Questions and Replies

Reply:

 (a)(i)(ii)

Province	Number of Vacancies
EAST CAPE	6 111
FREE STATE	1 117
GAUTENG	3 898
KWAZULU-NATAL	7 044
LIMPOPO	4 933
MPUMALANGA	1 931
NORTH CAPE	726
NORTH WEST	1 205
WESTERN CAPE	4 497
NATIONAL	31 462

 

(b) The filling of vacant posts at schools is an ongoing process to ensure that there is no class without a teacher for all grades. For Post Level One vacancies, schools are allowed to recruit at local level and immediately as the vacancy occurs and make temporary appointments. These appointments are then made permanent upon ensuring that the educator meets the requirements of the post. By law, a temporary appointment in a vacant substantive post must be made permanent after three months. In the case of promotional posts, schools are allowed to make acting appointments, especially for critical posts such as those of Departmental Head and Principal while the formal recruitment and selection process is undertaken. In addition, in order to address immediate workload challenges that result from vacant promotional posts, schools are allowed to appoint temporary educators against a vacant promotional post until the vacant promotion post is filled.

Reply:

Resource provisioning for schools, which includes resourcing for library and information services, is a function located in provinces. The Honourable Member is therefore advised to direct her question to the Members of the Executive Council. 

Reply:

1.National School Safety Framework
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Provincial Education Departments continue to implement the National School Safety Framework (NSSF), which is a guiding framework in addressing all forms of violent incidences in schools including drug abuse. The NSSF empowers schools to identify and manage all safety threats in schools, establish school safety committees comprising of stakeholders such as teachers, police officers, school governing body members and learner representative council members. Furthermore, The NSSF also empowers schools to develop incident reporting mechanisms, establish collaborations with external stakeholders such as the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Social Development and civil society organisations, develop school safety plans and policies to respond to safety challenges of violence in schools for both learners and educators. Through the implementation of the NSSF, access control measures in schools are strengthened and awareness programmes on social ills by partner departments and civil society organisations are implemented in schools. 

2. Partnership Protocol between the Department of Basic Education and the South African Police Service 
The Department also has an established Protocol with SAPS to address crime and violence in schools. The Protocol has enabled all schools to be linked to their local police stations, SAPS to conduct searches and seizures in schools and conduct crime awareness campaigns in schools. Regularly, schools work with SAPS and local community police forums and social workers to address violent incidents such as gangsterism, bullying, drug abuse and the carrying of dangerous weapons in schools. Searches and seizures of illegal drugs and dangerous weapons are also done in schools. SAPS identifies hot-spot areas and inform the provincial Education Departments of such areas, this enables the department to procure metal detectors for schools in those areas. 

3. Life Orientation Curriculum
The  Department continues to implement  the Life Skills and Life Orientation curriculum in classrooms, which is the main lever for preventing violence in schools amongst learners. The DBE implements this Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement annually and it covers the following violence related topics: bullying, drugs and substance abuse, gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy prevention.

4. Protocol For the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Harassment in Schools. 
The Department developed a Protocol for the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Harassment in schools which provides schools, districts and provinces with standard operating procedures/guidelines when addressing allegations of sexual abuse and harassment, and to specifically detail how schools must respond to reports of sexual abuse and harassment perpetrated against learners and school staff. It serves to ensure a safe, caring and enabling environment for learning and teaching, both inside and outside of the classroom. This protocol sets out an approach that enables educators and employees of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to identify, intervene, report and provide support to all learners who are sexually abused or harassed in school, whilst providing an appropriate response to perpetrators of all forms of sexual abuse and harassment. It has been printed,  distributed and mediated in the sector. 

Reply:

Part (1) There is no such policy or action in the Department to hold children back or force learners out of school for good results. 

Part (2): Causes of the rise in school dropout

The question states that there has been an increase in dropping out of school. On the contrary, the DBE’s analysis of trends in the sector indicates that dropout rates (however defined) have been steadily reducing over the years. The graph below shows completion rates for grade 7 (measured using 16-18-year olds), grade 9 (measured using 19-21-year olds), and grade 12 (measured using 22-25-year olds), all of which have clearly been increasing over time. It should be noted that the slight decrease in grade 9 and 12 completion rates in the graph for 2022 are not statistically significant and therefore should not be interpreted as evidence of a declining trend. The clear trend over time is positive.

During the 2020 and 2021 there were concerns about the potential impact of the pandemic-related disruptions on dropping out. But it is now clear that school participation actually improved during the pandemic (with the exception of young children where we saw a slight increase in delayed entry into school). 16-18-year-olds, in particular, had higher attendance rates than before, and the NSC examinations of 2020-2023 achieved all-time records for the numbers of candidates writing, the numbers of NSC passes, the numbers of Bachelor-level passes, and the pass rate.

It is therefore difficult to answer a question about how the department responded to an increase in dropout when in fact there has been no increase in dropping out.

Completion rates for grade 7,9  and 12 over time

 

Source: DBE analysis of STATS SA General Household Surveys, 2002-2022

Reply:

(a)(b)(i)(ii)The National Department of Basic Education does not collect information, as part of its framework of regular monitoring, collect information to the level of the detail that is requested, that is, area of specialisation and grade. The Honorable member is kindly advised to request the information directly from the Provincial Education Departments.

Reply:

The Department collects child support grants information as part of the biographical data of learners. However, it is self-reported and dependent on learners (or parents) providing the information. The data provided below are learners who are 18 year-old and indicated that they received social grants and still attending school for the period indicated. This includes ordinary and Special Education Needs (SEN) learners attending Public Ordinary, Special and Vocational Schools. Learners from Grade 9 are mainly attending Vocational and Special schools. 

Table 1: Number of 18 year-old learners that received child support grant in 2023

Reply:

1. Pregnant and Other Learners that have written the examination from Hospital

2020	85
2021	140
2022	150
2023	209

 

2. The Regulations Pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management of the National Senior Certificate Examinations makes provision for learners who are ill or confronted with any other circumstance beyond the candidate’s control, that prevents them from writing the examination, to be allowed to write the next examination.

a) (i) (ii) However, in exceptional cases, provision is also made for the writing of examinations in hospital. This is to accommodate girl learners who are pregnant or learners who are unwell and admitted to hospital, but are capable enough to write the examination. Such a learner and the parent will submit a formal request to the Head of Examinations in the province, to write the examination in hospital. The application must be submitted with a report from the medical practitioner attending to the learner, confirming that the learner is in a state of health to write the examination and that the learner cope with the stress of the examination 

b) Once the Head of Examinations has approved the writing of the examination in hospital, guidance and direction is provided by the Provincial Head Office on the protocol to be followed to manage the administration of the examination. An invigilator will be appointed, preferably from the district office to supervise the examination. The first step is for the district office, to liaise with the hospital where the candidate will be writing the examination to ensure that the venue is suitable for the examination, in terms of the criteria relating to an Examination venue. The most important is that the venue must be isolated from the other patients and security must be maintained. The invigilator will collect the question paper from the district office and follow the normal rules relating to the writing of an examination. The script will be collected and returned to the district office and included in the correct batch with the other scripts from the centre where the candidate was registered to sit for the examinations. The subsequent processes follow the normal process flow relating to the management of scripts.

c) Every effort is made to ensure that learners that request to write and examination in hospital are accommodated. No cases have been reported to the DBE relating to a Province neglecting to provide learners with the necessary question papers after the arrangements were finalized, with regard to writing the examination at a hospital. If there was such a case, this should be brought to the attention of the DBE and the matter will be fully investigated and remedial measures will be put in place and consequence management will be implemented if there has been a dereliction of duty.

Reply:

(a) and (b)

The Department of Basic Education collects data of schools that incudes class data on learners and teaching staff. However, it should be noted that it is self-reported. The data used below includes teaching staff that are paid by the State and School Governing Bodies as well as ordinary and Special Education Needs learners that attends Public Ordinary, Special and Vocational Schools. 

The Department provided Learner Educator Ratio (LER) for primary and secondary rather than per grade due to low response rate in terms of educators indicating the grades that they are teaching. It is also to be noted that the teaching staff includes Principals and other School Management Team members that have reduced contact time and therefore lowers the LER.

Table 1: Learner Educator Ratio in primary and secondary schools, by province, in 2023.

Province	PRIMARY SCHOOL	SECONDARY SCHOOL
EC	29,0	32,5
FS	31,6	29,6
GT	31,9	29,0
KZN	30,4	31,2
LP	35,4	30,7
MP	33,2	30,4
NC	30,2	25,3
NW	32,3	29,7
WC	30,5	29,4
NAT	31,6	30,3

 

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) collects child support grants information as part of the biographical data of learners.  However, it is self-reported and dependent on learners (or parents) providing the information. Currently the DBE is unable to provide a response in terms of dropout learners as the Department is still in a process of tracking learners who might have moved to other sectors (such as the Department of Higher Education and Training) as they are not considered as dropouts.  

The data provided below are learners who are 18 years and indicated that they received social grants and still attending school for the period indicated. This includes ordinary and Special Education Needs (SEN) learners attending Public Ordinary, Special and Vocational Schools. Learners from Grade 7 to 9 are mainly attending Vocational and Special schools. 

Table 1: Number of 18 year-old learners that received child support grant in 2022

Table 2: Number of 18 year-old learners that received child support grant in 2023

 

Reply:

There are no such events planned nor is there a budget available for it. 

Reply:

(1) (2) (a) The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Gauteng Province. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Education for Gauteng Province as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education(DBE) signed a collaborative Implementation Protocol with the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) on Learner Road Safety. Included in the programme is the roll-out of the Learner Driver Development Programme. The main focus of this protocol has been on the scholar patrol programme. The Learner Driver Development Programme  in which the DBE plays a supporting role has not officially started.  

Reply:

(1) The allocation of educator posts to schools  is regulated through the post provisioning norms. The main purpose of the norms is to ensure equity and redress in the distribution of available posts across provinces, taking into account, among other factors such as the number of learners; curriculum composition; size of the school; language medium; ideal maximum class size and the poverty level. The norms in the post provisioning norms are transferred into a post distribution model, which is then used to distribute posts in an equitable manner across all schools. The model applies an elaborate system of formulas which take into account all factors in the post provision norms. The copy of the post provisioning norms is attached for reference. 

(2) All provinces follow the same formula which is nationally regulated through the post provisioning norms.

(3) (a) (b) The Department does not, as part of its regular monitoring, collect vacancy information to the level of detail requested . The Honourable Member is, kindly, requested to direct this specific question to the Provincial Education Departments.

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) remains committed to the use of the National School Safety Framework (NSSF) as an effective and operative overarching framework to assist schools in identifying and managing safety issues, and to ensure that schools are safe and provide for inclusive environments for teaching and learning. 

At its core, issues of bullying remain the responsibility of the schools via their codes of conduct, which are outlined in the NSSF with the intention of preventing and managing incidents of misconduct within the school environment.  Learner codes of conduct are developed by schools, in consultation with the school governing bodies and learner representative councils.  The codes of conduct stipulate the rules of learner behaviour in schools, and the disciplinary procedures to be undertaken after incidents of contravention are reported; as well as the sanctions which are imposed against perpetrators who are found guilty.  This gives learners a sense of ownership over their school environment, and the safety of themselves and their fellow learners at school.  With support from the district and provincial education offices, schools are mandated to ensure that learners abide by their codes of conduct, and that incidents of bullying do not occur within the school.

This being said, the department takes incidents of bullying in all schools very seriously, and any and all measures are taken to ensure that these incidents are managed appropriately, and prevented as is pro ti ally possible.  In line with this, the Department of Basic Education is currently developing a national strategy to assist schools with preventing and managing cases of bullying, including cyber-bullying.  This strategy aims to address systemic causes of bullying to ensure that this social ill is eradicated from our schools, while also providing a practical guide for schools to deal with incidences of bullying on the ground.

Additionally, the DBE has partnered with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DC&DT) and other partners including Google, Films and Publications Board, Media Monitoring Africa and Meta, to design and implement an effective programme on online safety and cyber-bullying in schools across the country.

The Department is confident that these measures in combination, will provide schools with the support they need to keep learners and educators safe within their classrooms, and ensure that bullying is prevented in our schools.

Reply:

(1) (2) and (3) The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Members of the Executive Council (MECs) of the 9 Provincial Education Departments (PEDs). The Honourable Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MECs as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

(a) (i) Please see attached

(b) (c) (d) The requested information resides with the provinces. The Honourable member is kindly requested to direct the question to the Members of the Executive Council (MECs). 

Reply:

The Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, implemented as the Basic Education Employment Initiative across all provinces has had four (4) successful Phases, of which Phase IV concluded in September 2023.  As there is no phase currently active, there are no teaching assistants employed in the Basic Education Sector. 

Reply:

The Department has measures in place to deal with a principal or SGB that conducts theft, fraud or extortion that are linked to a school. Should there be a school(s) that is/are alleged to have been involved in such and not dealt with, the Department requests for names of such and the related allegation(s).

Reply:

There were no new vehicles purchased by the department for the Minister and Deputy Minister since 8 may 2019. The Deputy Minister vehicle was the last to be acquired on 13 December 2018, refer to the detail information below. 

 

What is the (a) make

        (i) Mrs AM Motshekga, MP Minister

1. BMW                                          
2. Mercedes Benz              

        (ii) Dr MR Mhaule MP Deputy Minister  

1. BMW                       
2. AUDI      

(b) Model

         (i) Mrs AM Motshekga, MP Minister

1. 535i                                                   
2. GLE 500                                             

(ii) Dr MR Mhaule MP Deputy Minister 

1. 530i                          
2. 3.0 Q7 TDI Quattro   

(c)  Year of Vehicle Manufacture                 

        (i) Mrs AM Motshekga, MP Minister

1. 2014          : BMW Sedan
2. 2016          : Mercedes-Benz

        (ii) Dr MR Mhaule MP Deputy Minister 

1. 2018          : BMW Sedan  
2. 2018          : AUDI Q7        

(d) Price              

       (i) Mrs AM Motshekga, MP Minister

1. BMW                      : R769,022.76                                     
2. Mercedes-Benz     : R849,900.00 

        (ii) Dr MR Mhaule MP Deputy Minister 

1. BMW                     : R833,488.41        
2. Audi                       : R1,015,702.05

(e) Vehicles purchase date     

       (i) Mrs AM Motshekga, MP Minister

1. BMW                     : 25 September 2014                                                 
2. Mercedes-Benz     : 26 October 2016                                                

        (ii) Dr MR Mhaule MP Deputy Minister 

1. BMW                     : 28 March 2018         
2. Audi                       :13 December 2018    

Reply:

The DBE will work with PEDs to ensure the implementation of section 19 of SASA, which expects of the PEDs to have a programme to train SGBs.  Part of the training! will be on keeping schools safe for learners and teachers.

The DBE will ensure the implementation of section 18A of SASA, which expects of PEDs to have in place a Code of Conduct of the School Governing Body, aimed at establishing a disciplined and purposeful school environment, dedicated to the improvement and maintenance of a quality governance structure at a public school.

Furthermore, PEDs will be monitored that they have a programme to—

1. provide introductory training for newly elected governing bodies to enable them to perform their functions.  This training will include SGB roles and responsibilities and the importance of having a mission that is in line with the PED vision; and
2. provide continuing training to governing bodies to promote the effective performance of their functions or to enable them to assume additional functions. The training will amongst other areas cover policy development by SGBs.

The DBE will also support PEDs to take Representative Council of Learners to play a role in contributing to school safety and security.

Schools will be required to involve the parents in ensuring that schools are safe for learning and teaching.

Reply:

(a) What is the total number of inappropriate and unsafe ablution facilities?

1. In 2018, the Department of Basic Education launched the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE-2018) initiative. 
2. This programme initially identified 3 898 schools dependent on basic pit toilets.  Additional 809 were identified during the process of monitoring.
3. 867 schools did not proceed to implementation, after initial assessment, because they either had appropriate sanitation facilities, OR only needed maintenance; and therefore did not meet the SAFE criteria; OR were on Private land and could not be developed further; OR schools closed due to low learner enrolment.

(b) What progress has her department made in replacing such inappropriate and unsafe facilities?       

1. 3 379 schools proceeded to implementation, and 3 003 of these schools have been provided with appropriate sanitation.
2. DBE plans to complete the balance of the schools in the 2024/25 financial year due to National Treasury budget cuts during 2023/24 financial year. 

Reply:

(a)  All provinces have established QLTC structures, with the exception of the Western Cape Province.  Functionality is informed by programmes that are implemented in each province.  The DBE has shared programmes for implementation through the Provincial QLTC structures and the District QLTC Structures.  

The challenge is that where QLTCs have not been established, they have not been incorporated as part of the SGBs.  The DBE is taking advantage of the 2024 SGB elections to re-establish and strengthen QLTCs; and ensure that they are both functional and have programmes in place.  The number of functional QLTC structures in each province is provided on teh table below.

(b)

NAME OF PROVINCE	NUMBER OF SCHOOLS WITH QLTC STRUCTURED	NUMBER OF FUNCTIONAL QLTC STRUCTURES
Eastern Cape	5 283	2 030
Free State	1 026	718
Gauteng	2 400	326
KwaZulu-Natal	5 898	1 769
Limpopo	3 038	1 880
Mpumalanga	1607	769
North West	1 564	866
Northern Cape	289	104
Western Cape	0	0

Reply:

Learners of parents who accepted placements as allocated by PEDs are in schools. Entry grades learners have been placed.

(a)(i) A majority of learners was placed during the school closing of 2023.  PEDs continued to place learners at the beginning of 2024 school year, especially those that were not part of the admitting province. (a)(ii)  The statistics of these learners are changing on a daily basis, as the learners get placed.  The actual data is managed by PEDs.

 (a)(iii)  Some learners followed their parents to areas that are economically viable.  Some parents refused placements, as they were not of their schools of choice, even though their schools of choice were full.

(b)(i)  Learners should be placed before the end of term. The DBE is monitoring progress closely and getting regular feedback from provinces.

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education have a number of ongoing strategies and programmes to curb violence in schools, including the following:

1.    National School Safety Framework
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Provincial Education Departments continue to implement the National School Safety Framework (NSSF), which is a guiding framework in addressing all forms of violent incidences in schools including drug abuse. The NSSF empowers schools to identify and manage all safety threats in schools, establish school safety committees comprising of stakeholders such as teachers, police officers, school governing body members and learner representative council members. Furthermore, The NSSF also empowers schools to develop incident reporting mechanisms, establish collaborations with external stakeholders such as the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Social Development and civil society organisations, develop school safety plans and policies to respond to safety challenges of violence in schools for both learners and educators. Through the implementation of the NSSF, access control measures in schools are strengthened and awareness programmes on social ills by partner departments and civil society organisations are implemented in schools.

 By the end of December 2023, The following number of schools were physically trained on the NSSF: 1441 schools were trained in the North West, 3220 schools were trained in KZN, 229 schools were trained in Gauteng, 535 schools were trained in Northern Cape, 508 schools were trained in Mpumalanga, 1483 schools were trained in the Eastern Cape, 151 schools were trained in the Western Cape, 18 schools were trained in the Free State.

 The DBE together with its partner the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute further developed an NSSF digital training course for school communities, to enable access to the training anywhere in the country. The course has been accredited by the South African Council of Educators. As a result, educators will receive 15 Professional Development Points (PDP) for successfully completing the course. The DBE released a circular in September 2022, compelling all school based personnel and school safety committees to complete the digital training by 31 March 2023. To date, over 130 000 people have completed the course. 

2.    Partnership Protocol between the Department of Basic Education and the South African Police Service 
The Department also has an established Protocol with SAPS to address crime and violence in schools. The Protocol has enabled all schools to be linked to their local police stations, SAPS to conduct searches and seizures in schools and conduct crime awareness campaigns in schools. Regularly, schools work with SAPS and local community police forums and social workers to address violent incidents such as gangsterism, bullying, drug abuse and the carrying of dangerous weapons in schools. Searches and seizures of illegal drugs and dangerous weapons are also done in schools. However, these searches and seizures are only done if there is reasonable suspicion of violence in the school. 

3.    District Monitoring of School Safety Programmes
The Department further conducts annual monitoring of districts on the implementation of school safety programmes including the NSSF, the DBE and SAPS Protocol and the Prevention and Management of Bullying in Schools. In the monitoring sessions, the Department always encourages districts to conduct physical monitoring in schools, in order to determine if schools are implementing the above-mentioned school safety programmes and provide the necessary support. In the financial year of 2023-24: the Department has monitored 25 districts across nine provinces on all school safety programmes including bullying prevention in schools.

4.    Protocol to deal with Incidents of Corporal Punishment  
The Department developed and published a Protocol to Deal with Incidences of Corporal Punishment in schools to highlight the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools and to provide provinces, districts and schools with guidance on how to deal with issues of corporal punishment should such cases arise. The protocol foregrounds the following:
•   The steps to be taken by provincial, district, circuit and school SMT in reporting the incidents of corporal punishment in schools.
•   The complaints procedures are outlined and the measures to be taken at every level of the system are explicit and include the labour relations processes in response to perpetrators of corporal punishment as well as sexual abuse and harassment.
•   In line with the NSSF, the Protocol further supports schools in ensuring safe and supportive learning environments that use protective behaviour, positive discipline, restorative justice and positive behaviour intervention support systems.

The Protocol has been printed and distributed to provinces, districts and schools across the country. In complementing the Protocol, some Provincial Educational Department have trained schools on Alternatives to Corporal Punishment in schools. 

5.    Inter-Departmental Campaign on the prevention of Violence, Bullying, Corporal Punishment, Gender-Based Violence, Learner Pregnancy, Drugs and Substance Abuse
The Department and its partner Departments: Social Development, Health, Justice and Constitutional Development, Correctional Services, the South African Police Service, Home Affairs, The Presidency and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies have also embarked on an Inter-Departmental Campaign on Violence Prevention. This Campaign raises awareness on issues such as the prevention of bullying, corporal punishment, gender-based violence, learner pregnancy and drugs and substance abuse in schools. The Campaign has been championed by the Deputy Minister of Basic Education and is supported by other Deputy Ministers from the partner Departments. The Campaign has been targeting districts with high levels of crime and violence known as hot spots. The Campaign mobilizes school communities (educators, learners, School Governing Bodies, ward councillors, parents and civil society organisations) to fight crime and violence in schools, collectively. In addition, the Campaign further includes build up events that take groups of learners through priority content areas related to violence prevention; including prevention of bullying, corporal punishment, gender-based violence, drugs and substance abuse.

To date, the Campaign has been rolled out in six provinces: Gauteng (Gauteng West District), Limpopo (Sekhukhune East District), Mpumalanga (Nkangala District), North-West (Dr Kenneth Kaunda District), Eastern Cape (Nelson Mandela) and Kwa Zulu-Natal (Pinetown District). The Department further plans to roll out the Campaign in other provinces in new financial year. The community activations include aawareness raising of the steps to take as illustrated in the Protocol for the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Harassment in Schools.

Moreover, provincial education departments in partnership with partner departments and various civil society organisations regularly conduct awareness campaigns on social ills negatively impacting schools through school assembly talks, dialogues and debates.  

6.    School Codes of Conducts 
The Department requires all schools to develop learner codes of conduct in consultation with the school governing bodies and learner representative councils. The codes of conducts stipulate the rules of learner behaviour in schools and the disciplinary procedures to be undertaken after incidents of contravention are reported, and sanctions which will be undertaken against the perpetrators who are found guilty. This gives learners a sense of ownership over their school environment, and the safety of themselves and their fellow learners at school. 

7.    The National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug Use Amongst Learners in Schools. 
The DBE and Provincial Education Departments continue to implement the National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug Use Amongst Learners in Schools which aims to create an enabling environment for those learners who have become addicted to alcohol and drugs to access treatment, care and support services. Through the strategy, schools are empowered to conduct drug testing, and manage learners who have tested positive accordingly. By the end of 2023; the North-West has trained 1332 schools on drug testing, while the Western Cape trained 46 schools on drug testing. Creating drug-free school environments is a key component to providing learners with a safe learning environment free of violence. 

8.    The Prevention and Management of Bullying in schools

The Provincial Education Departments have continued to train schools on the Prevention and Management of Bullying in schools. The schools have been empowered to identify various forms of bullying, identify perpetrators and victims of bullying, develop reporting mechanisms of bullying in schools and develop anti-bullying policies which are aligned to code of conducts. By the end of 2023, at least 1441 schools were trained in the North-West.  

9.    Life Orientation Curriculum
The  Department continues to implement  the Life Skills and Life Orientation curriculum in classrooms, which is the main lever for preventing violence in schools amongst learners. The DBE implements this Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement annually and it covers the following violence related topics: bullying, drugs and substance abuse, gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy prevention.

10.    Online Safety and Cyberbullying Programme 
The Department of Basic Education partnered with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DC&DT) and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education and conducted awareness sessions on cyber-safety and cyberbullying in schools. The awareness sessions took place in Harry Gwala District on 23-24 November 2023 in the following schools: 

a)    Ebuta Junior Secondary School
b)    Umzimkuku Junior Secondary School
c)    DRC Junior Secondary School
d)    Stranger’s Rest Junior Secondary School
 

A total of 132 learners were reached throughout the awareness sessions. The Department will continue to work with DC&DT and other partners including Google, Films and Publications Board, Media Monitoring Africa and Meta in implementing an effective programme on online safety and cyberbullying in schools across the country.

11.    Protocol For the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Harassment in schools. 
The Department developed a Protocol for the Management and Reporting of Sexual Abuse and Harassment in schools which provides schools, districts and provinces with standard operating procedures/guidelines when addressing allegations of sexual abuse and harassment, and to specifically detail how schools must respond to reports of sexual abuse and harassment perpetrated against learners & school staff. It serves to ensure a safe, caring and enabling environment for learning and teaching, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

This protocol sets out an approach that enables educators and employees of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to identify, intervene, report and provide support to all learners who are sexually abused or harassed in school, whilst providing an appropriate response to perpetrators of all forms of sexual abuse and harassment. It has been printed and distributed to provinces. 

Reply:

(1)The consultations happened over a period of the last two years with 15 platforms of engagement that are coordinated by 15 different Secretariates, internally and externally. 

(2) The requested information will be collated and made available to the Honourable Member as soon as possible. 

Reply:

1. National School Safety Framework

The Department in collaboration with Provincial Education Departments, has continued to train schools on the implementation of the National School Safety Framework (NSSF) which is a guiding framework in addressing all forms of violent incidences in schools including bullying. The NSSF empowers schools to identify and manage all safety threats in schools, establish school safety committees comprising of stakeholders such as teachers, police officers, school governing body members and learner representative council members. By the end of December 2023, The following number of schools were physically trained on the NSSF: 1441 schools were trained in the North West, 3220 schools were trained in KZN, 229 schools were trained in Gauteng, 535 schools were trained in Northern Cape, 508 schools were trained in Mpumalanga, 1483 schools were trained in the Eastern Cape, 151 schools were trained in the Western Cape, 18 schools were trained in the Free  State.

The Department in collaboration with the Wits RHI has also developed and rolled out the NSSF digital training course. This course has received SACE Accreditation and a circular was released to all provinces, districts and schools to complete the training. To date, over 130 000 people nationwide competed the training.

2. The Prevention and Management of Bullying in schools

The Provincial Education Departments have continued to train schools on the Prevention and Management of Bullying in schools. The schools have been empowered to identify various forms of bullying, identify perpetrators and victims of bullying, develop reporting mechanisms of bullying in schools and develop anti-bullying policies which are aligned to Codes of conduct. By the end of 2023, at least 1441 schools participated in the training in the North-West.  

Moreover, the Department also requires schools to develop and implement anti-bullying policies, in line with the schools' codes of conduct. The Codes of conduct are developed by the School Governing Bodies and adopted by learners and parents of the schools. They further highlight the disciplinary procedures to be undertaken after incidents are reported and sanctions which will be undertaken against the perpetrators who are found guilty.  The Department is also in the process of developing a new Bullying Prevention Strategy which will guide the sector on how to deal with bullying in schools holistically. 

3. District Monitoring of School Safety Programmes

In the financial year of 2023-24, the Department has monitored 25 districts across nine provinces on all school safety programmes including bullying prevention in schools. Through the monitoring sessions, the Department encouraged districts to regularly monitor schools on the implementation of codes of conduct and collaborate with various key partners such as the Department of Social Development, Childline and civil society organisations, and parents to address the scourge of bullying in schools.  

4. Learner Support Agents (LSA) 

Through the HIV and AIDS Conditional Grant, the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and Global fund support, Learner Support Agents (LSAs) are placed in schools to provide support to vulnerable learners, link learners to health and other social welfare services and ensure that care and support activities function better in schools.

LSAs play a crucial role in providing capacity to existing structural arrangements in schools that aim to ensure the school environment remains inclusive, with particular attention paid to vulnerable learners. They are a key liaison between the school and external partners, including other government departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private partners who provide care and support to vulnerable learners and their families. 3947 Schools have LSAs placed, with 323 Child and Youth Care Workers also allocated to schools to support bullying and mental health and psychosocial support programmes.

5. Suicide Prevention and Mental Health

A School information pack for Principals, Educators, School Support teams and leaners was developed and disseminated to raise awareness on risks, warning signs and support for teenage suicide during the Teenage Suicide Prevention week which ran from 11 – 18 February 2024. The information pack included: A poster, pamphlets, a video and social media posts.

The Department is in the process of putting together a suicide prevention school kit. The school kit will capacitate schools to assess their ability to prevent suicide among students and respond to suicides that may occur, understand strategies that can help students who are at risk for suicide, understand how to respond to the suicide of a student or other member of the school community, identify suicide prevention programmes and activities that are effective for individual schools and respond to the needs  of each  students. The kit will be rolled out in September 2024.

Reply:

None 

Reply:

(1) The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has the responsibility to develop the National Catalogue which lists all Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) and from which Provinces have to procure for their  respective schools. Subsequently, the DBE develops a sector plan which is a guide for provinces to develop their aligned provincial management plans for procuring learning materials for the ensuing year. The Sector plan details the procurement activities and timeframes to be observed when procuring any learning material. The Sector plan is attached as reference, as to when provinces can start with the procurement processes.

(2) The procedure is that Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) receive their budget allocations from their respective Provincial Treasuries to carry out their activities, amongst which is the buying and distribution of textbooks relative to the number of enrolled learners per school (see attachment). The detailed information regarding receipt and amount of budgets / allocations received, can be requested from the Provincial  Education Departments. The Honourable Member is kindly advised to source the details from the Province(s) concerned.

Reply:

(1) (2) (a) The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

 

The policy has been tabled with Parliament in December 2023. 

Reply:

The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

(1) (a) Nationally, there were 3 898 schools initially identified on the SAFE programme and additional 809 schools were later added. 867 schools did not proceed due to some schools closing, some schools not meeting SAFE criteria, some of the schools are on private land and some have sufficient number of toilets in line with the Norms and Standards. DBE proceeded to intervene at 3 380 schools. 

(b) The following tables provides a breakdown of schools per Province.

(i) Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) focused on providing appropriate sanitation to schools with no toilets. The following schools have been provided with sanitation:

(ii) Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative focused on providing appropriate sanitation at schools dependent on basic pit toilets. The following number of schools have been provided with sanitation. (iii) The table below includes sanitation provided by both provinvial education departments and Donors.

(2) (a) ASIDI sanitation projects have been completed. Number of SAFE schools completed are provided in (1.ii) above.

(b) The Completion date for the remaining SAFE schools has been affected by budget cuts. DBE had planned to complete the schools by end of 2023/24 financial year.

Reply:

1. The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

In 2011, the Department of Basic Education launched the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI-2011). This programme focused on the following:

• Appropriate building for schools made entirely of inappropriate materials.
• Appropriate water supply to schools with no water.
• Appropriate sanitation at schools with no toilets.
• Appropriate electricity supply to schools with no electricity supply.

In 2018, the Department of Basic Education launched the Sanitation Appropriate For Education (SAFE-2018) initiative.  This programme focused on the following:

• Providing appropriate sanitation at schools dependent on basic pit toilets.

Both the ASIDI & SAFE programmes are funded from the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant (SIBG).  The Department submit weekly progress reports on the ASIDI & SAFE programmes to the Minister (DBE-2023).

(1) SIBG budget allocation in the past four financial years are:

(2) Actual expenditure in the past four financial years is:

(3) Construction and/or maintenance

330 of the 338 schools made entirely of inappropriate materials, have been provided with appropriate structures through ASIDI. This is 97.6% progress.

1 298 of the 1 307 schools with no water supply, have been provided with water infrastructure through ASIDI. This is 99.3% progress.

1 087 of the 1 087 schools with no toilets, have been provided with sanitation infrastructure through ASIDI. This is 100% progress.

373 of the 378 schools with no electricity supply, have been provided with electricity through ASIDI. This is 100% progress.

2 975 of the 3 380 schools dependent on basic pit toilets, have been provided with appropriate sanitation infrastructure through SAFE. This is 88% progress.

A list of the constructed schools is attached hereto indicating which are (i) Primary and (ii) High Schools.

ASIDI and SAFE do not do maintenance of schools.

Reply:

The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for KZN as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

(1.a) The following number of sanitation facilities were provided in each province per financial year through SAFE Programme.

(ii.b) DBE provides wet or dry sanitation based on reliability of water supply by the water service authority where the school is located.

(2) (a) SAFE and ASIDI Programmes are funded through the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant (SIBG).

(b) SIBG Expenditure for 2019/2020 FY to date is as follows.

(c) All SAFE schools have been allocated to implementing Agents and their completion date has been affected by budget cuts.

(d) DBE planned to complete the SAFE programme by end of 2023/24 financial year subject to availability of funding.

Reply:

1. The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

The question falls under the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Kwa Zulu Natal. The Hon Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Kwa Zulu Natal as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

2975 schools dependent on basic pit toilets have been provided with appropriate sanitation infrastructure through SAFE.

The table below provides a number of schools on SAFE provided with appropriate sanitation per province.

Reply:

Whether the Minister of Basic Education has taken any steps to intervene regarding the allegations of poor management and financial irregularities at the Settlers Agricultural High school in Limpopo. If not, why not? If so, (a) on what date, (b) what are the relevant details of the specified intervention and (c) who has been appointed to perform the functions of the school governing body?

Answer:

I must first point out that the answers to these questions are based from the information I received from the Limpopo Education Department (LED) and that I intend to visit Settlers Agricultural High School in January 2024 to ascertain the accuracy of the reports

The LED has reported that it intervened by appointing an investigation team comprising officials from Institutional Governance and Learner Affairs, Norms and Standards for School Funding, Risk Management and Labour Directorates.

1. The Investigation Team was appointed on 24 April 2023.
2. The investigation focused on school management, school governance, learner discipline, financial management and hostel management.
3. On 25 August 2023 the Head of Department applied section 25 (1), (2) and (3) of South African Schools Act, 84 of 1996 as amended and appointed six (6) departmental officials as members of Settlers Agricultural High School sufficient persons to perform all functions of the school governing body.

 

2. Whether an audit investigation has been conducted into the utilisation of school funds. If no, why not; if so, what was the findings of the audit investigation?

Answer:  

Yes, an audit is being conducted into the utilisation of school funds. There are clear indicators that the school finances might have been mismanaged by the school governing body. For example, the R500 000, 00 Maths, Science and Technology (MST) grant that was deposited into the school bank account by the Limpopo Department of Education on 31 May 2023, with a condition that it be utilised for agricultural science resources or programmes in the school, was not used for that purposes. So far not enough evidence has been found to prove that the money was utilised for agricultural sciences resources or programmes. The Department is still investigating what the money was used for.

3. Whether the Minister will furnish Mrs. D van der Walt (DA) with a copy of the report of the findings of the audit investigation. If not, why not? If so, what are the relevant details?

Answer:

Yes, the Minister will furnish Mrs. D van der Walt with a copy of the audit investigation once the investigation is concluded. 

 

4. What measures will be put in place to ensure that the (a) specified school returns to its status as one of the top agricultural schools in the Republic and (b) hostels of the school are run with adequate resources for all learners?

Answer:

a) The Department has dissolved the school governing body and appointed sufficient persons to perform all the functions of the school governing body and they have expertise in the management and governance of schools. The profiles of the sufficient persons are as follows:

 

RECOMMENDED OFFICIAL	SPECIALITIES
Advocate Tshiwela Molepo	- Legal background, - Specialist in Governance and School Leadership
Mr Mokobane Malose Simon	Specialist in Governance and School Leadership
Ms Mokgehle Mamotlhatlego Sherin	Specialist in Governance and School Leadership
Dr Madire Sakgea Elias	- PHD in Business administration and conducted research on small and medium enterprises - Specialist in Governance and School Leadership
Mr Ntshumeni Thando	Finance expert with BCom in Accounting
Dr Mathobo David Nndineni	- Specialist in curriculum support - PHD in agriculture and conducted research on sustainability of vegetable production system in Limpopo

 

b) The Department has placed the principal on precautionary transfer to the Circuit office and appointed an acting principal who has the vast knowledge of running a farm and a hostel. Sufficient Persons have already established the following committees in terms of section 29 of the South African Schools Act, 84 of 1996 as amended. The following committees were established to assist them to perform their functions so as to quickly turn the school around:

1. Finance Committee
2. Disciplinary and Hostel Committee
3. Admission and Human Resources Committee
4. Curriculum Committee
5. Uniform, Tuckshop and Farm Committee
6. School safety and infrastructure Committee

Sufficient Persons are in the process of reviewing school and hostel policies to enable them to govern the school and to administer the hostel.

Collection of fees

At the time of the appointment of sufficient persons the school was unable to collect fees from parents. Parents refused to pay both school and hostel fees because they said they had lost confidence in the SGB and did not have trust in its financial management. The Sufficient Persons are working on rebuilding trust between themselves and the parents of learners. As a result of the confidence and trust that are improving, sufficient persons were able to collect hostel fees as follows;

1. August 2023 = R440,228
2. September 2023 = R440,895
3. October 2023 = R1,131,233

Unfortunately parents are still reluctant to make payments towards school fees and it remains difficult for the sufficient persons to run the school.

Debt recovery plan

The Sufficient Persons are working on identifying and appointing a Debt Collector. The Debt Collector will be appointed and will be instructed to collect fees with the required aggression. Debts from previous years will also be followed up. Sufficient Persons have resolved that parents owing funds for 2023 can make payment arrangements until the 29th October 2023. The due date for payment of 2023 fees has been extended to 30 November 2023 for those who signed Acknowledgement of Debt and made Payment Arrangements.

Maintenance of Hostel, School Buildings, and Grounds

Sufficient persons have started the process of repairing and maintaining the following:

1. Hostel burglar proofs,
2. Hostel ceilings
3. School grounds and sewage systems.

Farm operations and revenue

The Sufficient Persons are working on a turn-around strategy to improve revenue, operation and accountability on the farm. The plan is that by January 2024, the farm must be able to pay salaries for its own employees. The year-to-year lease agreement for the lease of 128 hectares of arable land owned by the school that was signed between the Willand Boerdery and the School has lapsed on 31 October 2023. The proposed lease agreement is at an amount of R1200 per hectare. The Sufficient persons are still looking into a possibility of renewing the lease agreement for another year.

Please note that over and above the steps taken in response above, as a Minister, i will personally lead a team from DBE to interact with the province to make sure that the matter is being sufficiently dealt with, the visit to the province will probably take place early in 2024 due to current time constrains.

Reply:

A total of 70 043 additional classes were identified from 8 133 over crowded school across all provinces. The special programme was put on hold when Treasury implemented cost containment measures. 

The building of additional classes will follow the normal infrastructure programmes until we are advised differently by Treasury.

The number of identified schools and classes per province are attached.

Reply:

Yes, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) does have functional agreements in addressing bullying and substance abuse amongst adolescents in schools. These agreements are as follows:
1. Inter-Departmental Campaign on the Prevention of Violence, Bullying, Corporal Punishment, Gender-Based Violence, Teenage Pregnancy, Drugs and Substance Abuse.

The Department and its partner Departments: Social Development, Justice and Constitutional Development, Correctional Services, Health, Communications and Digital Technologies, Home Affairs, the Presidency and the South African Police Service have embarked on an Inter-Departmental Campaign on Violence Prevention.

This Campaign raises awareness on issues such as the prevention of bullying, corporal punishment, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, drugs and substance abuse in schools. The Campaign has been championed by the Deputy Minister of Basic Education and supported by other Deputy Ministers from the above-mentioned partner departments, and Executive Mayors. Additionally, it has also targeted districts with high levels of crime and violence known as hot spots throughout various provinces. The Campaign is also rolled out through a jamboree of career choices provided by various higher learning institutions (e.g Universities, T-VET Colleges and SETAs) and build up events that take groups of learners through priority content areas related to violence prevention; including bullying and substance abuse.

To date, the Campaign has been rolled out in six provinces such as Gauteng (Gauteng West District), Limpopo (Sekhukhune East District), Mpumalanga (Nkangala District) and the North-West (Dr Kenneth Kaunda District), as well as Eastern Cape (Nelson Mandela District) and KwaZulu-Natal (Pinetown District). In the new financial year of 2024, the Department plans to roll out the Campaign in the outstanding provinces, Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape.

2. Partnership Protocol between the Department of Basic Education and the South African Police Service (SAPS)

The Department has an established Protocol with SAPS to address crime and violence in schools, including drugs and substance abuse. The Protocol has enabled all schools to be linked to their local police stations. SAPS conduct searches and seizures in schools and also coordinate crime awareness campaigns in schools. Regularly, searches and seizures of illegal drugs and dangerous weapons are done in schools, as well as crime awareness campaigns discouraging gangsterism, bullying and theft amongst the adolescent.

3. Cyberbullying and Online Safety awareness campaigns in schools

The Department has an established relationship with the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and the Films and Publication Board in conducting awareness campaigns on cyberbullying and online safety in schools including alerting the learners about online child sexual grooming, human trafficking, classification of content, exposure to adult online content and digital footprint through social media, as well as encouraging them to be good digital citizens. The FPB has used its Online Safety Youth Council Members, made up of 11 young people from the ages of 13 to 21 years old in conducting peer to peer awareness dialogues in schools. The awareness campaigns have reached various schools nationwide in 2023 and will continue to be implemented in 2024.

4. Central Drug Authority in addressing substance abuse.

The DBE serves on the board of the Central Drug Authority (CDA), which is a coordinating structure set up by the Department of Social Development to coordinate the implementation of the National Drug Master Plan 2019-2024, on addressing substance abuse in the country, by various departments.  The CDA comprises of officials from civil society organisations and departments such as Health, Higher Education, Justice and Constitutional Development, Correctional Services, as well as National Treasury. Through the CDA, the Department continues to implement its National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug Use Amongst Learners in Schools. Its approach is not a punitive one, instead it is restorative.  Schools are required to do the following to curb alcohol and drug use of learners:

• Establish school-based support teams;
• Establish or strengthen referral systems (e.g rehabilitation centres, social workers);
• Implement drug testing in schools;
• Implement Curriculum on drugs and substance abuse through the Life Orientation subject.

In terms of training on the National Strategy; provinces and districts continue to re-train schools.  This training is predominately intergraded with the training on the National School Safety Framework. Drug testing is at the centre of the training on the National Strategy for the Prevention and Management of Alcohol and Drug Use Amongst Learners in Schools.

 

1. National Technical Intersectoral Committee on Child Justice

The DBE serves on the National Technical Intersectoral Committee on Child Justice (ISCCJ), which is mandated to implement the Child Justice Act of 2008 nationwide, and manage children in conflict with the law.  The ISCCJ is championed by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and supported by other departments and entities such as Social Development, Health, National Prosecuting Authority and SAPS. The DBE facilitates the provision of teaching and learning services in 34 Child and Youth Care Centres nationwide, as means to ensure the learners acquire skills, while DSD provides substance abuse and psychosocial support programmes in these centres, as means to rehabilitate the learners.

Reply:

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has drafted two documents awaiting approval by the Council of Education Ministers (CEM). These documents are:

1. Protocol for the Elimination of Unfair Discrimination in Schools
2. Guidelines for the Socio-educational Inclusion of Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression and Sex Characteristics- (SOGIESC) in Schools

The DBE is currently doing further developmental work on the two documents, following comments gathered at the Heads of Education Committee (HEDCOM) and will be made available to the Honourable Member in 2024, when the log of comments has been considered. 

The following engagement platforms of stakeholders were consulted:

1. Education Labour Relations Council Bargaining Meeting
2. National Consultative Forum
3. South African Principals’ Association (including KZN-specific)
4. District Directors’ Meeting with Minister
5. South African Council for Educators
6. National Alliance of Independent Schools Associations
7. HEDCOM Subcommittee of Legal and Legislative Services
8. Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign Interprovincial Forum
9. Education Management and Governance Interprovincial Forum
10. Safety in Education Interprovincial Forum
11. Social Cohesion, Values and Nation Building Interprovincial Forum
12. Care and Support in Schools Interprovincial Forum
13. Inclusive Education Interprovincial Forum
14. Provincial Education Departments and stakeholders
15. Education Districts and stakeholders

The following partners have provided advice and technical support to the DBE in the formulation of the two draft documents:

1. South African Human Rights Commission
2. Commission on Gender Equality
3. Equal Education Law Centre
4. Centre for Child Rights
5. Universities (Educational Psychology Departments)
6. Catholic Institute of Education
7. FOR SA
8. The Children’s Institute
9. UNESCO
10. UNICEF

The documents will not be published for public comment because they are not policies. They are guidelines and protocols to guide institutional governance and management practice.

Reply:

The question is based on a direct context of  Lulamelani Secondary School in the Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga. The question can therefore best responded by the the Executive Authority of the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Mpumalanga . The Member is kindly requested to refer the question to the MEC for Free State as per section 92(3)(b) of the Constitution and Rule 134 (5)(b) of the NA rules. 

Reply:

(a) and (b) The number of schools closed as per the School Rationalisation and Realignment Process (SRRP) since 2012 is 2 547. See attached Annexure for detailed breakdown per province. 

Reply:

1) The  Department is aware about the sad incident involving a Grade 6  boy from Khehlekile Primary School in Thokoza (Ekurhuleni).

2) The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) instituted an investigation which was conducted by an independent law firm. A report with recommendations was compiled and shared with the family and the school. The GDE has started a disciplinary process against all implicated officials at the school, including a learner. The final outcome of the disciplinary process is awaited.

Reply:

Yes. The Department of Basic Education has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Departments of Health (DOH) and Social Development (DSD) to implement the Integrated School Health Programme (ISHP) in order to provide health and social services to learners including Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) information and services. The three departments have also developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the provision of SRH services in Secondary Schools.

Reply:

a) All primary schools and secondary schools started preparing for admissions of grade 1 and 8 respectively, as early as the beginning of term two in 2023. By October 2023, reports on placements from Provinces indicated that almost 65% of learners in the two grades have been placed.

b) The Department is receiving accumulative statistics on placements from provinces on a monthly basis as from October 2023. Different forms of advocacy have been employed by provinces to let parents apply for placements. There are dedicated officials per province assigned to handle learner admissions. Schools have been directed via Circulars on managing learner placements. The DBE holds meetings with provinces to deliberate on matters pertaining to learner admissions.

Reply:

(1)      No credit cards were issued to the (a) Minister, (b) Deputy Minister or (c) any other official, therefore there was no credit card that was over the limit;  (i) N/A and (ii) N/A;

(2)      N/A