ATC130503: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Budget Vote 15: Basic Education, dated 30 April 2013
Basic Education
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on
Budget Vote 15: Basic Education, dated 30 April 2013
.
The Portfolio Committee on Basic
Education having considered Budget Vote 15: Basic Education, together with the Annual
Performance Plan and Strategic Plan of the Department of Basic Education and
its Statutory Bodies, reports as follows:
1.
Introduction
1.1
The
Portfolio Committee on Basic Education considered the Strategic Plan, Annual
Performance
Plan and Budget 2013/14 of
the Department of Basic Education and its three Statutory Bodies,
namely, the Education Labour Relations
Council (ELRC), the Council for Quality Assurance in
General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi) and the
South African Council for Educators
(SACE).
The budget review process was undertaken on the following dates:
·
The Department of Basic
Education (DBE) 26 and 27 March 2013;
·
The South African Council
for Educators (SACE) 28 March 2013;
·
The Education Labour
Relations Council (ELRC) 30 April 2013; and
·
The Council for Quality
Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi) 17 April
2013.
1.2
As
part of the budget review process of the Department, the Committee engaged
extensively on
operational plans of
identified areas of the Departments programmes. These were areas which the
Committee observed to have either
previously experienced slow progress in terms of
implementation or required close monitoring to ascertain whether
their 2013/14 targets would be
met.
1.3
The
budget briefings served to acquaint the Portfolio Committee with the mandates
and
programmes of each unit in the
Department and the named statutory bodies.
1.4
In
2012,
Government adopted the National Development Plan as
its overarching planning
framework.
The Committee expected the Department to ensure that the Education Sector
Plans were consistent with the National
Development Plan.
1.5
Those that appeared
before the Portfolio Committee during the Budget Review sessions included
the following:
1.5.1
Department of Basic
Education (DBE)
: Hon A Motshekga: Minister for Basic Education,
Mr B
Soobrayan:
Director-General, Mr P Njobe: Director, Mr H M Mweli: Acting Deputy
Director-General, Dr N Nduna-Watson:
Director: Ms Z Govender: Branch Co-ordinator, Dr M
Simelane: Director: Ms M L Samuels: Director: Ms J Kinnear:
Director, Dr J Joshua: Director,
Mr S G
Padayachee: Deputy Director-General, Ms T Diale: Programme Manager, Dr R
Poliah: Chief Director, Mr B Mpanza:
Chief Director, Ms B Qonongo: Deputy Director, Ms E
Lubbe: Assistant Director, Ms L Maje: Branch
Co-ordinator, Mr M Q Moloi: Director, Mr R
Mehl:
Deputy Director, Mr T Kojana: Acting Deputy Director-General, Dr F Nzama: Chief
Director, Mr M Monyokolo: Chief
Director, Mrs T Tyobeka: Deputy Director-General, Ms E
Smith: Branch Co-ordinator, Ms S Lingela: PDOU, Ms M
Modiye-Maselwa: QLTC, Ms S
Zokwana:
QLTC, Mr J Tladi: QLTC, Mr M Kutukela: QLTC, Mr D Balt: QLTC, Mr S
Mlambo Provincial Monitor, Mr P Sehlabelo:
Provincial Monitor, Ms N Msimanga: Provincial
Monitor,
Ms V
Carelse: Deputy Director-General,
Mr Schoeman: Acting Deputy Director-
General,
Mr P
Lusufi: Chief Director, Mr T
Rabotapi: Director, Mr H Mohammed: Director, Mr
G Coetzee: Director, Ms D Pillay: Acting Director, Prof G
Hall: Deputy Director, Mr L
Mahada:
Parliamentary Liaison Officer (Office of the Director-General) and Mr R Van
Den Heever: Parliamentary Liaison
Officer (Office of the Minister)
1.5.2
South
African Council for Educators (SACE)
: Mr R Brijraj: Chief Executive Officer,
Ms M
Dipholo: Chief Operations Officer, Mr M Mapindani: Chief
Finance Officer, Ms E Mokgalane:
Senior
Manager (Policy and Research), Mr W Mlambo: Manager (Corporate Services), Ms C
Ngobeni: Manager
(Registration), Mr G Moroasui: Manager (Ethics), Mr H Manthatha: Senior
Internal Auditor and Ms G
Bowles: EXCO Member
1.5.3
Education Labour
Relations Council (ELRC)
:
Mr A W Kutumela:
Council Member, Mr M J Moshakga: Chief Finance Officer, Ms C Foca: General
Secretary, Mr M D Sekabate: Chairperson, Mr W Smith: Council Member, Mr J
Galorale: Council Member and Mr M Maluleke: Council Member.
1.5.4
Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further
Education and Training
(Umalusi)
: Dr L Sosibo: Council Member, Dr M Rakometsi: Chief Executive Officer, Ms
E
Rabe: Chief Operations
Officer and Mr J Thomas: Chief Finance Officer.
1.6
This
report gives a brief summary of the presentations made by the Department and
its statutory
bodies to the
Committee, focusing mainly on the Departments 2011 2014 Strategic Plan, the
2013 2014 Annual Performance Plan and the 2013
Medium Term Expenditure Framework
(METF)
allocations and an overview of allocations per programme. The report also provides
the
Committees key deliberations
and recommendation relating to the Vote.
1.7
The Committee engaged with the Department
and its Statutory Bodies on their performance for the previous financial year
and the funding needs for the current financial year, in October 2012, as part
of the Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR) process. The observations
made in this report should be read in conjunction with those made in the BRRR
report.
1.8
Copies
of all presentations on the Budget Review of DBE, SACE, Umalusi and ELRC are
available from the Committee Secretary.
2. Overview
of the Strategic Plan
2.1
Address by the Minister for Basic
Education Hon A Motshekga
Hon Motshekga thanked the
Portfolio Committee for the proactive steps in engaging with the Ministry and
Department of Basic Education on the Basic Education Sector Review and the
Strategic Priorities of the Department for 2013. The Minister indicated that
all comments, questions and advice from the Portfolio Committee were
appreciated and committed that the Department would follow-up on issues raised
during their engagements.
The Minister pointed out
that the 2013/14 financial year, as the final year in the five year political term
of office, provided a strategic moment for the Department to reflect on the
gains made in the provision of education. It afforded the Department an
opportunity for reflection on efforts to build a quality schooling system that
was crucial for tackling current national challenges of development. The
Minister indicated that the Department had made inroads. She mentioned that,
two decades ago, there was poor African learner performance and participation
in schooling and in Higher Education. Amongst other things, the education
system was characterised by low levels of participation in Mathematics and
Science especially for learners from poor households.
The Minister noted that considerable
and significant changes had been made for the system to be
more equitable and to improve access to
education. In the 2013 State of the Nation Address
(SONA), President Jacob Zuma emphasised the importance of
elevating education to its rightful
place,
and of improving the quality of learning and teaching and the management of
schools. The
Departments focus had
been on the following key interventions:
·
The revision and roll-out of improved the Curriculum and
Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS)
·
The provision of high quality learning and teaching
materials
·
The introduction of standardised Annual National Assessments
(ANA)
·
The provision of school infrastructure
·
Broadening access to Early Childhood Development (ECD)
·
Teacher development
initiatives.
The
Minister highlighted the following achievements that the Annual Performance
Plan (APP) had built on:
·
That there had been considerable improvements in the schools
serving learners from disadvantaged communities and that the number of
underperforming schools in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) had been
reduced.
·
The 73.9 percent pass rate achieved in 2012 was a result of
sustained effort, support and improvement strategies implemented throughout the
system.
·
The Grade 12 results also improved in those provinces under
administration, a testament to both the resolve to raise the bar and to the
work of many officials, teachers, parents, governing body members and community
members who
were
determined to ensure
that the future of learners was not compromised in any way.
Key focus areas prioritised for 2013
included the following
:
·
Improving the quality and performance across the schooling
system.
·
Strengthening management processes and supporting the
provision of quality basic education in the provinces.
·
Deepening the focus on Teachers, Text and Time on Task.
Among other things the Department would increase the emphasis on the optimal
use of workbooks and textbooks by teachers and learners at schools.
·
Continuing to lead
intervention teams to address
challenges in education service delivery in the
The Minister was confident that the plans articulated
in the Annual Performance Plan would ensure quality basic education in the country.
With the support of the Portfolio Committee, the Department would realise the
national priority of improving the quality of basic education.
2.2
Overview by the Department
of Basic Education
The Director-General
(DG), Mr B Soobrayan, addressed the Committee on the sector priorities,
progress and challenges facing the Department. His presentation also touched on
insights into the performance of the sector in national and global assessments
and the implications for improvement.
2.2.1
Overview of the Departments 2013/14 Strategic Priorities
The
Department aimed to focus on the following Strategic Priorities for 2013:
·
Improving the quality and equity of
learner performance. Specific activities included:
o
Realigning management information
systems to focus on learner performance; and
o
Utilising information and evidence
in key assessments such as Annual National Assessment (ANA) and NSC to drive
accountability in the sector.
·
Accelerating teacher development,
deployment and utilisation interventions. This would include:
o
Correcting the Post Provisioning Norms
(PPN) and other Human Resource (HR) challenges;
o
Using teacher profiling to address Human
Resources (HR) priorities, including the provisioning of specialist teachers in
Mathematics, Science and Technology, as well as teachers with African language
competencies, especially at the Foundation Phase; and
o
Strengthening the use of teacher
resource centres as a tool for development.
·
Improving curriculum coverage
support and implementation. This would include improving the effective utilisation
of Learning and Teaching Support Material (textbooks, workbooks and stationery)
in class, as well as enabling access to additional resource materials.
·
Improving institutional and
logistical capacity for high stakes processes including the procurement,
delivery and distribution of LTSMs, infrastructure, Information management and
financial administration.
·
Monitoring and reporting linked to
performance improvements including at provincial, district and school levels.
·
Reducing school infrastructure backlogs.
·
Improving the quality of Early
Childhood Development (ECD) and Grade R leveraging on expansion. Key
deliverables to achieve this included:
o
Finalising the costed Grade R policy;
o
The determination of the minimum
qualification required for Grade R practitioners;
o
The determination of the basic conditions
of service and employment conditions for Grade R practitioners; and
o
Ensuring that the Screening,
Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) is implemented in all Grade R
classes.
·
Developing and implementing a comprehensive
strategy to improve the capacity and outcomes of district support to schools.
·
Improving the quality of Inclusive
education, the training of teachers, subject advisors and circuit managers; improving
Braille work and assessment interventions. The Department would also prepare
the system for the implementation of the South African Sign Language (SASL) and
the curriculum for schools of skills to be introduced in 2014.
·
Annual National Assessment (ANA) and
National Senior Certificate (NSC) utility in driving improvements. This would
include compiling reports on learners, schools and districts which are doing
well despite challenges.
·
Improving the image of the sector.
Initiatives to achieve this would include:
o
Conducting dedicated campaigns regarding
the work of the Department, including monitoring reports; and
o
Feeding of correct information to
achieve a better understanding of policy intention, direction and progress.
2.2.1.1
The
State of the Nation Address (SONA
) The following priorities raised in the
2013
SONA, relevant to Basic
Education, was specifically mentioned:
·
That Education was one of five key
government
priorities and needed to be elevated to its rightful place, and to improve the
quality of learning and teaching and the management of schools.
·
The Department would establish a
national task team to strengthen the implementation of the Mathematics, Science
and Technology Strategy.
·
A Presidential Remuneration
Commission would be established to investigate the appropriateness of the
remuneration and conditions of service provided by the State to all its
employees. The first priority should be teachers and the commission would also
assess the return on investment.
2.2.1.2
National Development Plan (NDP)
It
was observed that education was a priority in the
NDP and would continue to enjoy substantial funding, as it is viewed
as a core pillar of
development. The
Director-General mentioned that the Basic Education Sector Plans were
consistent with the NDP. He noted that the
outputs and proposed mechanisms to attain the
necessary
results specified in the NDP were mostly well captured in the current
Departmental sector
plans and
other supporting strategies including Funza Lushaka, the National School Nutrition
Programme (NSNP), ANA, the NSC
and school management and district support. The Action
Plan was also aligned to the NDP though the NDP went beyond 2025 by
setting targets to
2030. The
following NDP requirements for the Sector were noted:
·
The introduction of a school
readiness programme for three to five year olds;
·
Externally administer and mark the ANA
in one primary school
grade to
enable
independent verification and
comparability;
·
Promote constructive partnerships
and draw support from civil society in establishing a
national education pact;
·
School management for instructional
leadership;
·
Ensuring high-quality language
instruction in the Foundation Phase;
·
Ensuring that appropriately
qualified and competent people became school principals.
Changing the pay structure to attract and
retain good teachers; and
·
Recruiting school turnaround teams.
The Director-General reported that good
progress had been made by the Department in alignment
with targets articulated in the NDP. Areas that still needed
attention included, among others:
·
Refinement of strategies and
institutionalisation of interventions introduced to improve
district
and
teacher
support and
performance;
·
Strengthening learner performance in
Early Childhood Development (ECD) and at all levels;
·
Improving school management;
·
Productive partnerships around
curriculum provision, delivery and support, particularly with Trade Unions and
other partners; and
·
Improved learner retention in the
sector.
2.2.2
Insight into the Performance of the Sector:
The
following insights into the performance of the sector in national and
international assessments
were noted:
2.2.2.1
Annual National Assessment 2012 Results
·
The
achievements in ANA showed
significant deficiencies at the
Intermediate
Phase
level, particularly in
Mathematics as well as
at
Grade 9
level in
Language
, and wide-ranging
deficiencies in
Mathematics
.
·
The top performing schools still fell below
expectations.
·
Although overall there had been improvements in
learner achievements, the relatively low performance in the provinces required
targeted interventions. Based on these results, the impact of interventions
needed to be enhanced in certain provinces.
·
At the Foundation Phase,
differentials in learner performance
across the poverty quintiles
were diminishing. However, at both the
Intermediate
and
Senior Phases
there were
still significant differences in performance between learners in Quintiles 1-3
and their counterparts in Quintiles 4-5.
2.2.2.2
National Senior Certificate (NSC)
·
A comparison of the achievements of 2012 to that of
2011 showed improvements in quality, equity and quantity.
There had been
136 047 Bachelor level passes in 2012, which equated to
26.6
percent of Grade 12 candidates in 2012. At least 15 280 more bachelor
passes were achieved in 2012 than in 2011.The sector was on track to achieving
its target for 32 percent of Grade 12 graduates eligible to be
admitted for Bachelors degree studies. The
trend had been that this indicator moved from 19.9 percent in 2008 to 24.3
percent in 2011 and 26.6 percent in 2012.
·
Although the pass rate in
Mathematics in 2012 had increased compared to the past five years, the numbers
of learners who wrote and passed the subject had been declining. To address
this challenge, interventions were required in the Intermediate and Senior
Phases.
2.2.2.3
International assessments
The Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International
Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) indicated the
following:
·
·
At a provincial level, there was no
statistically significant gender difference for Mathematics and Science
performance, except for the
·
Investment in poorer schools had
yielded improvements but these needed to be consolidated. ANA, NSC, TIMMS and
PIRLS indicated the progress made in recent years in terms of improvement in
schools serving poorer learners, but the level of performance was frequently
too low (even in well resourced schools); and
·
The implications for reading were vast
especially in light of the findings of the Ministerial investigation into the provincial
implementation of reading strategies and other interventions.
2.2.3
Formative Evaluation of Textbooks and
Workbooks, 2012
The
Department reported the following findings regarding the 2012 formative
evaluation of
textbooks and workbooks:
·
Teacher reports and observations of the workbook usage
indicated that topics were being covered in sequence for better learners,
poorer learners and the classes as a whole;
·
Four standard exercises were being covered per week by
classes;
·
Teachers were assessing and correcting the work of
both the better and the poorer learners in classrooms; and
·
Workbook coverage and pacing had improved considerably
compared to the situation projected by the Joint Education Trust (JET) in 2009.
Among others, the following were found at the time:
o
On average only 24% topics were covered in Grades 4
and 5; and
o
22 percent of the curriculum was covered.
In conclusion, the Director-General noted
the following:
·
Significant
progress
was achieved in 2012 and proceeding years,
however, various intrinsic and contextual
factors had placed unprecedented strain on the sector;
·
It was important that interventions
were aimed at addressing
specific shortcomings
existing in schools;
·
Interventions responding to the
recommendations contained in the
National
Development Plan
, and
productive
partnerships
needed to be brought to bear on long standing problems and
challenges; and
·
It was important to maintain the
continuity
between the priorities
identified
in
Action Plan
to 2014, towards the realisation of
Schooling 2025
and the new interventions required to improve
implementation and outcomes.
2.2.4
Annual Performance Plan 2013/14
Performance Indicators and Targets
The 2013/14
Annual Performance Plan
summarises the
priorities of the Department as aligned to
the
Delivery Agreement
of
Outcome 1
: Improving the quality of Basic Education
and the
Action Plan
to
2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025
.
The activities of the Department remain
structured into five
programmes
as follows:
·
Programme 1: Administration;
·
Programme 2: Curriculum
Policy, Support and Monitoring;
·
Programme 3: Teachers,
Education Human Resources and Institutional Development;
·
Programme 4: Planning,
Information and Assessment; and
·
Programme 5: Educational
Enrichment Services.
2.2.4.1
Programme 1: Finance and Administration
The purpose
of this programme is to manage the Department and
provide strategic and
administrative
support services. The strategic objectives of the Programme are as follows:
·
To ensure the provision of suitable human resource capacity
to support a high performing organisation;
·
To ensure that the basic education sector and the country
benefit from targeted support to the education department; and
·
To improve inter-governmental planning, communication,
education policy and legislative development.
The performance
indicators in this programme are directed towards performance improvement and
development, compliance, accountability and sound financial systems. The
following targets were set for the Annual Performance Plan for 2013/14:
·
Staff Development: The number of officials
participating in staff development activities for
2013/14 was 300, an increase from a target of 280 in
2012/13;
·
Internships: The number of internships implemented for
unemployed graduates in the
Department
was 60 against a baseline of 55 (2012/13);
·
Financial Disclosures: 55 SMS members (out of 78) to submit
signed Financial
Disclosure
forms by 31 May 2013;
·
Performance Agreements: All SMS members to submit
signed Performance
Agreements by 31
May 2013; and
·
Strengthening partnerships with stakeholders: Two
reports to be compiled twice a year,
highlighting
Legal Services -
The
Legislative Services was currently involved in two important projects:
(i)
The
Development of Section 5A Regulations
Regulations in terms of Section 5A of the South African School Act (SASA)
were introduced in 2007 when the Act was amended by the Education Laws
Amendment Act 31 of 2007
. The purpose was to give effect to the
Constitutional Right to Education for the majority of children in disadvantaged
communities by eradicating unsafe structures. Initially the regulations were
developed as guidelines and consequently Equal Education began to express their
disenchantment and served court papers to compel the Minister and MECs to
determine the norms.
These draft regulations were being
consulted in the NEDLAC (Education Standing Committee). The draft regulations would
be finalised and would come into force not later than 15 May 2013.
(ii)
The Review
of Basic Education Legislation -
This
was
prompted by the number of court cases experienced in the Provincial Education
Departments (PEDs) whereby governing bodies were found to be blocking
transformation. Some of the critical areas identified for the review relates to
the following:
·
The appointment of principals;
·
Home education;
·
The admission of learners to public
schools;
·
Health Promotion in Schools and the Prevention
and Management of Learner
Pregnancies;
·
Auditing of school finances/
financial records;
·
A second bank account to ring-fence the
National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP)
fund;
·
The strengthening of section 38A of
SASA; and
·
Functions and powers of governing
bodies in terms of sections 20 and 21 of SASA
(with
a specific focus on the powers to recommend the appointment of educators and
determining school policies).
The draft Basic Education Laws Amendment
Bill 2013 would be ready by 15 May 2013. It is
envisaged
that the amendments should be finalised by the end of the 2013/14 financial
year.
Challenges:
The
Department reported that they had been requested to assist Provincial Education
Departments with financial matters, asset management and human resources (HR)
matters. This placed a strain on human resources in the Department since no
additional staff had been appointed to deal with these matters. This has
resulted in staff being requested to work during weekends in the Provincial Education
Departments (PEDs). This also placed a further strain on the Branchs budget as
the same financial resources had to be used for accommodation and travelling.
2.2.4.2
Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and
Monitoring
The purpose of Programme two was
to develop curriculum and assessment
policies and monitor
and support
their implementation. The strategic objectives of the Programme include:
·
To increase the availability of e-Education of learning and
teaching resources amongst teachers;
·
To bring about stability and coherence with respect to the
national school curriculum;
·
To pay special attention to improvements in mathematics,
physical science and technical subjects;
·
To promote adequate access to quality learning materials by
means of better national specifications on what every learner requires and a
more proactive approach towards the cost-effective development, reproduction
and distribution of materials such as workbooks and textbooks;
·
To establish national norms for school libraries;
·
To create a sound basis for quality pre-Grade 1 education
through the promotion of quality learning and teaching materials at this level;
and
·
To finalise and promote national screening guidelines that
provide for an equitable system of access to special needs support amongst
learners.
The
indicators in this programme are directed towards improving learner performance
as captured in the sector-wide
Action
Plan: Towards the realization of schooling 2025
. The Programme contributes
to the following sector goals on learner performance:
·
Goals 1; 2 & 3
: Increase the number of learners in
Grade 3; 6 & 9 who, by the end of the year, have mastered the minimum
language and Numeracy/Mathematics competencies for Grade 3;
·
Goal 4
: Increase the number of Grade 12 learners who become
eligible for a Bachelors programme at a university;
·
Goals 5 & 6
:
Increase the number of Grade 12 learners who
pass Mathematics & Physical Science;
·
Goals 7 & 8
:
Improve the
average performance of Grade 6 learners in Languages & Mathematics;
·
Goal 9
: Improve the average performance of Grade 8 learners in Mathematics;
and
·
Goal 12
: Improve the grade promotion of learners through Grades 1
to 9.
Key focus areas in this Branch
include the following:
·
A National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA) for
Grades R 12;
·
Strengthening of the National Curriculum Statement for
Grades R 12;
·
Early Childhood Development;
·
Improving learner outcomes and learner performance in
Literacy and Numeracy
·
Supporting Multi-Grade Teaching;
·
The implementation of the Policy on the Incremental
Introduction of African Languages;
·
Improving learning outcomes and learner performance
and participation rate in Mathematics,
Science
and Technology;
·
Improving the performance in the learning outcomes of
English as the language of teaching
and
learning as well as the first additional language;
·
Inclusive education;
·
Learning and teaching support materials;
·
Improving access to school information and library
services;
·
The printing and distribution of workbooks and
Mathematics and Physical Science textbooks
for
Grades 10 12;
·
E-education strategy; and
·
Improving adult literacy.
Challenges
:
The challenges faced by this Branch included
the
additional mandates such as
interventions in the
2.2.4.3
Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human
Resources and Institutional Development
The purpose of Programme Three is
to promote quality teaching and
institutional performance
through
the effective supply, development and utilisation of human resources. The overall
strategic
objectives for this
Branch include:
·
Education and Human
Resource Management
o
Human Resources Planning, Provisioning and Monitoring To
ensure quality education through the effective supply and utilisation of
teachers;
o
Educator Performance Management and Development To
strengthen enforcement of accountability in schools and district offices. To
enforce accountability through the support provided to provinces in
implementing the performance management systems at schools and district level;
and
o
Labour Relations and Conditions of Service To improve the
conditions of the employment of teachers through collective bargaining and
consultative processes and that this be encouraged through engagement in the Education
Labour Relations Council (ELRC) and Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining
Council (PSCBC).
·
Education and Human
Resource Development
o
Education Management and Governance Development To ensure
effective professional management and leadership capacity at schools;
o
Continuous Professional Teacher Development To improve
teacher capacity and practice through planning and policy support to the PEDs;
and
o
Initial Teacher Education To increase the number and
quality of new teachers and to support practising teachers, schools and
curriculum leaders to improve their professional practices in priority areas.
·
Curriculum and
Professional Development
To improve teacher capacity and practices. To identify
and address immediate to medium-term systemic teacher development needs.
Challenges
Human Resources, Teacher Supply and Demand
The challenges facing
teacher supply,
demand and
utilisation included:
·
Matching and placement of qualified
educators (excess educators, Funza Lushaka (FL) and other bursars, qualified
educators seeking employment);
·
Inaccurate and incomplete Personnel
and Salary Administration System (PERSAL) data for Human Resource (HR)
Planning;
·
Methods of forecasting in terms of
supply and demand;
·
Human Resources Planning at the
level of the PEDs;
·
Implementation of the Post
Provisioning Norms (PPN);
·
PEDs exceeding their compensation
budgets;
·
Accountability of teachers; and
·
Conditions of service and norms and
standards for Grade R teachers.
The Department was in the process of dealing with the above
challenges as follows:
(i)
The implementation of
a National Human Resources (HR) framework including the related
strategy and step-by-step
guidelines
-
The National
HR Framework had been approved by
Heads
of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM) with the proviso that a strategy
and step-
by-step guidelines be
developed for effective implementation. This has been developed and
supported by HEDCOM. The HR Framework would
be presented at the next Council of
Education
Ministers (CEM) for approval.
(ii) Persal Clean-up
Projects include an
audit
of the organisational structures of PEDs which
would
result in a funded organisational structure that was accurately captured on
PERSAL and
correctly linked to Basic
Accounting System (BAS). The Department aimed to monitor the payroll for
one month which would result in all PEDs
having a documented payroll process and inaccuracies
rectified on PERSAL.
Further,
there
would be a biographical data
clean-up which would result in
accurate
demographic data on PERSAL.
(iii) Teacher Profiling
This
would assist in
accurately ascertaining the qualifications of teachers,
what they were qualified to teach
and what they were teaching. This would inform teacher demand,
supply, utilisation and deployment.
(iv) The
development of a supply and demand framework and tool and training in HR
planning -
A supply and
demand framework had been developed, and a tool to assist in forecasting
supply and informing demand was planned. Human
Resources Managers in the PEDs had been
trained
in HR planning.
(v)
Assessment of the implementation of Post Provisioning Norms (PPN) in the PEDs -
A
project funded by United Nations
Childrens Fund (UNICEF) was underway to assess the
implementation of the Post Provisioning Norms (PPN) in the PEDs
with the view towards identifying
the
strengths and gaps, and developing an action plan to strengthen the process.
(vi) Source of Qualified
Educators -
A database of Funza Lushaka graduates and
qualified
teachers seeking
employment was centrally available for Principals, PEDs, Districts and School
Governing Bodies (SGBs) to
access.
(vii)
PEDs exceeding their compensation budget -
Quarterly
monitoring and evaluation of the
compensation
budgets would be conducted.
(viii)
Monitoring of teacher attendance -
An
assessment of current practices to monitor teacher
attendance would be conducted. Options to enhance what the
Department had achieved would be
researched
and reported on.
(ix)
Absence of conditions of service and norms and standards for Grade R teachers -
Preparation
to audit all ECD centres had started. Concurrently the minimum qualifications Relative
Education Qualification Value level,
conditions of service and legislation was being investigated.
The
Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme and Utilisation
The teacher recruitment initiatives
employed by the Department included
District-Based recruitment approaches as well as DBE-
ISASA M & E
Internship
programmes.
The allocation from Treasury increased from R 109.7
million
in 2007, to R
671.9 million in 2012. The number of
bursaries increased from 3 669 in 2007 to 11
455
in 2012. The number of female bursars in 2012 increased from the 2007 - 2011
average of 67.3
percent to 69.0 percent.
The number of bursaries awarded to white students decreased from 25.5
percent for the period 2007-2011 to 23.7
percent in 2012. The number of African and Coloured
bursars had a
slight increase
from the historic 2007-2011 racial composition.
From
2007 to 2011 the number of bursaries awarded by phase specialisation was
markedly skewed in favour of the Further Education and Training (FET) and
senior phases. This situation was addressed by allocating to each institution a
targeted number of bursaries that had to be awarded for each phase. Bachelor of
Education (B.Ed) students received 93.8 percent of the 2012 bursaries, 2.3
percent to undergraduate degrees and 3.9 percent to Post Graduate Certificate
in Education (PGCE) students.
The estimated 2013 allocation for Funza
Lushaka bursaries was R 893, 867, 000 - approximately 14
400 bursaries would be awarded in
2013. This was an increase of 3 000 bursaries from the 11 455
bursaries awarded in 2012. Key stakeholders
include
National Schools Financial Aid Scheme
(NSFAS)
who administered bursary funds, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) who
provided
training, the PEDs who
specified their needs and SITA who managed the database.
Challenges
Some of
the challenges faced with the Funza Lushaka bursaries include:
·
Effective and efficient administrative and information
management systems between NSFAS, HEIs, PEDs and SITA through improved
monitoring and reporting mechanisms needed to be addressed.
·
To improve communication with bursars at HEIs.
·
To develop a tracking system to monitor bursars both
during their study period and once employed in order for them to meet their
contractual obligation.
·
To evaluate the bursary programme after five years of
its inception and measure its impact on increasing the number of quality
teachers in priority areas.
Teacher Development
The
National Institute for Curriculum and Professional Development
(NICPD) key focus areas for the 2013/14
financial year included:
·
Diagnostic teacher self-assessment for Mathematics and
English First Additional Language
(EFAL)
in all phases;
·
Supporting teachers in the delivery of English First
Additional
Language (EFAL);
·
Providing teachers with skills and knowledge to interpret
and use assessment data to shape
the
improvement of teaching practice and learner performance;
·
The use of common assessments to improve performance;
·
The revitalisation of Teacher Centres and their use as hubs
of teacher professional
development and teacher
union collaboration, to provide space, platforms and opportunities
for the roll-out of teacher development
programmes;
·
Communities of Practice (CoP) to use group activities
amongst teachers to trigger long-
term
relationships that are critical for professional development;
·
Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in
Teacher Professional
Development (TPD)
to provide online, ongoing support to teachers and School Management
Teams (SMTs);
·
Monitoring and evaluation of TPD initiatives in the sector;
·
First phase of implementation of the SACE-CPTD management
system;
·
Recognition of teachers;
·
Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS)
orientation and in-depth training; and
·
Workbook utilisation.
Teacher Accountability -
The
Department reported that they were committed to evaluate all educators in order
to improve their skills and accountability. Work was being done in
collaboration with teacher unions to put strategies in place to strengthen
accountability levels in schools. The strategy focused on two main aspects:
·
Teachers, Text and Time; and
·
Levels of accountability at school and district
levels.
Teacher
accountability required district monitoring and reporting on teacher and
learner attendance at school, class attendance and inculcating a culture of
performance management at schools. The broad strategy to improve accountability
would anchor around the following four pillars:
·
Strengthening the culture of performance
management in schools and districts;
·
Simplifying and aligning evaluation instruments;
·
Strengthening monitoring and support; and
·
Strengthening reporting at all levels.
Improving the Accountability of Teachers
- The
Department indicated that discussions at the Education Labour Relations Council
(ELRC) on the Quality Management Systems (QMS) would be finalised by the end of
April 2013. The Minister would be
requested to declare policy
on the matter, should an agreement not be reached. The training of teachers
would be undertaken in the second quarter with
existing Integrated Quality
Management Systems (IQMS) instruments implemented and monitored. External
moderators would visit 2 000 schools per quarter and at least 60 percent of
educators would undergo credible assessments.
Improving the Accountability of Schools
- The Department
indicated that the policy on Whole School Evaluation (WSE) would be reviewed in
the current year.
The second and final phase of the review of the
evaluation instrument would be completed. Minor changes were expected to be
effected on the current revised instrument with orientation sessions conducted
once more on the final reviews. Schools would be trained on the revised
instruments
Improving the Accountability of
Office-Based Educators
The Department indicated that
Collective Agreement 3 of 2002 on the Performance Management Development System
(PMDS) would be reviewed through re-opening ELRC discussions on the Education
Management Services (EMS) for office-based educators. The focus would be on
Circuit Managers and Subject Advisors since they were responsible for
supporting schools. The signing of work plans with clear deliverables would be
monitored and the rating of performance during quarterly reviews needed to be
enforced.
All Circuit Managers and Subject Advisors would be evaluated in terms of
the PMDS and external moderators would visit
82
district offices to monitor implementation of PMDS.
2.2.4.4
Programme
4: Planning, Information and Assessment
The purpose of Programme Four is
to promote
quality and effective service delivery in the basic
education system through planning, implementation and
assessment. The overall strategic
objectives
for the Programme are to:
·
Establish a quality system of standardised and benchmarked
learner assessments;
·
Ensure that all children complete a quality readiness
programme in Grade R before they enter formal education in Grade 1;
·
Put into place support systems for provinces and schools to
improve the physical environs of the school and create enabling conditions for
successful teaching and learning;
·
Ensure that districts can use quality information and data regarding
the level and quality of learning in schools to plan and implement school-based
improvement programmes.
The
Programme also contributes to the following sector goals:
·
Goal 23
:
Ensure that all schools were funded at least at the
minimum per learner levels determined nationally and that funds were utilised
transparently and effectively; and
·
Goal 24
:
Ensure that the physical infrastructure and
environment of every school inspired learners to be motivated to come to school
and learn, and for teachers to come and teach.
The main
performance targets for Programme 4 in 2013/14 include amongst others:
·
The provision of valid and reliable data on learner
performance in ANA and the NSC
examinations
to support the improvement of quality basic education;
·
The development of exemplars in key subjects for the implementation
of CAPS;
·
The establishment of a school-based assessment
database;
·
The completion of the building of 140 schools in the
ASIDI project;
·
Conducting a pilot study in selected districts where
ANA results were analysed to
inform
and support improvement programmes for schools;
·
Successful management of reported cases with respect
to education delivery managed
through
the DBE call centre.
The
Department presented the key focus areas, targets and budget allocation 2013/14
for the following, as requested by the Committee:
·
Infrastructure;
·
School Funding;
·
National Assessment and Public Examinations; and
·
Information and Management Systems.
Infrastructure
The
Department supplied an Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative
(ASIDI) progress report on inappropriate schools projects, water projects,
sanitation projects and electrification projects. ASIDI was the first
infrastructure programme implemented by the Department and thus the Department
appointed the Programme Manager and Programme Support Unit in October 2011 to
increase the technical capacity required.
Lessons Learned in the Implementation of ASIDI
The ASIDI
Programme Support Unit remained challenged and limited in its ability to speed up
implementation as it had limited authority. The ASIDI expenditure remained
undesirably low. The urgency of the programme and lack of technical capacity
necessitated the use of Implementing Agents (IAs). However, it was apparent
that the technical capacity of the IAs was insufficient. Implementing Agents
underestimated the capacity required from Professional Service Providers and
contractors at project level.
The majority
of the ASIDI backlogs were in remote rural areas where access to sites was
difficult. This had resulted in difficulty in delivering materials to sites.
Poor performance of some contractors necessitated the termination of contracts
and this had resulted in further delays in the completion of projects. ASIDI
reporting and information management was poor due to the lack of systems.
Acquisition of systems had proved to be impossible due to prevailing
moratorium. Critical implementation constraints were experienced, particularly
in the
Over 200
schools had been affected by rationalization and mergers. Often schools issued
to IAs had to be replaced by those with higher enrollments. The list on ASIDI
had been challenged due to a number of schools which had been excluded.
Budget Allocation
for 2013/14
The total
allocation for Infrastructure for the 2013/14 MTEF amounted to R 33, 9 billion.
The budget constituted the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) and Equitable
Share. An additional allocation of R 820 million in the 2015/16 financial year
was added to the EIG for upgrading facilities in special schools and for Grade
R classrooms to accommodate the increasing enrollment of Grade R.
Need for Performance Based Approach to Education
Infrastructure Grant (EIG)
The
Department reported that there was a need to tighten EIG conditions to improve
planning and delivery and ensure the credibility and uniformity of pricing and
specifications. The performance based approach to the EIG sought to:
·
Enforce
proper infrastructure and procurement planning for infrastructure
projects/packages;
·
Ensure that
project implementation results in better value for money in terms of cost, time
and quality;
·
Reward
provinces that followed best practices for planning and procurement; and
·
Support the
development of appropriate capacity.
School Furniture
Shortages of
school furniture had been identified as one of the challenges that had a
negative effect on achieving the delivery of quality education to learners in
schools. The Department had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the
Department of Labour and the Deparment of Correctional Services regarding the
manufacturing and delivery of school furniture. A major challenge was the
variety of furniture specifications coupled with insufficient funding. There
was also poor maintenance, rehabilitation and procurement of school furniture
The
Department had a requirement to produce a long term Comprehensive
Infrastructure Investment Plan (CIIP) for the sector. A team of experts will be
commissioned by the Department to finalise the CIIP during the 2013/14
financial year.
School Funding
Review of
the Quintile System The Committee received a brief on the review of the
Quintile System and the 2009 UNICEF funded study on school funding. Members of
the Committee had been concerned for some time about the slow progress in
reviewing the Quintile System, which, inter alia, was not accurately identifying
schools with the greatest need. A key objective of this review was to de-link
school allocation from the current quintile system through progressively
equalizing allocation to no fee schools.
The
Department reported that Treasury allocated funding in 2012 MTEF to the PEDs
for the equalisation of their allocations to no fee schools. By 2013 all PEDs would
have
equalised their provincial
allocations to no fee schools in Quintile 2 and 3. Free State, Gauteng,
KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape had equalised the allocation to
all no fee schools (Q1, 2 and 3) for 2013 at the national target of R 1 010.00
per learner. The
The
Department would introduce a fee sensitive public funding system to be applicable
to determine the allocation to fee paying schools. Fee paying schools with low
school fees and schools having a high number of fee exemptions would receive
higher levels of funding. The earliest implementation of the revised system
would be possibly by 2015. Recent and current funding policy amendments
included:
·
Compensation payable to schools for exempting poorer
learners from payment of school fees; and
·
The clarification of voluntary contributions by
parents to schools.
The Revised Grade R Funding Strategy
The
Department envisaged change to the funding model applicable to Grade R to be in
line with the funding model applicable to Grade 1 12 for both personnel and
non-personnel funding. The employment of qualified teachers for Grade R as
permanent state employed staff would be progressively increased.
Subsidies for Independent Schools
The funding
policy required the PEDs to calculate subsidies to independent schools based on
a formula which took into account all budget programmes allocating funds to
public ordinary schools. A working group established to evaluate the viability
and sustainability of the funding requirements for independent schools
recommended that, when calculating subsidies, the budget for Conditional Grants
had to be excluded.
National Assessment and Public Examinations
The key
results areas for the branch were as follows:
·
To manage the setting of high quality Grade 12
question papers for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and Senior
Certificate examinations in 2013/14;
·
To support and co-ordinate the implementation of the
National Senior Certificate and Senior Certificate examinations across the nine
Provincial Education Departments (PEDs);
·
To improve the quality assurance of school based
assessment across the PEDs;
·
To manage the certification process relating to both
the Senior Certificate and NSC;
·
To manage the setting of high quality National
Assessment Tests;
·
To support and co-ordinate the implementation of
Annual National Assessment (ANA) across all PEDs;
·
To facilitate feedback of the results emanating from
the NSC and ANA to teaching and learning;
·
To manage the administration of the international
benchmarking tests in
·
To establish item banks to generate question papers
for NSC, ANA and School Based Assessment (SBA) for General Education and
Training (GET) and Further Education and Training (FET)
Challenges
in respect of the National Assessment and Public Examinations were, amongst
others, as follows:
·
Public perception that the pass requirements for the NSC
were pegged at a low level;
·
Increased learner migration to Mathematical Literacy;
·
Inadequate capacity of teachers to set good quality
School Based Assessment (SBA) tasks;
·
Drop-out rate a decrease in the number of learners
from Grades 1 12;
·
Examination systems in provinces were of varying
standards;
·
The magnitude and size of ANA administration and the
required staff capacity to sustain this undertaking; and
·
Inadequate capacity in the PEDs to manage the
implementation of both ANA and the NSC in the same period.
The
Department had medium and long term plans in place for dealing with most of the
challenges in respect of the NSC and ANA. Plans for 2013 included:
·
The usage of feedback from the 2012 Examinations and
Assessments;
·
Improving the Quality of School Based Assessment;
·
Implementing Competency Tests for Markers in 2013 as
soon as policy was promulgated by the Minister; and
·
The standardisation of examination processes across
provinces.
Information and Management Systems
The key
focus areas include the following:
·
Conducting, verifying and integrating the 2013
national surveys into the national data warehouse;
·
Assessment Process with Statistics South Africa on the
readiness of the Education Management Information System (EMIS) unit to meet South
African Statistical Quality Assessment Framework (SASQAF) requirements;
·
The implementation of the Learner Unit Record
Information and Tracking System (LURITS);
·
The implementation of the South African School
Administration System (SA-SAMS);
·
The implementation of the Business Intelligence System
(BIS); and
·
Building KPIs and business processes to establish
tools and capabilities to develop a district administration and management
system.
The
Department gave a detailed breakdown of the progress in respect of the
implementation of LURITS and SA-SAMS. Some of the challenges in the
implementation were as follows:
·
Most districts/circuits acted as conveyor belts in
data collection this resulted in a lack of ownership of EMIS data at these
levels;
·
The utilisation of EMIS earmarked funds for personnel;
·
Many schools did not have administrative staff
dedicated to SA-SAMS;
·
The lack of connectivity and computers; and
·
The lack of electricity supply.
2.2.4.5 Programme 5: Educational Enrichment
The purpose of Programme Five is
to develop policies and programmes
to improve the quality of learning in schools. The strategic objectives were:
·
To enhance the current basket of education support services
to learners from poor communities; and
·
To ensure the involvement of stakeholders in exercising
involvement in schools in a manner that added value to the attainment of the
core outcomes.
The
Programme contributes to the following sector goal on learner well-being:
Goal 25:
Use schools as vehicles for
promoting access to a range of public services amongst learners in areas such
as health, poverty alleviation, sport and culture.
The key
priorities for the branch included the following:
·
Communication to raise awareness, educate
communities, inform public and build social partnerships around education;
·
To strengthen the model for the transfer of funds to
schools in respect of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP);
·
To craft and consult on HIV and TB Policy;
·
To advocate for mass participation in sports for
schools through the school sport programmes;
·
To support teacher development in Physical Education;
·
To escalate programmes aimed at reducing gender-based
violence in schools;
·
To develop a National Action Plan to combat racism,
xenophobia and other discrimination; and
·
To revise, strengthen and implement the School Safety
Framework as an integrated and multi-disciplinary framework.
School Sport
The
Department focussed on four areas of school sport, namely: the Development of
school sport policy, School Sport Leagues, Intra and Inter School Leagues and
Physical Education. The main challenges facing the Department include the following:
·
Accurate and verifiable registration statistics;
·
School sport budget at all levels;
·
The consolidation of programmes by different partners
under one government led school sport programme; and
·
The provision of support to code committees as part of
the Departments responsibility in terms of the MOU.
School Safety
The National
School Safety Framework was currently being reviewed. At least 16 416 schools
were linked to police stations with Safe School Committees (SSC) established and
provincial SSC training was in progress. The Department had developed and
distributed training manuals on addressing bullying in all provinces. The
Department was planning to conduct training for master trainers in the
Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Alcohol and
drug abuse were developmental challenges which compromised teaching, learning
and safety in schools. Figures indicate that the number of young people
entering treatment was increasing. There was an ease of accessibility of
alcohol and drug use at school. Consequences of alcohol and drug abuse include
scholastic problems, mental and physical health problems, accidents and injury,
crime and violence. The strategy for dealing with these problems was as
follows:
·
Retain learners in school;
·
Create a safe learning environment that contributes to
quality education;
·
Make schools alcohol and drug free zones;
·
Increase knowledge, life skills and confidence to
prevent use; and
·
Manage alcohol and drug use problems to enhance
learning outcomes and learner retention
The
Department employed a three pronged approach to school nutrition:
·
The enhancement of learning capacity through school
feeding;
·
The improvement of nutrition knowledge, healthy eating
and healthy lifestyles in schools;
·
The promotion of food gardens in schools for food
production and gardening knowledge/skills.
At least 9
233 113 learners in 21 467 schools benefited daily on a national level from
improved quality meals served. Community participation in the NSNP involved at
least 54 096 volunteer food handlers. Local economic development included 3 624
service providers, 382 local community based co-operatives with 3 072 SMMEs
engaged to provide foodstuffs. Moving forward, the Department planned for a
decentralised procurement model in all provinces. There was a move to train
provincial, district and school management teams on financial management. There
was a need for quality assurance of food items delivered to schools.
HIV and AIDS Life Skills
As per the
Departments Annual Performance Plan indicators for April 2012 March 2013,
the teaching training target was 17 900 and the Department achieved 13 859. The
LTSM target was 13 500 and the Department achieved only 11 700. The formation
of the school-based support team's target was 9 492 schools and the Department
achieved 16 487 schools. The Department also had a postcard competition on life
skills with learners to commemorate World AIDS Day. Advocacy material on TB was
distributed to learners and teachers. The Department also sought a review of
the 1999 Policy on HIV and AIDS. The total allocation for the financial year
stood at R 208 665 million.
2.2.4.6
Further programmes of the Department
The Committee further received briefings on two
programmes designed to contribute to the
improvement
of quality education. These are the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign
(QLTC)
and the Planning and
Delivery Oversight Unit (PDOU).
(i)
Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign
(QLTC)
The Committee had for some time observed during oversight
visits to provinces that very few district
and
school committees of the QLTC were functional. It had also been observed that
District heads
had not been as
supportive of the campaign as was expected.
The core responsibilities of the QLTC were as follows:
·
Facilitating community
involvement in educational matters throughout the establishment of QLTC
committees at National, Provincial, District and school levels;
·
Identifying and
recognising pockets of excellence within the system;
·
Contributing towards
creating labour peace amongst parties at ELRC;
·
Supporting role-players
in the implementation of the NEDLAC Accord; and
·
Monitoring the levels of
school readiness on provincial, district and school levels.
The Department reported that all provincial education
departments, including
To ensure that the district and school structures were
functional, the Department reported that a
coordinated
training programme would be rolled out in 2013.
Important recommendations included that the QLTC received
high profile acknowledgement and
support
at political level. National and provincial budgets needed to cater
appropriately for QLTC
training
and operations with dedicated QLTC coordinators appointed. District heads
needed to
ensure the establishment of
functional QLTC structures within their districts.
(ii)
Planning
and Delivery Oversight Unit (PDOU)
The Unit was a mechanism to ensure
coherent system focus towards the achievement of the
systems key priorities. The work of the unit focused
primarily on:
·
Assisting
districts
and schools in
understanding and implementing key system policies and
priorities effectively;
·
Working with other sections of the DBE (Monitoring and
Evaluation and IQMS)
to identify key
challenges to effective implementation and find mechanisms to unblock them;
·
Identifying and facilitating the sharing of best
practice; and
·
Creating models for improved delivery to all learners
and generating new knowledge and insights.
The
key priorities for the 2012/13 financial year for the PDOU were as follows:
·
Providing support for strengthened and aligned
planning and implementation at district and school level;
·
Providing structured support
to improve learner performance in
challenged
districts and schools;
·
Identifying and addressing major infrastructure
challenges not on provincial priority lists;
·
Sourcing and providing flexible response capacity to
challenges identified; and
·
Piloting new models of delivery of quality to all
learners.
The
PDOU also
worked to identify and unblock delivery issues at provincial, district
and school
levels through the
provision of a call centre and walk in service. In 2012/13 a total of 9 200
calls
were processed and
finalised; approximately 200 cases reported through DG/Ministerial letters
resolved and 3 500 enquiries that
come through the Presidential Hotline addressed successfully. A
critical angle adopted through this
service was to:
·
Identify trends that cause blockages in the system;
·
Identify whether they were province/school specific or
generic; and
·
Advise the system on their resolution.
The
PDOU also supported underperforming districts and schools through management of
underperformance in the system with the
help of the established turn-around teams. The PDOU
listed some of the general findings as follows:
·
Overall the over 2 000 schools visited indicated
increased focus across the system on getting schools to start teaching
reasonably well; and
·
Teacher
provisioning
across provinces was adequate although there were clear challenges
around teacher utilisation in line with qualification;
A major crisis
in schools
visited in the former Transkei in the Eastern Cape where, at times, over 90
percent of teachers were temporary,
and often significantly more than half of those in a number of
schools volunteering
their services as their contracts had not yet
been extended at the opening of
the
school year. Leaning and Teaching Support
Material (LTSM) coverage was reasonable with
varying
shortages in workbooks and textbooks across all provinces. A key concern was
the
continued prevalence of
unacceptable conditions of classrooms; lack of furniture for learners; no
water nor toilets (issues relating to the
dignity of our learners) and being treated with respect.
The
PDOU facility, although challenging to manage as it cuts across all branches
and provinces,
had proved a critical
enabler in the attempts to address immediate challenges and also to identify
long-term issues and work towards their
resolution. It had also increasingly become the first point of
contact for districts and schools in
need of support. It had also been helpful in creating space to pilot
new ways of working to inform developments
in the system.
2.2.5
O
verview of the
Budget
for 2013/14 and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework
(MTEF)
Expenditure
increased from R7.9 billion in 2009/10 to R12.9 billion in 2011/12 and the
allocated
budget increase from R16.3
billion in 2012/13 to R17.5 billion in 2013/14. It was expected to
continue growing over the medium term to
reach R23.0 billion in 2015/16. In comparison to
2012/13, the 2013/14 budget has increased by 8.57 percent in
nominal terms and by 2.81 percent
in
real terms.
The Departments spending focus over the
medium term would be on infrastructure funding in the
form of transfers to provinces through the education
infrastructure grant, and payments for capital
assets
for the school infrastructure backlogs conditional grant, whereby the
Department would take
responsibility
for the delivery of the projects. These grants accounted for the bulk of
spending
increases over the medium
term, particularly spending in the Planning, Information and Assessment
Programme to further accelerate the
delivery and improvement of schools infrastructure.
Operating payments within spending on
goods and services were second to infrastructure in terms
of spending over the medium term and mainly
provided funding for the Kha Ri Gude mass literacy
project, which aimed to reduce adult illiteracy by providing an
additional two million adults with an
opportunity
to become literate over the medium term, and the provision of workbooks for
Grades 1
to 9 to improve learner
performance in the foundational learning areas of literacy and numeracy.
Table 1:
2013 ENE Allocations from Treasury
|
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
|
|
R'000
|
R'000
|
R'000
|
|
2013 MTEF Allocations
|
20 373 508
|
21 366 832
|
22 349 704
|
|
Plus:
|
567 419
|
1 232 527
|
6 657 630
|
|
Additional funds allocated
to baseline / Adjustments to conditional grants:
|
8 206
|
10 085
|
14 494
|
|
Improvement in conditions of service: Department
|
|||
|
Improvement in conditions of service: Umalusi
|
1 194
|
1 604
|
2 090
|
|
National initiative to improve learning outcomes
|
25 000
|
30 000
|
40 000
|
|
School Infrastructure Backlogs grant Rescheduling
|
-
|
-
|
2 500 000
|
|
Education Infrastructure grant
|
533 019
|
1 190 838
|
4 101 046
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less:
|
(3 349 022)
|
(2 658 072)
|
(5 983 784)
|
|
Adjustments to baseline
(savings) / Adjustments to conditional grants:
|
(3 400)
|
(3 600)
|
(3 700)
|
|
Savings and cuts on goods and services
|
|||
|
School Infrastructure Backlogs grant
|
(733 019)
|
(2 330 837)
|
(5 341 046)
|
|
School Infrastructure Backlogs grant Rescheduling
|
(2 500 000)
|
-
|
-
|
|
Education Infrastructure grant
|
(100 000)
|
(300 000)
|
(600 000)
|
|
HIV and AIDS (Life skills education) grant
|
(6 603)
|
(11 635)
|
(17 038)
|
|
National School Nutrition Programme grant
|
(6 000)
|
(12 000)
|
(22 000)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2013 ENE ALLOCATIONS
|
17 591 905
|
19 941 287
|
23 023 550
|
Table 2:
Allocation per Programme for 2013/14 compared to 2012/13
|
PROGRAMMES
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
Percentage
|
|
R000
|
R000
|
increase/ decrease
|
|
|
Administration
(1)
|
309 648
|
335 580
|
8.4%
|
|
Curriculum Policy, Support and
Monitoring
|
1 437 588
|
1 523 621
|
6.0%
|
|
Teachers, Education Human
Resources and
Institutional Development
(2)
|
755 602
|
984 697
|
30.3%
|
|
Planning, Information and
Assessment
(3)
|
8 370 170
|
8 988 995
|
7.4%
|
|
Educational Enrichment Services
|
5 470 570
|
5 759 012
|
5.3%
|
|
Total
|
16 343 578
|
17 591 905
|
|
(1)
Reprioritisation
towards this programme is due to additional requirements relating to the
Departments interventions in provinces.
(2)
The increase
is mainly due to the additional allocation towards the NSFAS bursary scheme
transfer.
(3)
Increased
allocation towards the Education Infrastructure Conditional Grant.
Table 3:
Allocation per Programme over the 2013 MTEF
|
Programme
|
2013/14
R000
|
2014/15
R000
|
2015/16
R000
|
|
Administration
|
335 580
|
356 280
|
373 914
|
|
Curriculum Policy, Support and
Monitoring
|
1 523 621
|
1 619 300
|
1 694 565
|
|
Teachers, Education Human
Resources and
Institutional Development
|
984 697
|
1 044 064
|
1 092 831
|
|
Planning, Information and
Assessment
|
8 988 995
|
10 844 769
|
13 519 804
|
|
Educational Enrichment Services
|
5 759 012
|
6 076 874
|
6 342 436
|
|
TOTAL
|
17 591 905
|
19 941 287
|
23 023 550
|
Table 4:
Allocation per Economic Classification for 2013/14 compared to 2012/13
|
ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
Percentage
|
|
R000
|
R000
|
increase/ decrease
|
|
|
Compensation of employees
(1)
|
349 614
|
389 366
|
11.4%
|
|
Goods and Services
(2)
|
1 641 562
|
1 819 703
|
10.9%
|
|
Computer Services
|
52 778
|
51 635
|
(2.2%)
|
|
Agency and support/outsourced Services
|
55 621
|
51 598
|
(7.2%)
|
|
Inventory Stationery and printing
|
56 948
|
133 411
|
134.3%
|
|
Property payments
|
77 244
|
71 215
|
(7.8%)
|
|
Operating expenditure
|
1 277 638
|
1 343 871
|
5.2%
|
|
Travel and subsistence
|
65 511
|
88 477
|
35.1%
|
|
Other
|
55 822
|
79 496
|
42.4%
|
|
Interest and rent on land
(3)
|
50 112
|
60 676
|
21.1%
|
|
Transfers and Subsidies
(4)
|
11 971 957
|
13 372 051
|
11.7%
|
|
Payments for Capital Assets
(5)
|
2 330 333
|
1 950 109
|
(16.3%)
|
|
Total
|
16 343 578
|
17 591 905
|
|
(1)
The increase
in this item is to enable the Department to attain full functionality.
(2)
An increase
due mainly to additional funds towards the Annual National Assessment Earmarked
fund.
(3)
Reclassification
of items regarding the PPP Office Accommodation project.
(4)
Increases in
the Education Infrastructure Conditional Grant.
(5)
Decrease
as a result of the cuts, savings and rescheduling in respect of the Schools
Infrastructure Backlog Indirect Grant.
Table 5:
Allocation Summary over the 2013 MTEF
|
SERVICE
|
2013/14
R000
|
2014/15
R000
|
2015/16
R000
|
|
Compensation of Employees
|
292 253
|
311 437
|
328 892
|
|
Examiners and Moderators
|
18 440
|
19 546
|
20 445
|
|
Transfers to Public Entities
|
991 529
|
1 054 853
|
1 103 789
|
|
Other Transfers
|
37 250
|
42 985
|
53 582
|
|
Conditional Grants
|
12 343 272
|
13 188 340
|
16 349 916
|
|
Specially and exclusively appropriated
|
1 955 981
|
3 169 503
|
2 912 310
|
|
Earmarked Funds
|
1 634 671
|
1 817 357
|
1 901 770
|
|
Departmental Operations
|
254 007
|
269 110
|
281 483
|
|
Projects
|
64 502
|
68 156
|
71 363
|
|
Total
|
17 591 905
|
19 941 287
|
23 023 550
|
In conclusion, the Director-General noted
that in
2013 the Department would ensure stability in the entire system and
further consolidate all 2012 achievements. Central to all the Departments
plans and activities was improving learner performance
driven by
the philosophy and conviction that
every child matters
. There was a
need to strengthen the CAPS as they related to improved learner performance and
to promote the utilisation of workbooks and textbooks. The Department would
utilise the analysis of the 2012 ANA results to inform learning programmes for
2013, ensuring that all interventions reach the classroom as intended in order for
the necessary impact to be realised. Another important aspect of the work of
the Department would be the implementation of
the
provisions of
White Paper 6
on Inclusive Education. Finally, Mr
Soobrayan mentioned that the Department would work towards accelerating school
infrastructure provisioning and strengthening levels of monitoring, oversight
and support.
2.2.6
Committee
Observations
The Portfolio Committee
noted, inter-alia, the following key issues and concerns regarding the
Departments plans and budget allocation for 2013/14:
(i)
Budget
allocation
:
As in previous years, the Committee welcomed Governments commitment to
making Basic Education a top priority as reflected
in the substantial budget allocation to the sector.
(ii)
Annual
Performance Plan
(APP):
The Committee was
concerned with the fact that some crucial
quality
performance indicators/targets on the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Grade
12 learner
performance, which
were in the 2012 APP, had been dropped in the 2013 APP. These included the
following:
o
The numbers of Grade 12 learners passing the key subjects of
mathematics and physical science; and
o
The
number of Grade 12 learners who become eligible for entrance to a Bachelors
programme at university.
The absence of these quality indicators in the APP was
cause for concern to the Committee given
that
both the sector-wide Action Plan to 2014 (Goals 4-6) and the National
Development Plan
(NDP)
[1]
emphasised them.
The APP focused on the
percentage of learners sitting for the National
Senior Certificate examinations who obtain a National Senior
Certificate.
The Committee was uncertain whether some targets that
were mentioned, in fact, formed part of the
Departments
commitments for 2013 as they were not in the Annual Performance Plan. Several
targets of the previous year had not been
achieved. Was there any reason for dropping some of the
measurable targets? Some of the predetermined objectives for
2012/13 had not been achieved. The
Committee
was interested in understanding how the non-achievement would be filtered into
the
2013/14 financial year.
(iii)
Image of
the Sector:
The Committee supported the Departments plans to work on improving the
image of the Sector, which had been
adversely affected in 2012.
(iv)
Alignment
with NDP:
The Committee noted the Departments efforts to align some of its
programmes with the
National Development Plan but urged the Department to
ensure that all its
programmes were
progressively aligned to the Plan, including teacher performance alignment
with remuneration.
(v)
Implementation
of SONA
:
The Committee queried the progress in respect of the Presidential
Remuneration Commission on teacher
remuneration since their work was crucial in contributing to
stability in the sector.
(vi)
Sector Performance
: As noted in previous
reports, the Committee was interested in having an overall picture of the performance
of the entire Sector, including in relation to donor funds and provincial
funding - not just limited to Vote 15: Basic Education. In this regard, there
was need to strengthen reporting mechanisms in place and make them work.
(vii)
Performance
of the System
: The Committee remain concerned that South Africa had invested
much
into
Education compared to
many SADC
countries, yet the country performed poorly
compared
to many of these SADC countries. It was important that we learned the good
practices
from these countries.
It was also important that the Department used the lessons learned from the
challenges faced with
The Committee
requested the following:
·
That the Department returned to the Committee later in the
year to give the Committee a consolidated, overall figure in respect of the
Sector (incl. donor funding, grants etc);
·
That the Department urgently looked into the issue of
accountability of provinces in respect of policy implementation; and
·
That the Department to give the Committee a follow-up
briefing on the Presidential Remuneration Commission outcomes in respect of
teacher remuneration.
(viii)
Branch: Administration
·
The Committee was concerned that the Department needed to
ensure proper implementation on the Section 100 interventions;
·
The Committee queried the School Monitoring Survey and
requested to know who was responsible for assessing and approving textbooks for
schools (giving an example of blatant mistakes in two approved textbooks);
·
In respect of the Conditional Grants and budgets for
statutory bodies who was responsible for the conditions set and monitoring of
these funds to statutory bodies;
·
The Committee queried as to whether there was a National
Risk Control Strategy as opposed to each province having its own Risk Control
Strategy;
·
The Committee questioned the extent to which the Conditional
Grants had achieved their intended purpose. The Committee needed to know the
breakdown of the grant to the various provinces;
·
The Committee was also interested in the extent to which
consultants and other service providers were utilised for many of the
programmes of the Department. It was mentioned that at least nine consultants
had been used during the Section 100 Interventions in Limpopo and
·
As expressed in previous reports, the Committee was aware
that data captured and utilised by the Department was neither verified nor
credible. The Department needed to work on the verification and validation of
all data used in the system to ensure credibility in the system;
·
The Committee urged the Department to ensure that the NEEDU
Bill reached Parliament in good time, taking into account the shortened
Parliamentary year; and
·
The Committee was interested in the evaluation of the impact
of the Khari Gude programme and its contribution to Human Resources in the
Sector.
(ix)
Programme 2:
Curriculum Policy, Monitoring and Support
·
The Committee was concerned that teachers at multi-grade
schools had a larger workload than ordinary teachers. It was important that the
Department looked into the matter of extra incentives for these multi-grade
teachers. It was important that the Department researched those countries where
Multi-grade schools were a success;
·
The Committee was satisfied with the career guidance
advocacy but urged the Department to invest in career guidance teachers;
·
The Committee requested that the Department make available
the National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA) as well as copies of the
Literacy and Numeracy Strategy;
·
It was worrying that with the implementation of the NSLA,
there was little being planned for Special Schools. The approach by the
Department to Inclusive Education was of concern. The Committee queried as to
whether the Department had not considered top-slicing from other programmes
to accommodate Inclusive Education. Further, the Committee hoped the Department
would send some policy directive to provinces regarding Inclusive Education;
·
The Committee supported the Departments 2013 priority to
strengthen School Based Assessment to reach the goals of quality education;
·
The Committee requested information on the expected date for
the recruitment drive for librarians to commence;
·
It was surprising that as the year declared to intensify the
implementation of Inclusive Education, the Departments Strategic Priorities and
APP was silent on Inclusive Education (budget allocation and indicators);
·
With additional funding for Inclusive Education, the
Committee felt it important that the necessary resources would be produced;
·
The Committee was concerned that the teacher lap top
initiative had still not been resolved;
·
The Committee queried whether the Department would reach its
universal target of 100 percent for Early Childhood Development by 2014;
·
The Committee was concerned over the lack of accountability
of principals for LTSM. The Department needed to list the roles and
responsibilities of principals; and what they required to implement their
accountability;
·
The Committee was concerned that there seemed to be minimal
synergy between the National Department and Provincial Education Departments;
·
There was a disturbing trend that Higher Education
Institutions were not teaching the necessary subjects to the Fundza Lushaka
Bursars; and
·
The Committee was delighted that the Department was
considering the two-stream model in education.
The Committee requested the following:
·
That the Department returned to the Committee for a further
briefing session on Inclusive Education (ensuring that the full team from the
Department is present);
·
That the Department approached the various Universities to
assist with libraries and source student volunteers; and
·
That the Department ensured that principals were held
accountable for effective management of their schools through a review of
performance agreements.
(x)
Programme 3:
Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development
·
The Committee queried whether the Department was included in
the task team to focus on teacher remuneration and the influence the Department
had in the task team;
·
The Committee questioned the role played by the Department
of Public Service and Administration in respect of teacher remuneration,
professional development and training;
·
The Committee was of the view that IQMS would not
materialise if there were no consequences for non-compliance. Many principals
seemed to be unfamiliar with IQMS. The Department needed to ensure proper
utilisation and implementation of IQMS;
·
The Committee was concerned with steps taken by the
Department in ensuring that the relevant qualified teachers were appointed in
rural schools. It was important to make it attractive for teachers to teach in
rural areas;
·
The Committee queried whether the Department was in
collaboration/engaged with the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in respect
of the supply and demand of teachers;
·
The Department needed to heed the warnings of an aging
workforce and work to ensure that the sector had enough teachers to enter the
system;
·
The Committee observed that there was no uniformity in the
issuing of bulletins by the various Provincial Education Departments;
·
The Committee remained concerned with the placement and use
of displaced and temporary teachers in the system;
·
The Committee also queried the salary negotiations for Grade
R practitioners;
·
The Committee requested that the Department engaged with the
Higher Education Institutions in respect of the curriculum for the Fundza
Lushaka Bursars;
·
The Committee questioned the type of benefits and incentive
available for teachers to upgrade themselves (and their children); and
·
The Committee was concerned about the Department being able
to reconcile the various Acts governing education and those of the Public
Service.
The Committee requested the following:
·
That the Department supply the Committee with the Attraction
and Retention Policy;
·
That the Department needs to explore professionalising the
teaching profession; and
·
That the Department review at the appointment of principals
and deputy principals by the Department.
(xi)
Programme 4:
Planning, Information and Assessment
·
The Department needed to ensure that all the plans of the
Directorate were aligned with that of the National Development Plan (NDP);
·
The Committee was concerned that provinces were not spending
monies earmarked for infrastructure. It was important that the National
Department had mechanisms in place to implement this on behalf of provinces
that were non-compliant. The Committee was further concerned that many schools
did not meet the current norms and standards for school infrastructure. It was
queried whether such schools would also be included in the ASIDI programme;
·
The Committee expected continuity in the service to schools
after the completion of the ASIDI programme;
·
The Committee queried the influence of the Department over
sister departments regarding access roads, road infrastructure and bridges;
·
The Committee was concerned that the implementing agents
used their own procurement processes outside of those governed by the DBE
policy;
·
It was imperative that the Department did not marginalise
emerging service providers. It was important that all contractors were
adequately graded for job creation;
·
It was important for the Department to take into account the
relocation and migration of people to different areas. There was a need to
collaborate and plan with the various local municipalities;
·
The Committee requested that the Department look into
including hostels in the ASIDI plans;
·
The Committee welcomed the Departments plans to open up for
consultation the revised model for fee-sensitive schools;
·
The Committee questioned the reason for disaggregated ANA
results not being made available to schools;
·
The Committee requested that the School Monitoring Survey
Report 2012 be made available to the Committee;
·
In respect of IT, the Committee was concerned over the
provisions made by the Department in weatherprone areas and back up provided;
·
The Committee requested an explanation from the Department
regarding the outcry from Provincial Education Departments who received late
allocations for the norms and standards funding;
·
The Committee requested that the Department ensure
uniformity in its new approach to the classification of fee-schools and no-fee
schools;
·
The Committee observed that EMIS funds were not being
utilised by Provincial Education Departments for their intended purpose. How
did the Department ensure enforceability of policies and track earmarked funds;
·
The Committee queried as to whether the new Information
Management System would also capture and include learners in correctional
facilities;
·
The Committee remained concerned over the trend of exam
coaching or the incubation of learners. It was important that the Department
dealt with this urgently;
·
The Committee was awaiting the release of the amendments to
the Norms and Standards policy and felt that it should be open to public
scrutiny; and
·
The Department needed to investigate the ANA-scripts that
were taken from schools for moderation and not returned to schools.
(xii)
Programme 5: Educational Enrichment
Services
·
The Committee was concerned with the high pregnancy rate at
schools. The Committee wondered whether the Department would follow the Gauteng
strategy and model to deal with learner pregnancy;
·
The Committee queried the high level interventions by the
Department in school sport when, in fact, schools had continuously successfully
practiced sport at school level; and
·
The Committee urged the Department to strengthen its
collaboration with the Department of Health in the fight to ban alcohol and
drug advertising.
The Committee requested the following:
·
That the Department give the Committee a comprehensive
presentation on drugs/alcohol/school safety in the near future;
·
That the Department needed to ensure that all the necessary
support structures were in place in schools to facilitate school sport for
talented learners;
·
That the Department needed to collaborate with sister
departments in respect of banning drug and alcohol advertising as well as the
fight against obesity; and
·
That the Department needed to supply the Committee with the
Training Manual regarding Bullying at school.
(xiii)
Planning and Delivery Oversight Unit + QLTC
·
The Committee requested that the PDOU supplied the Committee
with its budget as soon as possible;
·
It was important that District heads were held accountable
for the necessary implementation of QLTC;
·
The Committee was in agreement that the PDOU was doing
valuable work;
·
The Department needed to ensure that the necessary QLTC
advocacy was timed accordingly to obtain maximum exposure;
·
The Committee queried whether the three year mentoring and
coaching programme was accredited and certificated; and
·
It appeared that the QLTC was not having the required impact
at a local level. Many principals were not familiar with the Campaign. The
Committee was concerned over the impact the programme was having in provinces.
The Committee requested the following:
·
That the PDOU supplied the Committee with its organogram and
work plan;
·
That the Directorate also supplied a copy of the 94+
Campaign;
·
That the Department needed to supply timelines in dealing
with the issue of temporary teachers (particularly in the Eastern Cape); and
·
That the Department needed to ensure that the necessary
mobile classrooms were supplied where they were needed.
3.
Overview of Strategic Imperatives and Budget Allocations of
the Departments Statutory
Bodies
3.1
The Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further
Education and Training (Umalusi)
Dr M S Rakometsi, Chief Executive Officer
(CEO), led the presentation which touched on the
mandate,
vision, mission and goals of Umalusi. Mr J Thomas, Chief Financial Officer
(CFO),
presented
the executive summary of the Councils statements of financial performance,
position and
budget allocations.
The seven Key Result Areas for Umalusi over
the MTEF remained as follows:
·
Establishing and maintaining a system to
develop, evaluate and certify qualifications
(and
curriculum);
·
Improving and maintaining the system for
quality assuring assessment
for
certification;
·
Establishing and implementing a system for the
evaluation and accreditation
of
private providers;
·
Researching
matters
related to the Sub-framework of qualifications and report on quality in general
and further education and training supported by statistical analysis;
·
Developing and ensuring
good corporate governance and
management of the Office of the Chief Executive Officer;
·
Ensuring that
Information
Technology
systems were established, maintained and improved; and
·
Ensuring that
finance,
human resources
and
administrative
support systems were maintained and improved.
Unaudited
Statement of Financial Performance as at 31 March 2013
The Council had
a net
deficit of R
6 369 609. At least 87 percent of the Budgeted Revenue from operations
was recognized with 16 percent
realised in the previous year. Umalusi received a 101
percent grant from the Department of
Basic Education. The Council incurred 93 percent of
its budgeted expenses with a vacancy rate of 10
percent.
Unaudited
Statement of Financial Position, Cash Flow, Debtors and Investments
The
Councils
Total
Assets were valued at R 66 090 656. Invoiced debts collected to date stood
at 147 percent with cash available
amounting to R 2 032 563. The Councils investments of
R 33 268 454 were attracting a net interest of 5
percent per annum.
The Committee received a detailed breakdown
of comparative total expenditure versus a
three-year
average with detailed tables indicating the following:
·
2012/13 Revenue Budget
versus Actual (revenue streams indicated);
·
2012/13 Expenditure
Budget versus Actual (current); and
·
Statement of Financial
Position as at 31 March 2013.
In the 2012/13 Budget, the Council received
further approval
of a revised budget, including
the R 27m in reserve, for the following:
·
Renovations-
R 6,4m (done);
·
Adult Matric
project- R 2m (under discussion);
·
Other
premises- R 15m (in progress); and
·
Unforeseen
expenses- R 4m (reserved based on outcome of additional premises).
The revised budget for
2013/14 for
R 110 704 500
was
granted by the Minister of Basic
Education in a letter
dated 10 April 2013
. The MTEF Budget forecast is as follows:
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
|
R 92 952 000
|
R 110 704 500
|
R 118 919 797
|
R 135 240 416
|
Of the
2013/14 budget allocation,
the DBE grant approved was R 97 662 000,
which
represents 88 per cent of the
Councils total budget. Notably, the DBE grant to Umalusi
increased from R
18 391 000 (20 per cent) in 2011/12 to R 42 330 000 (46 per
cent) in
2012/13.
As noted in previous reports, the Committee supported the Councils bid for
additional funding
to effectively carry out its mandate and had expressed satisfaction when
the funding was granted.
Mr Thomas went on to
present, in detail, the Budget Allocations for the various Key Result
Areas (KRAs), with specific
outcomes and motivations for increased allocations to individual
KRAs.
The Committee was
informed that Umalusi had challenges in respect of its future as
published in the Higher Education and Training Green
Paper. Umalusi was awaiting the
release
of the White Paper in respect of the proposed collapsing of the three Quality
Councils in one.
Umalusi had made recommendations in the Green Paper on the matter.
Dr Rakometsi, on behalf
of Umalusi, expressed their sincere gratitude to the Committee, the
Minister
of Basic Education and the Department of Basic Education for their support in
ensuring that the
grant awarded to Umalusi was improved so that their mandate of quality
assuring standards was
achieved in South Africa.
Committee
Observations
The Portfolio Committee
raised the following in respect of the Umalusi Budget Review:
·
Overall, the Committee was appreciative
of the valuable work of Umalusi in carrying out its mandate;
·
The Committee needed clarity on
whether Umalusi played a role in respect of the Curriculum and whether they
would be part of the Ministerial Committee/Task Team looking at the issue of
the Quality of Grade 12 passes;
·
There were concerns that Umalusi
did not quality assure the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)
before its roll out;
·
The Committee also raised concerns
as to whether Umalusi initiated or decided on a qualification; and the
procedures followed. Umalusi reported to the Committee that they were still
finding each other with the Department in respect of Curriculum Development.
There had been discussions in this regard. The Council explained that in terms
of their mandate, they quality assured any qualification or initiated
qualification. The approval of a qualification rested with the Minister.
Umalusi was of the opinion that a qualification needed to run at least five
years before it could be properly reviewed. The Council further reported that
they were
currently involved in the evaluation of CAPS through both horizontal and
vertical evaluation and would produce substantial reports;
·
The Committee queried whether the
research done by Umalusi was readily available to the general public. The
Committee was informed that Umalusi conducted quality research approved by the
Research Forum. Once completed, the Council held seminars and conferences on
the research outcomes. Umalusis research was available on request;
·
The Committee was concerned about
recent reports of fraudulent certification/qualification and whether the
reputation of Umalusi was not at risk.
The Council explained that these
were handled as criminalities and handed to the South African Police Services
(SAPS) to deal with. The Council had a host of security features (e.g.
watermarks) to deter fraudulent activity. The Committee agreed that these
features needed to be highlighted;
·
The Committee also queried the
relationship between Umalusi and the National Education Evaluation and
Development Unit (NEEDU). The Committee was told that the relationship between
the two public entities were yet to be fully clarified;
·
The Committee questioned whether
Umalusi would consider bringing back the differentiation in subjects e.g.
Standard and Higher Grade Mathematics. Umalusi mentioned that it had not had
any engagement or debate around the issue of differentiation in subjects.
Although there were challenges in the education system, the Council was
confident with the quality of the education system. The Committee felt that it
was important for Umalusi to assist in laying to rest the debate on the quality
of education in South Africa; and
·
The Committee enquired whether
Umalusi had a role to play in respect of ANA.
Committee Recommendations
The Committee
recommended that Umalusi, together with the Department of Basic
Education consider convening a workshop/seminar on the
issue of the Quality/Credibility of
the
South African Matriculation Results. The Committee further requested that
Umalusi
made available
its compendium of all research.
3.2
The South African Council for Educators (SACE)
SACE was
responsible for the registration and professional development of all educators
as
well as
upholding the ethics of the profession. The Council further advised the
Ministers of
Basic
Education and Higher Education and Training
and promoted research on
professional
matters.
The main
focus of the Council for the 2013/14 financial year included the following:
3.2.1
Registration
- The Council intended to register
all educators who satisfied
registration
requirements and to maintain and sustain the credibility of the educator
database. The Council would also enhance
the quality of the registration of teachers by
introducing
standards of entry into the profession. The Council aimed to register at least
28
000 educators in the reporting
period, with 20 000 educator documents updated.
Financial Implications for
Registration:
|
|
2008/09
|
2009/10
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial Performance
Data
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Budget
|
Medium Term Estimate
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R Thousand
Registration
|
1,236
|
243
|
180
|
969
|
500
|
231
|
1 000
|
1 400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.2.2
Professional Development
The main aim was to roll
out the Continuing
Professional
Teacher Development (CPTD) System. The council was also developing the
SACE provincial presence concept
document. The Council would recruit nine retired
educators/college lecturers to coordinate the CPTD system at
provincial level. The Council
was
also tasked with developing a manual and electronic Professional Development
Portfolio. The Portfolio recorded all
evidence of participation in professional development by
educators. The Portfolio would also be
available on the CPTD Information System. The
Council
hoped to finalise the draft Portfolio by April 2013. The Portfolio would be
tested in
the sign-up workshop
sessions with principals and deputy principals.
The CPTD System would be implemented with
three cohorts as follows:
·
First
Cohort:
Principals and Deputy Principals (40 747);
·
Second Cohort: Heads of Department (HODs) (55 032); and
·
Third Cohort: Teachers (342 680).
The CPTD Orientation and
sign-up process would take place through electronic self-service
web-portals and manual forms as well
as workshop sessions, video-clips and CDs at
schools.
The aim was to ensure orientation and sign-up for 40 747 principals and deputy
principals and 25 000 schools. The
Council met with the fist three provincial HODs in North
West, Western Cape and Mpumalanga
to share the implementation plans and identify areas
of support. Sign-up sessions scheduled for March 2013 in
North West, the Free-State and
Mpumalanga
had been postponed due to non-participation by organised labour. The
remaining provinces would be visited in
April 2013.
Timelines for the CPTD
roll-out was planned as follows:
·
January 2014 December 2014:
-
The first Cohort starts the 1
st
year of the three
year CPTD cycle; and
-
The second Cohort engages in the CPTD orientation and
sign-up workshops.
·
January 2015 December 2015
-
The first
Cohort
starts 2
nd
year of thee year CPTD cycle;
-
The second Cohort starts 1
st
year of three year
cycle; and
-
The third Cohort engages in the CPTD orientation and sign-up
workshops.
·
January 2016 December 2016
-
The first
Cohort
starts in the third
year of thee year
CPTD cycle, and earns 150 points by December 2015;
-
The second Cohort starts 2
nd
year of three year
cycle;
-
The third Cohort starts in the first year of the three year
CPTD cycle; and
-
The impact study of the first Cohorts three year cycle is
produced.
In January 2017 the first
Cohorts 150 points falls away as the cohort starts a new cycle. In
respect of the provider approvals and
activity endorsements, the Council planned
recruitment
and capacity building for 54 new evaluators and the approval of 150
providers.
The
Council also planned to endorse 450 professional development
activities/programmes.
A CPTD
Monitoring and Evaluation Framework would look at the following:
·
The sign-up process;
·
Participation in the CPTD System;
·
Professional Development Uptake;
·
The quality of Professional
Development Provisioning by the Providers; and
·
Provider Capacity.
The Monitoring and Evaluation verification
tolls would cover the following:
CPTD-Information System Reports;
School visits;
Professional Development Portfolio samples;
and
Provider Site Visits.
Financial Implications for
Professional Development:
|
|
2008/09
|
2009/10
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial Performance
Data
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Budget
|
Medium Term Estimates
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R Thousand
Professional
Development
|
9,907
|
3,274
|
114
|
1 089
|
10 052
|
0
|
7 200
|
7 200
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.2.3
Ethical Standards -
The purpose of this
programme was to promote ethical conduct among educators and to facilitate
interventions and support for schools and educators on ethical matters. The
Councils objectives in the year under review were to reduce the number of
violations of the Code of Good Practice. The number of violations for the
current year stood at 650 complaints. The Council aimed to workshop
35 000 educators and stakeholders on
the code of professional ethics. This would contribute to the reduction of
violations of the code of professional ethics and the provision of quality
education by professionalising the sector.
Financial
Implications for Legal and Ethics:
|
|
2008/09
|
2009/10
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial Performance
Data
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Budget
|
Medium Term Estimates
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R Thousand
Legal and Ethics
|
1,698
|
1,879
|
768
|
1 624
|
1 500
|
400
|
2 400
|
2 800
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.2.4
Policy and Research
The Council had two
policy positions to inform the advice to the Minister of Basic Education i.e.
Internal Teacher Migration and Principals and Deputy Principals Needs. The
Council had the following four research projects:
·
Attitudes of principals and deputy
principals on professional development;
·
The state of the teaching profession,
with a special focus on principals and deputy principals activities and
programmes (to determine values they attach to different professional
development activities and programmes);
·
Analysis of the teacher misconduct
cases referred to SACE from 2008 2012. Tracer study on teacher supply and
demand (tracking the number of newly qualified teachers going into teaching,
how many leave teaching, where do they go, consider the professions competing
with teaching); and
·
An analysis of the database of Foreign
Educators (2008-2012) registered with SACE.
The key activities for 2013/14 were
the dissemination of policy and research
publications produced and
disseminated:
·
Internal Teacher Migration;
·
Principals and Deputy Principals Needs Analysis Report; and
·
CPTD Monitoring and Evaluation Report.
Financial
Implications for Research and Development Policy and Research:
|
|
2008/
0
9
|
2009/10
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial Performance
Data
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Audited
|
Budget
|
Medium Term Estimates
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R Thousand
Research and Development
|
0
|
0
|
249
|
422
|
537
|
200
|
1 000
|
1 400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.2.5
MTEF Projections -
The following notes speak
to some of the issues covered in the MTEF Projections:
3.2.5.1
Revenue
The
Council
increased monthly subscription fees from R 6.00 to R10.00 with effect from 1
July 2010. They received funds from the Department of Basic Education to
subsidise the administration of Professional Development. To date no commitment
for the subsidy amount had been received. The Council budget would be adjusted
on receipt of written commitment or funds from the Department of Basic
Education. The registration fee was expected to decrease as the Council cleared
the backlog. Currently no fees were charged for renewals of provisional
registration. The building reserve
fund contributed to interest received.
3.2.5.2
Expenditure -
The rental
for offices had increased from R 950 000 in 2012 to R 6.6
million
in 2014. The rental contract ran until 30 June 2016. There was a drastic
decrease in
the mandatory
functions budget. The office rental was funded from the same operational
budget while fixed costs were
escalating. The building reserve fund was aimed at purchasing
the building by 2015. The accumulated
reserve stood at R 40 million as of 28 February 2013.
The building in Visagie Street was sold at an auction
for R 10.5 million and the proceeds
would be transferred to the
building
reserve fund once
payment was received on 11 April
2013.
3.2.6
Committee Observations
The
Committee raised the following issues and concerns regarding SACEs strategic
imperatives:
·
The Committee was concerned
whether
SACE, having relocated to their new building, had the necessary insurance in
place and would be able to cover rates and taxes on the building;
·
The Committee was concerned over
the stated figures in respect of the backlogs to be completed. The Committee
was uncertain if SACE, in fact, knew what the backlog figures were and how long
it would take to clear these backlogs;
·
The Committee queried the numbers reflected for foreign
teachers registered and provisionally registered. The Council needed to ensure
that these qualifications were genuine and not fraudulent;
·
The Committee was also concerned with the Professional
Development system and queried whether there were any incentives for educators
and whether these development programmes were mandatory. The Committee further
queried the standards of the programmes available and whether they were
accredited programmes;
·
The Committee was concerned that many of the sexual
offences/abuse cases had not been dealt with and completed. The Committee
queried whether there was any conflict between the SACE Act, the Sexual
Offences Act and the Employment Equity Act in dealing with offenders;
·
The Committee queried the impact and implications for
not proceeding with the sign-up in the affected provinces;
·
The Committee urged that SACE engage with the
Department of Basic Education in respect of the delays in the guaranteed funds
for SACE and the amount involved. The Committee was concerned that the delays
in securing these funds would negatively impact on the plans and programmes of
the Council;
·
It was important that the Council dealt with the issue
of promotions since it was difficult to see the correlations between educator
qualifications and promotion;
·
SACE needed also to deal with the matter of
registration of the educators at FET Colleges. Many of these educators were not
professionally qualified and registered but offered valuable skills and
expertise;
·
The Committee was also concerned over a perceived
conflict of interest of SACEs employees and their membership of organised
labour;
·
The Committee was concerned with the trend of having
special classes for certain learners at schools over weekends this had lead
to tensions between the School Management Team and communities; and
·
The Committee was concerned that the Council was not
as visible to its membership and did not communicate as regularly as it should.
3.2.7
Committee Recommendations
The
Committee recommended that SACE engage with the Department of Basic Education
on the
issue
of Professional Qualification and Promotion. It was important that SACE also
dealt with the roles and
responsibilities of the Council and the Department in respect of
misconduct of educators. SACE in
conjunction with the Department of Basic Education
needed to do the necessary profiling of the Fundza Lushaka
Bursars in the system, since it
has
been increasingly difficult to track these
bursars.
The Department of Basic Education
and
the Council needed to have discussions on the
Recognition
of Prior Learning (RPL) and
how this
could be accommodated.
The
Committee congratulated SACE on acquiring its new building as well as having
received an
unqualified audit
opinion with no emphasis.
3.3
The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)
The ELRC reported that their Annual Performance Plan (APP)
and Budget were developed in line with the current Strategic Plan and
accurately reflected the performance targets which the ELRC intended to
achieve. An
Executive Committee Lekgotla was held in December 2012 to identify
matters to improve the Councils performance. The strategic outcome oriented
goals of the ELRC were as follows:
·
Proactive
dispute prevention and resolution;
·
Collective
bargaining processes that maximised the scope of the parties shared interest;
·
Appropriate
support and training for all involved in dispute resolution and collective
bargaining;
·
Sound
communication strategies that support and complement core activities of the
Council; and
·
Research and
monitoring and evaluation activities that provide evidence base for improved
policies and policy implementation in basic education.
To improve the performance of the Council, the following
strategic goals were developed:
·
To rebuild sound
relations between the parties to the Council;
·
To review structures and
strengthening processes of collective bargaining;
·
To monitor, evaluate and ensure
compliance to collective agreements;
·
To develop and implement
a dispute prevention strategy; and
·
To enhance good
governance with the development and implementation of a risk management
strategy, effective performance management of the organisation and an
investment in human capital development.
3.3.1
ELRC Programmes:
The core business of the ELRC could be summarised into
four programmes as follows:
3.3.1.1
Programme 1: Dispute Management Services
The purpose of the programme was to
manage
disputes proactively through dispute resolution, resolution of special disputes
involving
children and training and development
services.
Provision
of Dispute Resolution Services:
Annual Targets:
·
100 percent of Conciliations finalised within 30 days;
·
80 percent resolution of ordinary arbitrations within 180
days;
·
200 cases settled; and
·
70 percent of arbitrations to be resolved concerning
promotion arbitrations
Quarterly Targets:
·
100 percent of Conciliations finalised within 30 days from
registration of disputes - for
all
four Quarters;
·
At least 80 percent of resolutions
of ordinary arbitrations within 180 days from
when conciliation failed for all
four Quarters;
·
50 cases settled for each Quarter; and
·
70 percent of promotion arbitrations are resolved within 120
days from when
conciliation failed for
all four Quarters.
Resolution
of Special Disputes Involving Children
Annual Target:
·
Resolution of 75 percent of arbitrations where a child was a
victim within 180
days
Quarterly Target:
·
Resolution of 75 percent of arbitrations where a child was a
victim within 180
days
Training
and Development Services
Annual Target:
·
Training and development provided to 240 Dispute Resolution
Practitioners and
Commissioners
Quarterly
Target:
·
Training and development provided to 240 Dispute Resolution
Practitioners and
Commissioners
in the fourth Quarter
3.3.1.2
Programme 2: Collective Bargaining Services
The purpose of the
programme was to ensure the development of effective policies in a non-disruptive
environment. This entailed the promotion of collective bargaining services. The
Council was involved with implementation and monitoring of collective
agreements and policies as research services.
Promotion
of Collective Bargaining Services
Annual Target:
·
At least eight of the 11 agreed matters of mutual interest
in public education are
concluded
successfully in bargaining meetings
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter Two out of 11 bargaining matters of mutual
interest placed on the
agenda of
the Council achieved conclusion. The Council would have the Revised
Post Provisioning Norms (PPN) Policy finalised
in June 2013;
·
Third Quarter Five out of 11 bargaining matters of mutual
interest placed on the
agenda of the Council achieved conclusion.
Further, the conclusion of the
following Collective Agreements in
September 2013:
o
Revised performance management instrument for educators;
o
Establishing parity of notches of educators;
o
Appointment of temporary educators; and
o
Incentives for educators
·
Third Quarter Two out of 11 bargaining matters of mutual
interest placed on the
agenda of the Council achieved
conclusion; and
·
Fourth Quarter Two out of 11 bargaining matters of mutual
interest placed on the
agenda of the Council achieved
conclusion.
Implementation of Collective Agreements/Policies
Annual
Target:
·
Training and advocacy on
the implementation of collective agreements at least four times.
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter
Collective Agreement on the revised performance management instrument for
educators be implemented by June 2013;
·
Second Quarter Advocacy
and training for implementation of Collective Agreement on the revised
performance management instrument for educators be conducted in September 2013;
·
Third Quarter - Advocacy
and training for implementation of Collective Agreement on the revised
performance management instrument for educators be conducted in November 2013;
and
·
Fourth Quarter
Collective Agreement on the revised performance management instrument for
educators be implemented by January 2014.
Monitoring
the Implementation of Collective Agreements/Policies
Annual Target:
·
A report on the
monitoring of collective agreements compiled and available four
times.
Quarterly Targets:
·
Fourth Quarter the
following reports are available in March 2014:
o
Report on the monitoring of the implementation of CA on the
revised performance management instrument for educators;
o
Report on the monitoring of the implementation of CA on
establishing parity of notches of educators;
o
Report on the monitoring of the implementation of CA on the
appointment of temporary educators; and
o
Report on the monitoring of the implementation of CA on the
incentives for educators.
Research
Services
Annual Target:
·
A report on the factors
that promote labour peace, educator morale and wellbeing be available twice.
Quarterly Targets:
·
Second Quarter A
preliminary report on the research on an appropriate model for the
institutionalisation of ECD practitioners in September 2013; and
·
Third Quarter A report
on the monitoring of the implementation of CA on the incentives for educators
in November 2013.
Consultation,
Implementations and Monitoring of Collective Agreements and Policies
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter:
o
At least two employee wellness programmes introduced;
o
A workshop on the indicative budget for post provisioning;
o
Educators evaluated; and
o
Temporary teachers utilised maximally and effectively.
·
Second Quarter:
o
Consultation on post provisioning are finalised and reports
tabled;
o
At least two employee wellness programmes introduced;
o
Ensure 100 percent of educators are evaluated, developed and
paid;
o
Temporary educators utilised maximally and effectively
·
Third Quarter:
o
At least two employee wellness programmes introduced;
o
Consultation concluded and staff establishment issued to all
schools
o
Educators are evaluated and developed; and
o
Temporary teachers utilised maximally and effectively.
·
Fourth Quarter:
o
At least two employee wellness programmes introduced;
o
Implementation reports on provisioning 2014 received and
analysed by Chamber
o
Educators are evaluated; and
o
Temporary teachers utilised maximally and effectively.
3.3.1.3
Programme 3: Administration Services
The purpose of the
programme was to provide support services to core operational functions of the
Council.
Maintain and improve the
finance administrative system
Annual Targets:
·
An approved compliance and audit findings report be
available; and
·
100 percent of debt collected.
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter An approved compliance and audit
findings report is available with 100 percent of debt collected;
·
Second Quarter 100 percent of debt collected;
·
Third Quarter An approved compliance and audit
findings report is available with 100 percent of debt collected; and
·
Fourth Quarter 100 percent of debt collected.
Procure
Goods and Services within Policies and Guidelines
Annual Targets:
·
A report on monitoring compliance of supply chain
management is available;
·
Updated approved supplier database is available; and
·
At least three Supply Chain Management (SCM)
practitioners trained.
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter:
o
A report on monitoring compliance of supply chain
management is available;
o
An updated approved supplier database is available;
and
o
At least two SCM practitioners trained.
·
Second Quarter:
o
A report on monitoring compliance of supply chain
management is available; and
o
An updated approved supplier database is available.
·
Third Quarter:
o
A report on monitoring compliance of supply chain
management is available;
o
An updated approved supplier database is available;
and
o
At least one SCM practitioners trained.
·
Fourth Quarter:
o
A report on monitoring compliance of supply chain
management is available;
o
An updated approved supplier database is available;
and
Maintaining
Good Labour Relations
Annual Targets:
·
Human resources (HR) policies reviewed and approved;
·
A recognition agreement with staff trade union is in
place; and
·
Efficient and effective workforce plan reviewed.
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter:
o
Efficient and effective workforce plan reviewed
commission work study
·
Second Quarter:
o
Job evaluation
·
Third Quarter:
o
Approved HR Policies;
o
Approved recognition agreement; and
o
All positions evaluated and graded.
·
Fourth Quarter:
o
Approved HR policies circulated; and
o
Approved new organisational structure.
Training
and Development
Annual Targets:
·
Twenty eight employees developed and trained.
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter two employees developed and trained;
·
Second Quarter five employees developed and trained;
·
Third Quarter fourteen employees developed and
trained; and
·
Fourth Quarter seven employees developed and
trained.
Ensure
a Healthy and Safe Work Environment
Annual Targets:
·
Three wellness programmes conducted.
Quarterly Targets:
·
Second Quarter One wellness programme conducted;
·
Third Quarter One wellness programme conducted; and
·
Fourth Quarter One wellness programme conducted.
Provide
Reliable Information Technology and Communication Systems
Annual Targets:
·
Information Technology and Communication systems
overhauled.
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter Due diligence report approved;
·
Second Quarter SITA approved as official service
provider;
·
Third Quarter New IT and communication system
implemented; and
·
Fourth Quarter IT and communication systems
overhauled.
3.3.1.4
Programme 4: Capital Expenditure
The purpose of the programme was
to provide the necessary capital resources to ensure effective and efficient
delivery on Councils mandates.
Managing
the Property and Assets of the Council
Annual Targets:
·
Property refurbished and maintained - Tender on
refurbishment awarded
Quarterly Targets:
·
First Quarter Bid specification for appointment of
project manager finalised;
·
Second Quarter Project manager appointed;
·
Third Quarter Bid specification for refurbishment of
building finalised and tender issued; and
·
Fourth Quarter Tender awarded.
The Portfolio Committee received a detailed breakdown and
overview of the 2013/14 Budget and
MTEF
Estimates for the ELRC.
3.3.2
Budget and MTEF Estimates
The ELRCs budget for 2013/14 was estimated at R58.6
million, a decrease from R65.9 in
2012/13.
The budget consisted of R48 million from the levies received, R2.1 million from
investment
and R8.5 million from transfers.
Overall, the Dispute Management Services Programme
accounted for 16 per cent of the
allocation
of the programmes. The Collective
Bargaining Services was allocated the 31 percent of the ELRCs
budget. The Administration Services
accounted for 384 percent of the overall allocation to
programmes while the Dispute Prevention Support Services were
allocated 19 percent.
3.3.3
Relating Expenditure Trends to
Strategic-Oriented Goals:
·
The core business of Dispute Resolution and Collective
Bargaining Services had been allocated 66 percent of the total budget, being
increased from 56 percent;
·
The Council mentioned that the funding of its
strategic outcome oriented goals had not been compromised;
·
The expenditure of the ELRC was closely aligned to the
income generated;
·
The funding model was unique and challenging;
·
The accumulation of surplus funds/reserves was
adequate over the MTEF period;
·
Revenue increases, excluding the transfer from
transformation fund and accumulated reserves, from R56.5 million in 2009/10 to
R65, 8 million in 2012/13, were due to an increase/decrease in interest
from investments and transfers from reserves;
·
Expenditure increased from R46 million in 2009/10 to R58, 4
million in 2012/13, at an average annual rate of 8.3 percent, mainly due to an
increase in the staff complement and depreciation in the 2012/13 financial year
in anticipation of the increased capital expenditure of refurbishing the
Council owned building;
·
The Council projected that deficits would arise over the
MTEF period due to the income remaining constant. However, the Council had
sufficient reserves to cover this deficit; and
·
It is anticipated that the levies would need to be increased
to cover the deficit from the 2016/17 financial year, since the deficits were
not sustainable in the long term.
3.3.4
Committee Observations
The Portfolio Committee
made the following observations in respect of the ELRC Budget
Review:
·
The Committee raised concerns around the status of the
performance assessments for principals and deputy principals and a timeline
for resolving this matter;
·
The Committee questioned the role played by the ELRC in
labour peace. The Committee queried the current dispute with organised labour
in respect of agreements and disputes. Was this matter still with the Council?
Where did it reside currently;
·
The Committee raised concerns over the issue of temporary
teachers. What was the role played by the ELRC in reducing the number of
temporary teachers in the pool? Different provinces had different methods of
absorption/utilisation of temporary teachers and the Committee was of the view
that there was a need for
a uniform
approach in this regard;
·
The Committee noted that one of the strategic objectives of
the Council was to assist provincial education departments. The Committee
queried the role of the ELRC in the latest agreements in the
Eastern Cape in respect of the
appointment of temporary teachers into permanent positions;
·
The ELRCs revised Annual Performance Plan (APP) was a
marked improvement from what the Council previously presented to the Committee.
Annual performance targets that lacked specification had been refined;
·
The Committee queried the latest developments in respect of
the teacher lap-top initiative (TLI);
·
The Committee was interested in the role of the ELRC in
respect of Early Childhood Development practitioners service conditions, norms
and standards of funding;
·
The Committee was concerned with the strategies of the ELRC
in dealing with backlogs in the system and timelines for dealing with these;
·
The Committee also raised concerns in respect of the
implementation of teacher incentives/rural incentives in various provinces and
the reliance on the Provincial Chambers to monitor the implementation of the
policy;
·
The Committee queried the role of the ELRC in respect of the
restructuring of the revised Post Provisioning Norms (PPN);
·
The Committee raised concerns around the matter of
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). The Committee was encouraged by the good
work being done in respect of RPL;
·
The Committee was concerned over the lack of full
functionality and optimal effectiveness of the Provincial Chambers which could
lead to labour disputes;
·
The Committee noted that issues that were not resolved will
be further considered by the Councils Executive Committee. These included the
following Committees observations:
o
That there were inconsistencies in the figures and measuring
targets presented in the revised plan; and
o
That the ELRC needed to consider their role in respect of
the maintenance of peace in the education sector; and
·
The Council will provide the Committee with feedback in
respect of these issues as part of their annual reporting obligations.
·
The Committee urged the ELRC
to
revisit the optimal utilisation of the pool of temporary teachers. It was
important that there be the necessary funding norms and standards for ECD
practitioners.
·
The Committee urged that the ELRC
improve on the management of the backlogs that existed.
4.
Conclusion
·
The reviews have presented a picture of
where government stands in the provisioning of access to education, enabling
the Committee to ascertain progress and challenges faced;
·
These sessions had presented an opportunity
to deliberate on issues with the aim of finding practical ways of coordinating
efforts in moving forward with an efficient machinery of delivery;
·
The Committee further committed itself to
strengthening its oversight role in accordance with the Constitutional provisions;
and
·
The Committee was thus
focusing on the implementation of service delivery, building and strengthening
capacity; developing human and financial resources and developing the necessary
skills required to ensure quality basic education.
5. Recommendation
The Portfolio Committee
on Basic Education, having considered its report on Budget Vote 15: Basic Education
recommends that the House accepts the Report.
Report
to be considered.
[1]
The NDP has set the target of trebling
university entrance passes with mathematics and physical science by 2030
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