SA Council of Educators, National Board for Education &Training & National Students’ Financial Aid Scheme Annual Reports 2005/6
Basic Education
14 November 2006
Meeting Summary
A summary of this committee meeting is not yet available.
Meeting report
EDUCATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
14 November 2006
SOUTH AFRICAN COUNCIL OF EDUCATORS, NATIONAL BOARD FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING
& NATIONAL STUDENTS’ FINANCIAL AID SCHEME ANNUAL REPORTS 2005/6
Chairperson: Prof S Mayatula (ANC)
Documents handed out:
NBFET Annual Report
2005/6 Presentation
NSFAS Annual Report
2006 Presentation
SACE Annual Report 2006/7 available at www.sace.org.za
SACE 2006/7 Budget
SACE Strategic Plan 2005
- 2008
SACE Response to National Policy Framework for Teacher Education
and Development
Draft National Policy Framework For
Teacher Education And Development In South Africa
SUMMARY
The South African Council for Educators (SACE); the National Student
Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS); and the National Board
for Further Education (NBFET) briefed the Committee on their Annual Reports for
2005/6.
SACE is responsible for licensing and registering teachers, promoting their
professional development and safeguarding ethics in the profession. Some of the
challenges and concerns was that the SACE database is not completely reliable
and there is not enough teacher development due to lack of funding. It pointed
out that South African educators are generally professional because only five
were struck off the roll during the year under review.
NSFAS awarded its millionth student loan and for the first time over 100 000
students had been assisted per annum. Only 2% of its annual budget is spent on
administration. Administrative expenditure is kept as low as possible and
includes salaries, IT equipment and services, communications and workshops.
The NBFET Chairperson said that the shortage of artisans had partly been caused
by the privatisation of Telkom, Transnet,
Eskom and other parastatals.
The NBFET, as an advisory body, made a number of recommendations regarding
South Africa’s skills shortage to the Department of Labour and Department of
Education; government and the private sector. These included aligning
vocational learning pathways and ensuring delivery from Sector Education and
Training Authorities (SETAs).
MINUTES
South African Council for Educators (SACE) briefing
Ms A Cereseto
(Chairperson: SACE) and Mr Rej Brijraj
(CEO: SACE) presented the SACE annual report for 2005/6. SACE was established
in terms of the SACE Act of 2000. It comprises of nominees of education groups
and councillors appointed by the Minister of Education. It is the second
largest council of teachers in the world. Its three areas of operation are:
- Determination of compulsory registration criteria
- Promotion of teachers’ professional development
- Safeguarding ethics in the profession.
SACE has been constrained by insufficient funding. Most of its income of R36
525 180 for the year under review came from teachers’ registration and
subscription fees. During the period under review, SACE registered about 15 000
teachers. About 1800 Early Childhood Development registrations were recorded
separately. Foreign educators would also be registered separately. It is
difficult for teachers to get through to the offices by telephone and the
registration procedure is taxing. A call centre should be established to deal
with the demand from teachers. Auditors questioned the reliability of the
database. SACE had now changed its service provider to a state one.
Regarding ethics, only five educators were struck off the roll during the
period under review, which seemed to indicate that teachers were not ‘drunken
molesters’.
SACE, in partnership with teacher unions, delivered Professional Development
Portfolio workshops in four provinces and 1412 teachers participated in
Integrated Quality Management System workshops in two provinces, in partnership
with provincial education departments. This is aligned with the National
Framework on Teacher Education policy although teacher development by SACE is
admittedly ad hoc. Some stakeholders were critical of the fact that it was not
compulsory for teachers to accumulate Professional Development points by
attending courses. However, SACE would first ensure that teachers had access to
affordable courses.
SACE has no permanent offices but has been using the Education Labour Research
Council offices. It was noted that SACE was inaccessible to many teachers.
Discussion
Mr R Ntuli (ANC) said that some teachers viewed
licensing and registration negatively. He proposed that SACE strengthen its
link with teachers by publishing a quarterly journal.
Mr R van den Heever (ANC) stated that teachers were
clamouring for the right to use corporal punishment. Was SACE running
programmes to demonstrate alternative forms of ‘punishment’?
Mr A Mpontshane (IFP)
enquired if opinion was divided on pregnant learners being given maternity
leave. What was SACE’s view on this and on HIV/AIDS?
Was SACE consulting with one union only, and if so, why?
Mr G Boinamo (DA) asked what benefits SACE offered
teachers, especially when SACE was inaccessible to them. There was no balance
between the rights and responsibilities of learners and teachers. Stressed
teachers had no discretion to punish learners, who should also have a code of conduct.
The Chair asked the presenters to expand on their view that the SACE Act was
sometimes too prescriptive.
Ms Cereseto said that licensing was a problematic
concept and agreed that teachers who were inadequate should face consequences.
However, teachers should be given time to overcome the legacy of their
inadequate training and facilities. Other difficulties were providing
opportunities for professional development. Relicensing
could be punitive. Teachers wanted to use corporal punishment because they did
not have behaviour management skills. Discipline was a problem in schools.
Parents had fought expulsion and won on technicalities and it was true that
protection of the learner had gone too far. SACE had a good relationship with
the union but were not being held to ransom by them. Prof Y Jiya,
SACE councillor, also agreed that licensing of teachers should be shelved.
Maternity leave for learners was not an issue except in the media. Corporal
punishment was not advised for disciplining children. The majority of teachers
needed confidence in using alternative forms of discipline but SACE lacked
sufficient capacity to run enough courses. The law was too prescriptive in that
teachers were required to have a code of conduct but learners were not.
Mr B Snayer, council member, said that subscriptions
of R2 a month had remained unchanged for seven years although costs had
increased annually. The Medical and Dental Council had de-listed thousands of
practitioners in the last 12 months. SACE would have to review the once-off
registration payment and would negotiate with unions. Consequences of lack of
professional development would be ‘self-punitive’ but when teachers flagrantly
violated the Act, SACE would act. SACE partnered and assisted others in rolling
out HIV/AIDS programmes where possible. They did not want legislation regarding
pregnant learners but teacher should be more caring.
The Chair reiterated Mr Boinamo’s question about the
benefits of SACE registration to teachers and justifying an increase in the
levy.
Prof Jiya said that SACE had visited provinces to do
advocacy work but had run out of funds. They lacked the capacity to offer
programmes.
National Board for Further Education and Training (NBFET) briefing
Mr D George (Chairperson: NBFET) stated that education and training would be
under pressure to alleviate poverty and create employment for the next ten
years.
The FET Act of 1998 requires the NBFET to Report on the quality
of Further Education and Training (FET) and monitor and report annually to the
Minister on the sector’s goals and performance.
The NBFET is composed of ordinary members drawn from stakeholder
representatives and non-voting members drawn from Heads of Departments of the
Provincial FET Directorates. The Board is an advisory body to the Minister and
not a policy making body.
The Minister had raised the following challenges:
- Systemic development, led by the Department of Education, with support from
government and private sector
- Positioning of the FET colleges as key levers for skills development
- Increasing the number of students in high quality vocational programmes
- Developing high quality modern and responsive FET programme
offerings
- Development and employment needs and opportunities related to major capital
development projects over the next ten years
- Differentiation of the FET college system according to national and
provincial priorities
The Board’s response was that the FET sector would have to receive significant new
investment in teaching and learning resources and equipment in the next five
years. Administration, governance, management, teaching and learning and the
entire academic support systems should be re- oriented.
FET colleges, formerly numbering 153, had been merged into 50 and spread around
the country. The Department of Labour and the
Nationals Skills Development Strategy had driven the process of revitalising skills development but colleges were still
inaccessible to some learners due to the distance and fees. Banks were
unwilling to offer financial aid to FET college learners and support was not
available from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. Programme
offerings had also been made more modern and relevant.
Telkom, Transnet, Eskom and other parastatals
previously trained a large number of artisans but had ceased to do so after
privatization. FET colleges could give theoretical training but there were
insufficient businesses willing to take the students for practical work. The
state offered incentives to companies willing to take on learners. Companies
are awarded R50 000 over two years, the first R25 000 when the employed
learners registered at a FET college and the second R25 000 when the employer
offered the learner a contract. Unfortunately many companies offered only a
one- year contact and retrenched the learner at the end of his first year of
employment and pocketed the incentive. Mr George
listed the achievements and numbers of Existing artisan/learnerships
interventions undertaken under the auspices of the NSDS and the
Skills Development Act and Manpower Training Act between 2001 and 2005 and
those that would be achieved between 2005 and 2010. The target of 50 000 artisans
trained by March 2010 could be achieved within the current skills development
framework and resources without major adjustments.
The
Departments of Labour and Education and other government departments, should,
in the short term:
Facilitate alignment between the three pathways (FET; Learnerships
and Apprenticeship) to achieve artisan level or equivalent status.
- Maintain and provide data on learners with N1 – N 6 qualifications for
recruitment purposes
- Conclude new tax allowances for learnerships and
apprenticeships.
- Focus on Artisan delivery, especially in scarce and critical skills through
additional funding
- Secure internal government usage of the 1% levy budgeted for training and
reporting,
- Ensure adjustments on prioritized trades, improved moderation, adjusted
assessment standards in identified priority trades.
Business and Labour should:
- Commit to make SETAs function and deliver on their
agreed targets
- Actively canvass and make workplaces available for young people to obtain
experiential learning, and to fulfill trade union and employer obligations
towards these learners.
- Reach agreements on the percentages of learners to be recruited and to be
placed in full time employment after training
- Work together on Workplace Skills Plans and implementation and compilation
and submission of the Annual Training Report.
- Work closely with the Departments of Labour and
Education to clarify relations and alignment between NQF learnership
levels and various Trades in their sectors.
- Provide dedicated mentors for young people and
Commit additional funding beyond 1% skills levy funds towards training.
The following issues need to be addressed urgently:
- Schools
- Monitoring, evaluation and reporting
- Programmes, curriculum and accreditation
- The National Qualifications Framework (NQF)
- Teacher shortages in schools
The NQF review had been outstanding for four years. Quality assurance was a problem both in work
and education. Three years of theoretical training without any experiential
workplace learning was too long.
There are currently no agreed performance indicators to measure quality
of implementation in FET so it was not possible for the NBFET to report
comprehensively on the quality, goals and performance in the FET sector in as a
whole. There is a need for an educationally sound quality measurement system
which should be integrated into FET Management of Information System.
The use of drugs amongst learners was a major issue that had to be dealt with.
There should also be campaigns to raise awareness. Mr
George stated that people were making millions from drugs and the problem
should be tackled in two ways – by stopping the supply and by educating
learners.
Discussion
Mr Boinamo asked what the NBFET Board was doing to
ensure that trainee artisans got work placement and why learners could not be
aided financially.
Ms M Matsomela (ANC) said that South Africa had
learnt some lessons from 1994 and initiated the Accelerated Shared Growth
Initiative of South Africa (ASGISA). She urged all to remember academics and
not end up with a problem regarding their capacity in 10 years time.
Ms P Mashangoane (ANC) said that all colleges should
employ clinical psychologists to counsel drug addicts. Members of Parliament
had children who had qualified as engineers and were frustrated by short work
contracts.
Mr George stated that the Deputy President had made agreements with the
Minister of Finance and the CEOs of Eskom, Transnet and others to
train learners for the broader South African economy. The Minister of Finance
would be asked to allocate funds. He agreed that it was discriminatory that FET
college learners had more difficulty acquiring financial assistance, but as the
NBFET Board was an advisory body, they could only make recommendations. A
percentage of education budgets had to be spent on research, including FET
colleges.
National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) briefing
NSFAS
was established in 1999 to grant, administer and recover loans and bursaries to
eligible students at public higher education institutions.
The
main focus of NSFAS as contained in the NSFAS Act is:
- To redress
past discrimination and ensure representivity and
equal access;
- To respond
to human resource development needs of the nation; and
- To establish
an expanded national student financial aid scheme that is affordable and
sustainable.
From
2005 to 2006 new grants had increased from R724.5m R 954.8m; R265.9m had been
re injected in 2006 and 75% of courses had been passed. About 107 000 students
had been assisted. The average Award size was R11 384 (up from R9 973 in 2005). R329.4m had
been repaid. The one millionth loan was issued and the number of students
assisted per annum exceeded 100 000 for the first time.
In
order to qualify for assistance a person must be:
- a South African citizen, registered at public South African Higher Education
Institutions
- studying for a first higher education (undergraduate) qualification
- able to demonstrate potential for academic success
- is financial needy as determined by the NSFAS National Means Test.
The minimum award was R2000 and the maximum R30 000 in 2005/06. Interest was
calculated at 5% a year.
Over 98% of NSFAS funds are spent on direct award to students. Less than 2% is
spent on administrative expenses. This includes salaries; IT equipment;
communications and workshops; and auditors and actuaries.
The organisation’s strategic goals are:
- To provide access to higher education to needy South Africans who are
academically able,
- To raise funding to enable it to realise its aims
- To confirm a new allocation formula that is in line with other education
imperatives
- To make NSFAS the funder of choice,
- To optimise staff capacity
- To implement e- business strategies to enhance its efficiency.
E- business strategies would be a key area of focus
and would include the use of electronic loan agreement forms. Legislations such
as the Children’s Act (which will reduce the age of majority) and the National
Credit Act would also affect NSFAS operations. NSFAS would improve
communications with higher education institutions, especially with Vice- Chancellors
regarding audit findings, and would reach out to private and public sector
partners to form new funding initiatives.
Discussion
Mr Boinamo congratulated Mr Taylor on his ‘meticulous spending
of taxpayer’s money’. He was also impressed by the repayment rate and asked if
those repaying were employed.
Ms Mashangoane asked how the national average cost of
study was calculated and whether proof of South African citizenship was
‘authentic’. She noted that only 5% of the administrative budget was allocated
to communication and suggested that workshops be held to raise awareness of
NSFAS. She said that most parents were not literate and therefore communication
by post was not entirely satisfactory.
Mr Ntuli asked how a student was classified as needy.
Prof Mayatula asked why students dropped out even
though they passed.
Mr Taylor replied that most graduates and people who
dropped out, repaid loans. Parents seldom did. If unemployment declined, loan
recovery would increase. The requirements for repeating courses were lenient –
most students were allowed one or two years longer than a three- year degree to
complete it. The cost of study was calculated by studying how much tuition plus
accommodation and food would cost in various places and a weighted average was
arrived at. NSFAS verified identity numbers with the Department of Home Affairs
annually. Communication was via radio several times a year and a full- time
communications officer travelled constantly all over South Africa. Neediness or
the means test was determined by looking at the family income, the number of
family members and the cost of living where the family lived. Most families
could not contribute to the cost of study. The dropout rate was similar to the national
average but the average NSFAS student was more disadvantaged than the average
South African student.
Ms Mashonagoane added that there were students in Limpopo who did not know about NSFAS.
Mr Taylor said that letters were addressed to all students on the provincial
education departments’ lists of those who would be writing the matric exam but Limpopo was less
co- operative than other provinces.
The Committee then attended to editing and amending its reports on visits to Oudtshoorn and the North West province and the
recommendations arising from these visits.
The meeting was adjourned.
Audio
No related
Documents
Present
- We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting
Download as PDF
You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.
See detailed instructions for your browser here.