratives would be reflected in the curriculum. What measures would be established to prevent bias and politicisation in teaching history? 

Having asked all those questions, she wanted to reiterate that she still felt that making history a compulsory subject was an exciting proposal. The Committee was looking forward to what the new history curriculum would hold for the future of South Africa.

Regarding Mr Mweli’s presentation, Dr Christians commented that she was concerned about the maintenance and sustainability of school infrastructure. During oversight visits, the Committee had seen that although the construction of schools took place, the schools were unable to maintain their infrastructure. What strategies were there to ensure ongoing maintenance? How were schools supported in this regard? Mr Mweli had spoken about oversight, but she wanted to know how the Department was being supported to deal with ongoing infrastructure maintenance.

Monitoring and evaluation were key in assessing the impact of infrastructure improvement. What systems were in place to monitor the progress and quality of current infrastructure projects? How was the Department assessing the impact of those improvements on education outcomes specifically?

Dr Christians noted that Mr Mweli spoke about the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) and SAFE programmes and asked what milestones had been achieved in those programmes.

The Committee was aware of delays and challenges in completing infrastructure projects in various provinces. What obstacles hindered timely completion? What measures were in place to address and mitigate these at the end of Quarter 4 of the financial year?

Ms C Jordaan (DA) said she recognised the importance of fostering an understanding of the past and promoting critical thinking and understanding of societal issues.

What career pathways or opportunities would studying history provide for learners, since the subject would not be an elective one in the FET phase? It was important for learners to be able to choose whatever interests and career aspirations they might have. This was a critical stage in their schooling where such decisions were made.

It appeared that life orientation would be removed from the FET phase and replaced with history. Was this a correct interpretation? What was the implication, since the subject had aimed to equip learners with essential life skills and holistic development?

Ms Jordaan asked about resource constraints. The Committee should see a cost analysis of implementing history as a compulsory subject, especially considering current budget constraints. How would the department fund the training of teachers and development of materials? 

Ms P Ncube (MK) noted that the presentation indicated that only three of the nine provinces were visited by the Developmental Support Group (DSG). Given an ongoing water crisis in the country, what plans did the Department have to supply water to schools? Had the Department considered using boreholes? 

Many schools had an ongoing electricity crisis as the electrical systems were in place but were not functioning. Had the Department considered using solar panels to solve the problem?

Mr S Louw (ANC) commented that it was encouraging to hear about the progress in the school infrastructure programme. The Department's audit results would aid an understanding of the specific areas of success and those requiring further attention. Transparency in the audit would help the Committee assess the overall impact on learners’ safety and educational quality. It was fundamental that the Committee should promote a safe and healthy learning environment through improved water and sanitation access. It was essential that the Committee should continue to monitor the maintenance of schools and engage with other stakeholders on key issues of public works.

Mr Louw commended the Department’s commitment to eradicating pit latrines and achieving its targets. He encouraged the Department to keep it up.

He recommended that teaching learners to look after their belongings should be included in the curriculum to reduce vandalism and the need for repeated maintenance. 

Mr Louw asked the Department for statistics on the schools currently lacking access to water and sanitation. What measures were there to expedite improvements in those areas? How did the DBE plan to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of infrastructure improvements?

He asked why the Department had taken so long to implement the 2018 report regarding the implementation of history as a compulsory subject. He suggested that the Department should investigate potential sabotage by departmental officials. The COVID-19 pandemic during that time could not be used as an excuse.

History had long been sidelined in the curriculum. His own research indicated that this was due to the bias of administrators. The importance of history in fostering a sense of identity and belonging among learners could not be overstated. The current curriculum had been criticised for its Eurocentric focus and he was happy that Mr Mweli had highlighted the matter. 

It was essential to revise the history curriculum to adopt an Afrocentric perspective. The shift would not only reflect the dual narratives of Africa but also empower learners by providing them with a more relevant and reliable educational experience. This was so that learners could celebrate African achievements, African culture and its contributions to world history, thereby fostering pride and identity amongst learners. The Department should reprioritise the reintroduction of the subject of history in all schools where it had been discontinued. Mathematics should also be reinstated to ensure all learners can access fundamental subjects.

Mr Louw said he still believed that biased departmental officials could have engaged in sabotage. To counteract that, the Committee should set clear implementation timeframes. By June 2025, the Committee should receive a clear indication of the Department’s progress.

The Chairperson acknowledged the presence of Ms Melanie Buys and requested that she introduce herself to the Portfolio Committee.

Ms Buys said she represented the Solidarity School Support Centre. His organisation was concerned with curriculum and infrastructure support. She indicated she had some comments on infrastructure she would like to make.

The Chairperson stated that only Portfolio Committee Members were allowed to engage with the DBE’s presentation.

Ms Buys responded that she was specifically invited to be part of the meeting.

The Chairperson explained that Ms Buys was invited but only as an observer. The Committee was open to different organisations who would interact with the Committee on specific issues. Those organisations would write to the Committee so that time and space would be created for them to present different viewpoints that they believed would be informative to the Committee. She reiterated that space would be provided for those organisations.

Ms Buys responded that she would continue to attend the meeting as an observer.

Ms Ncube said she had a few questions on the topic of history teaching.

The DBE had indicated that there would be budget cuts. How would the department deal with a shortage of history teachers considering that the compulsory history mandate would require more teachers who specialised in history? What were the strategies for the paradigm shift related to curriculum transformation?

The Chairperson stated that out of 22 589 public schools, there were 800 that still lacked an adequate and constant water supply. Of the 800 schools, 600 relied on harvested rainwater. Two hundred relied on boreholes and those boreholes were unreliable, especially during the dry season.

The Chairperson said to the Minister that the additional information provided on monitoring buildings still did not provide a picture of the progress made so far. The state of school infrastructure was a disaster. This was of concern to parliamentarians who were responsible for ensuring that the executive provided education. They needed to understand to what extent this disaster was reported. She suggested that the Committee could summon all provinces to discuss infrastructure, because the Department and provinces had competing responsibilities.

The Chairperson requested that Mr Mweli break down the additional information requested by Mr Louw. She asked for a breakdown of exactly how many of the 22 589 public schools still had no consistent water and electricity provision. Some schools had no electricity provision because they were unable to pay their municipal bills or there were issues with the electricity supply. A number were still without libraries or laboratories. When the Committee had that comprehensive understanding, it would be able to appraise the Department's interventions. 

The Committee preferred that the information come straight from the Department instead of the media. Information obtained from provinces could be used to judge whether interventions by the Department were able to deal with the current situation.

The Chairperson said the Minister had stated that the challenges in South Africa’s schooling systems would be resolved by collaborating with different departments. She wondered if the Department would be willing to do road shows to meet with all provincial departments about the plans of the provinces and their own allocations and to assess the commitment of key stakeholders in fast-tracking the work.

The Chairperson asked if, at a certain level, the Department was willing to use the district development model to fast-track work. The collaboration of different government stakeholders should also involve the private sector. For example, recently, in Limpopo, she was informed that two schools would be built by a mine.

The Committee looked forward to the Department having some form of infrastructure commitment drive where all stakeholders, province-by-province, committed to establishing a timeframe.

The comprehensive breakdowns requested by the Committee should include the migration trends mentioned by the Deputy Minister. Some schools were merging and others were no longer going to be utilised. The Committee needed that kind of information for conversations with other Portfolio Committees about the need to stimulate economic activity in rural villages. The migration from rural to urban areas created “all sorts of crises” and multiplier effects such as increased demand for human settlements. It was essential for the Committee to comprehend those migration patterns and the ways in which they resulted in white elephants in infrastructure development.

Responses

Minister Gwarube referred to the Committee’s questions about history teaching and the MMT. She cautioned against delving into the details of how making history a compulsory subject would be accomplished and which grades would be affected. The reason was that she and the Deputy Minister needed to be apprised by the MMT of its findings. This was so that the Department did not “jump the gun” by making commitments in this meeting. As a newly appointed Minister, she would like to be given the opportunity to examine the research.

She asked the Committee to steer away from asking the Department for specific details such as the estimated cost of making history compulsory and the number of qualified teachers. Those were questions that the Department was currently unable to answer because the work had yet to be completed. Once the work had been completed and a report was in, the Department would have a good sense of the recommendations. It could then return and answer some of the questions.

The Department had the information for the breakdown which had been requested. What the Department tried to accomplish with the infrastructure report was to provide a good sense of “where we come from”. She agreed that the Department had to lead the charge in providing concrete and reliable data on the infrastructure backlog that they were experiencing with pit toilets.

In response to a question on the support provided to schools in provinces, the Minister explained that the role the DBE would play was monitoring, supporting and providing oversight. The DBE should consider recommendations about the application of the district development model, conduct an infrastructure road show, and work with other departments in a multifaceted strategy.

The DBE had already begun to craft a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI). The DBE wanted to tap into the DPWI’s budget and expertise. The DBE had developed relationships with corporate and social partners.

Minister Gwarube said she wished to provide clarity on the figures provided. The backlog identified in 2018 when the SAFE project began pertained to pit toilets. Just under 4 000 were found. The DBE, its partners and provincial departments then started working hard to clear the backlog. Once the backlog was cleared in the next year, it did not mean that the Department would not discover other pit toilets. The Department’s first objective was to eradicate the backlog that had been identified and then proceed to the next step of ensuring that other pit toilets were located and eradicated.

In response to Ms Jordaan, the Deputy Minister stated that life orientation (LO) was a very important subject that the Department could not remove, especially in the lower grades until Grade 9. LO was where learners were taught the life orientation processes they needed to know. Even in Grades 10, 11 and 12, LO was still needed as an additional subject.

Mathematics was provided at a very low scale, but the Department had expanded it to be taken up by the majority of learners. She agreed with the Minister in saying that the Department was still going to come up with a proper report and recommendations and the financial implications. The schools' curriculum would be as is with the addition of history in Grades 10, 11 and 12.

As indicated in the presentation, the three provinces that benefited from the  ASIDI and EIG projects were the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and Limpopo. Visits to monitor other departmental activities and services took place in all the provinces. All 75 education districts were monitored during exams and winter schools.

Mr Mweli responded to Ms Mashabela. He said he felt that the history matter had been addressed and reiterated that it was work in progress. Once the Department anticipated implementation, the full cost would be provided.

Mr Mweli noted Dr Christians’s comment that the proposed changes were exciting. The grades that were affected were Grades 4 to 12. There were indeed issues of sensitivity. South Africa had a diverse history and reflection of that history must be carefully navigated.

Once the Department was ready, a plan would be crafted. Timelines would be included. Dr Christians would be one of the major stakeholders to be consulted as the Department proceeded. The presentation highlighted the consultations that had taken place. When the Department tackled implementation, the same process would be followed.

Dr Christians’s comment on maintenance and sustainability was correct. The DBE had now communicated that 60 percent of the EIG must go towards maintenance and upkeep of schools. The Department could not continue to build schools that they were unable to maintain. Some of the schools that were built were currently run down. He acknowledged that the state of those schools was a result of the Department’s inability to maintain them regularly.

The Department was establishing “unimaginable measures” such as training people to clean their facilities. It was common sense that when one used a facility, they must clean and leave it in a better condition than before. The Department used excellence awards as one of its measures to encourage schools to maintain their facilities. 

Monitoring and evaluation were conducted by the provincial district officials along with DBE officials. These went out and monitored school infrastructure. Construction was not the sole focus. They provided pictures of vandalism and poor upkeep of facilities. 

Mr Mweli said the data from schools, districts and provinces was unreliable. The only reliable audit to provide the breakdown requested by the Chairperson and Mr Louw was condition assessment. That involved travelling to schools, not sending a questionnaire to school principals or sending district officials to investigate what was available. Instead, condition assessment involved sending experts to provide information asset by asset. 

The Department had not conducted a condition assessment for many years. When the Department approached National Treasury, indicating they wanted to “slice EIG” and conduct a condition assessment, they refused. Condition assessment could only be properly conducted by experts in infrastructure. Schools responded “yes” when asked if they had access to water but those schools depended on harvested water, which was not ideal. The Department wanted to investigate if those schools had access to clean, safe running water. Experts could distinguish between rain-harvested water and clean, purified water, which is safe for consumption.

The Department needed reliable data that would only come from condition assessments conducted by independent people who went school by school, as had been done many years ago. It was a huge exercise but would be worth it and an investment for the country for many years to come.

Mr Mweli said to Ms Jordaan that he thought the subject of history still offered many career path opportunities. Journalism was one of them, as was teaching history.

He wanted to correct the impression that the Department intended to remove LO as a subject. LO contributed to the holistic well-being of the child. History could be incorporated in LO for social cohesion.

Mr Mweli said all nine provinces had benefited from ASIDI and EIG grants but the provinces that benefited most were the Eastern Cape, KZN and Limpopo. He reiterated that the Department monitored all nine provinces. 

The Department had plans in place about access to water. Every year when provinces presented their proposed projects to the DBE, the Department insisted on the priorities of water, sanitation and electricity being included. The Department convinced the provinces to include them, but he conceded that the Department could improve their current performance.

Schools were no longer encouraged to have boreholes as they were unsustainable. Heavy rains were not experienced in the country and the water table would dry up. The Department could provide a list of schools with boreholes. 

The Department had placed solar panels in schools but they were stolen. This was a consistent problem. He commented that “they will be in the informal settlements; they will be in other areas where the people feel that they need them most”. The Department had concluded that the idea would not work at schools due to vulnerability to constant theft.

Mr Mweli agreed with Mr Louw about the importance of an audit. However, the best and most credible and independent audit could be done through centralised condition assessment. It would provide the DBE with status updates on every school and every class, as well as information on laboratories or libraries. The Department needed to go back to National Treasury about providing the funds to conduct a condition assessment.

On the issue of restoring history as a subject in schools that did not have it, the Department would go back and reflect on the matter as they had also dealt with schools that discontinued mathematics and science.

Once the Department had conducted an assessment of schools affected by migration trends, a report would be provided to the Portfolio Committee.

Closing remarks

The Chairperson commented that going forward, she felt that the Minister, Deputy Minister and Mr Mweli could have a conversation with the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (DME) when they conducted the ten-year review. The Portfolio Committee should have a serious engagement with the DME about condition assessment. She agreed that it was very important.

The Chairperson felt it was very important for the Committee to know exactly what they were dealing with in regard to school infrastructure. That would enable it to determine the resources needed, and for how long, to make a desirable impact. After 30 years of many interventions, the Committee had to go back and evaluate those interventions.

Regarding the maintenance culture and budget, she felt that Mr Mweli should return to the Committee and report on the matter. The problems went beyond just the upkeep of the facilities. She wondered whether the 60 percent allocation to maintenance addressed the number of cleaners at schools. When one travelled to certain schools and examined the number of classrooms, the number of learners and the number of cleaners, one would realise that there was no way they could maintain their upkeep. She did not feel that there was capacity in terms of both human resources and utilising funds. In some schools, there were leaking roofs. This was something that could be maintained and was not even a huge issue.

The Chairperson suggested that the Minister needed to re-examine the Department’s maintenance culture. Maintenance could even become part of the performance agreements with principals and heads of Department. 

One of the water crises the country had was the poor maintenance of water infrastructure by municipalities. It was important that the same mistakes should not be repeated.

The Chairperson said her understanding of the presentation was that the MTT made five recommendations, and one was the removal of LO. She had a sense from the presentation that the recommendation was not considered. It was correct not to consider a replacement of LO.

Moving forward, the Committee agreed that the current curriculum content for Grades 4 to 9 was seriously Eurocentric. History, in her view, was told from a certain lens. For her, it was about South Africans learning history that was factual. History was about events that shaped current factual occurrences. The major focus of history content was memorising when Jan van Riebeeck arrived in South Africa. How it was pitched and taught to South Africans did not comprehensively capture the true reflection of what transpired in the continent and the country.

The Chairperson said she was happy with the recommendation that the Eurocentric curriculum should be overhauled. She expressed excitement about the inclusion of anthropology. She suggested that it would be beneficial for the Department to reflect on the current content covered from Grades 4 to 9.

She was encouraged by the responses of the provinces and the limitations they foresaw with regard to human resource aspects and the overloading of the curriculum. It would be beneficial for the Committee to get an understanding of what the current curriculum content entailed and what the draft changes were.

The Committee would look at its schedule and see when it could schedule a session before April 2025. It wanted clarity on the MTT’s progress so that the Department did not request a further extension or change to the MTT beyond April 2025. It would be beneficial for the Committee to engage with even a draft report. 

One of the issues identified as a challenge for Parliament’s work was the quality of public participation. Did young people who were going to shape and build this country have an appreciation of how Parliament worked? Did they know how government worked, how a department worked, and what the roles of the DBE were? A citizenry empowered with that kind of knowledge would be able to hold the government accountable. It was important that such education be infused into those future adults through the curriculum.

The Committee believed in fostering social cohesion and ensuring South Africa had a patriotic, informed and empowered future citizenry.

The Chairperson thanked the DBE, the Minister, the Deputy Minister and Mr Mweli for the information provided. She granted Ms Ncube one minute for a follow-up question.

Ms Ncube said she wondered if security in schools would be fixed. Students and teachers were dying.

The Chairperson thanked Ms Ncube for her input and hoped that the Department had taken note. These were not isolated incidents. She hoped that additional steps would be taken to ensure the safety of learners and staff.

The officials were allowed to leave the meeting. 

The Chairperson said that the discussion on infrastructure was originally supposed to include scholar transport and nutrition. However, it was decided to unbundle the two as the presentation on the infrastructure was too big. The issue of scholar transport and school nutrition would be considered at an upcoming meeting.

The meeting was adjourned.

 

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