Question NW2973 to the Minister of Basic Education

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01 September 2015 - NW2973

Profile picture: Lovemore, Ms AT

Lovemore, Ms AT to ask the Minister of Basic Education

Whether she intends to foster a partnership with the Expanded Public Works Programme to utilise (a) unemployed matriculants to assist in schools as (i) administrative staff or (ii) teacher aides and (b) less qualified unemployed persons to assist in schools as (i) gardeners, (ii) cleaners or (iii) maintenance staff; if not, will she consider such an arrangement; if so, what are the relevant details?

Reply:

(a)  There is an already existing partnership with the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) which is co-ordinated by the Chief Directorate on Special Programmes Office (SPO) in the Department of Social Development (DSD). Provincial Education Departments utilise unemployed matriculations to assist in schools as:

    (i) Administrative Staff; and

   (ii) Teacher Aides.

(b) Less qualified persons are part of the PEDs as:

  (i) Gardeners;

  (ii) Cleaners; and

 (iii) Maintenance Staff.

In addition to the programmes above, the following programmes are part of the Expanded Public Works Programme:

 (i) Early Childhood Development (ECD): The ECD programme provides ECD practitioners with the necessary skills to increase their capacity to generate an income while providing education and care to young children in ECD centres.

(ii) Kha Ri Gude: Volunteers are paid a stipend to provide illiterate adults an opportunity to learn to read and write; and

(iii) The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP): This programme which employs community members as volunteer food handlers to provide food to children from needy families and thus addressing malnutrition, it employs gardeners to tend school gardens, and also Administrative Assistants and unemployed youth, who do financial tracking and data capturing in schools.

Regular sector meetings are held to monitor and support implementation.

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