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ATC190320: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on its activities undertaken during the 5th Parliament (May 2014 – March 2019)

Basic Education

 

 

 

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on its activities undertaken during the 5th Parliament (May 2014 – March 2019)

 

 

Key highlights

                                                           

  1. Reflection on committee programme per year and on whether the objectives of such programmes were achieved

 

           Over the 5-year period under review the thrust of the work of the Committee was on oversight aimed at improving the quality   

           of basic education (Outcome 1). This included the basic functionality of schools and implementation of priorities linked to the   

           2014 – 2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and the National Development Plan (NDP).  The Committee also     

           adapted its programmes to cover arising issues of concern in the basic education sector. The Committee discharged its  

           responsibilities through several tools, including briefing sessions from the Department and its entities, scrutiny of Budget

           Votes, Annual Reports, Strategic and Annual Performance Plans, site visits, the Budgetary Review and Recommendation

           Reports, quarterly reports and the utilisation of the Constituency period.

 

            In terms of the areas of its functions, the Committee’s key achievements include the following:

 

  • The Committee produced its 5-year Strategy Plan, which was revised in 2016
  • The Committee monitored and oversaw the implementation of all key sector priorities linked to the 2014 – 2019 MTSF and the NDP 
  • The Committee oversaw the monitoring role of the DBE over the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) as well as the formulation of national policies and their implementation.
  • The Committee held several conferral meetings with other Parliamentary Committees on matters of common interest
  • The Committee conferred with several relevant governmental and civil society organs on basic educational matters
  • The Committee managed to visit eight of the nine provinces for oversight over the implementation of key priorities
  • During its oversight visits, the Committee ensured the participation of its various stakeholders and conferred with education committees in the provincial legislatures.
  • The Committee dealt with various matters referred to it by the Speaker or the National Assembly, including petitions and reports pertaining to basic education.

 

            Although the Committee conducted oversight over the implementation of existing legislation, no Bills were processed during  

            the 5-year period under review.

 

  1. Committee’s focus areas during the 5th Parliament

 

            The Committee’s focus areas for oversight during the 5th Parliament drew in large measure from the MTSF sub-outcomes for   

           the basic education sector and the priorities of the NDP. They included the monitoring of the following:

 

  • The improvement of the quality of learning outcomes in Grade R to 9, the National Senior Certificate (NSC) and critical subjects such as Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST)
  • The development, supply and effective utilisation of teachers
  • The eradication of inappropriate school structures, construction of new structures and provision of infrastructure facilities through ASIDI
  • Provision of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) 
  • Inclusive education
  • Assessment measures for learning to ensure quality and efficiency in academic achievement
  • Expanded access to Early Childhood Development and improvement of the quality of Grade R, with support for pre-Grade R provision
  • The strengthening of accountability, improvement of management at school and district support.
  • Partnerships for education reform and improved quality.
  • Schools connectivity and access to ICT resources
  • Implementation of conditional grants
  • The psychosocial wellbeing of learners
  • Social cohesion
  • Performance in international comparative studies
  • Effectiveness and efficiency in the use of available resources 

 

  1.      Key areas for future work

 

  • Monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the 2018 Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR)
  • Processing the delayed Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill upon referral to Parliament
  • Continuing to monitor the alignment of the plans and performance indicators of the Department and its entities with the NDP, including overseeing the introduction of indicators that are not yet covered in the Department’s Annual Performance Plans such as competency assessments in the appointment of principals 
  • Continuing to monitor the implementation of measures for the improvement of learner outcomes
  • Continue to monitor assessment measures for learning to ensure quality and efficiency in academic achievement, including the redesigned Systemic Evaluation
  • Continuing to monitor the eradication of inappropriate school structures, construction of new structures and provision of infrastructure facilities through ASIDI
  • Continuing to monitor the implementation of the Norms and Standards for infrastructure, including strengthening the norms in response to court cases
  • Continuing to monitor the implementation of Inclusive Education
  • Continuing to monitor progress on teacher supply, utilisation and development
  • Monitoring the implementation of the 3-stream model and interventions aimed at preparing learners for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
  • Continuing to monitor the performance of the conditional grants
  • Continuing to monitor learner access to required LTSM
  • Continuing to monitor the psychosocial wellbeing of learners
  • Continuing to monitor progress towards universal access to information via broadband
  • Following up on the implementation of the recommendations of the High Level Panel on Key Legislation to address outstanding issues
  • Continuing to monitor the improvement of Grade R and plans for extension of ECD, including overseeing the introduction of a new funding model for ECD and the transfer of the ECD programme from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education
  • Continuing to monitor and assess the effectiveness and efficiency in the use of available resources. 
  • Continue to monitor assessment measures for learning to ensure quality and efficiency in academic achievement.

 

  1. Key challenges emerging

 

  • The delayed introduction of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill to Parliament, covering a range of issues aimed at improving basic education, inhibited the Committee’s plans to engage on legislation
  • Repeated declined applications combined with budget constraints for study tours limited the international perspective of the Committee on key priorities such as vocational and technical education at secondary school level, ICT provision and connectivity, improved learner outcomes and ECD funding model.
  • The busy schedule of the Committee often resulted in delays of the adoption of minutes and reports of the Committee.  

 

  1. Recommendations

 

  • The Committee should prioritise the processing of the BELA Bill upon referral to Parliament, including ensuring that specific aspects of legislation in the HLP report are covered, including the administration and funding model of ECD.
  • The Committee should prioritise gaining an international perspective on the emerging priorities of the sector through a benchmarking study tour early in the Sixth Parliament, subject to the availability of funds.

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Introduction

 

 

  1. Department and Entities falling within the committee’s portfolio

 

  1. Department of Basic Education (DBE)

 

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) derives its mandate firstly from the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), which requires education to be transformed and democratised in accordance with the values of human dignity, equality, human rights and freedom, non-racism and non-sexism. The Constitution guarantees access to basic education for all, including adult basic education. Secondly, the National Education Policy Act, 1996 Act 27 of 1996 (NEPA), inscribes into law the policies for the national system of education, the legislative and monitoring responsibilities of the Minister of Education, as well as the formal relations between national and provincial authorities. In terms of the NEPA, the DBE’s statutory role is to formulate national policy, norms and standards as well as to monitor and evaluate policy implementation and impact.

 

In line with its mandate, the Department has a vision of a South Africa in which all people will have access to lifelong learning, education and training opportunities, which will, in turn, contribute towards improving the quality of life and building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic South Africa.

 

In fulfilling its mandate over the period under review, the Department was guided by the 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) designed to reflect the actions outlined in the National Development Plan (NDP).

 

            2.1.2    Entities

 

Over the period under review three entities fell within the committee’s portfolio, namely, the South African Council for Educators (SACE), the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) and the General and Further Education and Training Quality Assurance Council (UMALUSI). The ELRC was delisted as a public entity falling within the basic education portfolio in 2015. The roles of these entities are as follows:

 

Name of Entity

Role of Entity
  1. South African Council for Educators (SACE)

SACE is responsible for the regulation, oversight and promotion of the teaching profession.
  1. Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)

The primary business of the Council is to promote the maintenance of labour peace in the public education sector through the provision of dispute resolution (and prevention) services
  1. General and Further Education and Training Quality Assurance Council (UMALUSI)

UMALUSI is tasked with the following:

  1. Qualifications: Monitor and report on the adequacy and sustainability of qualifications and standards in general and further education and training

 

  1. Quality Assurance: Accredit private providers of education and training and assessment and promote quality amongst providers and ensure that providers adopt quality management systems 

 

 

2.1.3    Functions of the Committee:

 

Committees derive their mandate from the Rules of Parliament, based on the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996. The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education fulfils its mandate by performing, amongst others, the following functions:

  • Conducting oversight over the executive, including monitoring and overseeing the financial and non-financial performance of the Department of Basic Education and its entities to ensure that national objectives are met.
  • Processing and passing legislation and international protocols and conventions relating to basic education in accordance with the Rules of Parliament and the Constitution.
  • Facilitating public participation during legislative and oversight processes.
  • Participating in National and International educational dialogues relating to basic education.
  • Conferring with the National Council of Provinces on legislation pertaining to basic education which affects the Provinces.
  • Conferring with relevant governmental and civil society organs on basic educational matters in order to participate in the development of strategies and policies aimed at ensuring the quality and integrity of the basic education system.
  • Dealing with any other matters referred to the Committee by the Speaker or the National Assembly.

 

 

2.1.4    Method of work of the Committee

 

The Portfolio Committee employs the use of a Management Committee to deal with managerial matters – without having to specifically convene Portfolio Committee meetings (e.g. processing and completing Committee programmes, preparation for monitoring and oversight, drafting and giving input to draft reports etc.).

 

The thrust of the work of the Portfolio Committee during the period under review was on oversight. In terms of its oversight approach, the Portfolio Committee calls statutory bodies to account to the Portfolio Committee and brief the Portfolio Committee on the implementation of priorities pertaining to Basic Education. For example, progress in the procurement and delivery of Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM) i.e. textbooks, workbooks, stationery and the delivery of infrastructure to schools. The Committee also scrutinises Budget Votes, Quarterly Reports, Annual Reports and Strategic and Annual Performance Plans of the Department and its entities as well as holds strategic sessions and workshops. In addition, the Portfolio Committee conducts study visits of Provinces, Districts and schools in respect of provincial state-of-school readiness, exam readiness the basic functionality of schools and implementation of key priorities, particularly those linked to the Medium Strategic Framework and the National Development Plan, Recognising that the South African public education system is vast, with approximately 24 000 ordinary public schools, the Portfolio Committee resolved in its Five Year Strategic Plan to prioritise its focus on underperforming schools in order to make the greatest impact in the system. The Portfolio Committee further resolved to work closely with provincial legislative committees on education and the Select Committee on Education of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in assessing school performance and functioning, given that Basic Education is a concurrent function.

 

 

2.1.5    Purpose of the report

 

The purpose of this report is to provide an account of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education work during the 5th Parliament and to inform the members of the new Parliament of key outstanding issues pertaining to the oversight and legislative programme of the Department of Basic Education and its entities.

 

This report provides an overview of the activities the committee undertook during the 5th Parliament, the outcome of key activities, as well as any challenges that emerged during the period under review and issues that should be considered for follow up during the 6th Parliament. It summarises the key issues for follow-up and concludes with recommendations to strengthen operational and procedural processes to enhance the committee’s oversight and legislative roles in future.

 

  1. Key statistics

 

The table below provides an overview of the number of meetings held, legislation and international agreements processed and the number of oversight trips and study tours undertaken by the committee, as well as any statutory appointments the committee made, during the 5th Parliament:

 

Activity

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Total

Meetings held

26

27

26

34

17 (to date)

130

Legislation processed

None

None

None

None

None

None0

Oversight trips undertaken

5

8

6

7

6

32

Study tours undertaken

None

None

None

None

None

None

International agreements processed

None

None

                       None

None

None

None

Statutory appointments made

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Interventions considered

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Petitions considered

 

2

 

 

1

3

 

 

  1. Stakeholders:

 

  1. Organised Labour:
  2. South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU)
  3. National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA)
  4. Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysunie (SAOU)
  5. Professional Educators Union (PEU)
  6. National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU)
  7. National Teachers Union (NATU)
  8. South African Principals Association (SAPA)

 

  1. Labour Relations Council
  • Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)

 

  1. School Governing Bodies and their associations:
  • National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB)
  • Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS)
  • Governance Alliance
  • Governing Body Foundation
  • United Front for School Governing Body
  • South African National Association for Special Education (SANASE)
  • National Congress of School Governing Body

 

  1. Learner formations:
  • The Congress of South African Students (COSAS)

 

  1. Non-Governmental Organisations:
  2. The Right to Education for Children with Disabilities Campaign
  3. Equal Education
  4. Section 27
  5. JET Education Services
  6. Children’s Institute, UCT
  7. Inclusive Education South Africa (IESA)
  8. Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA)
  9. The Legal Resources Centre

 

  1. Government linked entities:
  2. National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT)
  3. Education, Training and Development Practices (ETDP) SETA
  4. Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
  5. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA)
  6. Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA)
  7. National Treasury

 

5.7       Chapter 9 State Institutions Supporting Constitutional Democracy:

  • South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)
  • Parliament linked entities: Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO)

 

 

  1. Briefings and/or public hearings

 

Over the 5-year period under review, the Portfolio Committee, on a weekly basis, received various briefings from the Department of Basic Education (DBE), its entities and other relevant stakeholders on key priorities of the basic education sector. These priorities also feature in the MTSF and the NDP. The table below shows briefings by the Department on some key priorities over the 5-year period.  The Committee resolved to receive regular progress reports on the achievement of critical priorities that posed the most challenge to the sector or had tight targets. These include school connectivity and access to ICT resources; expansion of quality ECD; Inclusive Education; teacher development, supply and utilisation; and provision of adequate infrastructure.

 

Based on the reports and briefings of the Department, progress was made in certain areas though challenges remain, including in the following areas:

 

  1. Teacher development: Notable progress made includes that the Department’s targets on the number of Funza Lushaka Bursaries awarded to students enrolled for initial teacher education were exceeded in recent years though their placement remains a challenge particularly in rural areas and poor schools. The entry of young teachers into the profession is also increasing steadily. However, the Committee’s engagement of the Department on the 25-year review has revealed that although there is improvement in the filling of posts at a sectoral level from 69 percent in 2011 to 78 percent in 2017, this is still below the set target of 95 percent in the MTSF. The Committee had annual conferral meetings with the PC on Higher Education on the Initial Teacher Education (ITE), which aims to assess progress on the initial teacher training at universities. These meetings pointed to steady progress being made in improving the quality and focus of ITE.

 

  1. Inclusive education: recent progress on support to Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) include the adaptation of several textbooks into Braille and provision of Braille workbooks and Toolkits in all 11 languages to schools for the visually impaired. The NSC examination is also now available in sign language. Despite this progress, challenges still exist. At the Committee’s roundtable meeting with stakeholders on deaf education, DeafSA expressed concern about the lack of focus on Early Childhood Development for deaf children, implementation of sign language as an official academic language without the necessary learner/teacher support material, and the fact that the majority of educators who taught deaf learners did not understand South African Sign Language (SASL). It was also requested that teaching assistants who understood SASL should be given bursaries to become qualified teachers. The Committee saw the need for further meetings of this nature to occur in future.

 

  1. Provision of adequate infrastructure: The Committee’s regular engagement on provision of infrastructure pointed to underachievement in respect of ASIDI targets related to inappropriate structures, provision of water and decent sanitation. The Committee has also noted underachievement with regard to expenditure patterns on the ASIDI programme. The Sanitation Audit conducted in 2018 showed there was still a challenge with unsafe pit toilets, including the need to build new facilities and to destroy old unsafe facilities. The Department has set new timeframes to address the sanitation backlogs. The 6th Parliament should closely monitor the implementation of the Department’s plan to address these backlogs, including effective and efficient use of the budget received from Treasury for this purpose

 

Other critical issues that arose from the briefings that need to be followed up include the following:

 

  1. Jobs for cash report briefing: The Committee received a briefing from the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) on the Jobs-for-Cash report and subsequently engaged organised unions, the ELRC and SGB formations on the findings of the report. The report revealed amongst others that there were many forms of improper and unfair influence affecting the outcomes of the appointment of educators. Numerous claims of money being paid to influence the outcome were found to be in minority cases. It was also found that officials of a particular union exerted improper influence. In some cases, there appeared to be collusion between union officials and district/provincial officials leading to a system of patronage. The report also raised issues within the appointment process in the Educator sector. Key recommendations made impacting on existing legislation relate to the selection and appointment of educators, including the powers of SGBs to make recommendations for the appointment of certain post level positions. The Department has been taking steps to address some of the findings and recommendations of the report. The 6th Parliament should consider following up on the effective implementation of all the recommendations of the report. From a legislative perspective, the recommendations pertaining to the selection and appointment of educators should be considered during the processing of the BELA Bill, once it is referred to Parliament.

 

  1. Alignment of APPs of departments with the MTSF and NDP: The Committee also received briefings from the DBE, AGSA and the nine Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) to enable discussions and to establish progress made in the alignment of APPs of departments with the 2014-2019 MTSF. Follow up engagements on this matter revealed greater alignment on the sector indicators and targets to the MTSF and NDP. The Sixth Parliament should consider monitoring progress towards the inclusion of key performance indicators in the MTSF and NDP that are not yet covered in the APPs of the sector. These include the use of competency assessments in the appointment of principals.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table of briefings to the Portfolio Committee on key priorities, 2014 - 2018

Focus areas linked to MTSF and NDP

                                                         Briefings

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Improvement of learner outcomes

 

Assessment measures for learning to ensure quality and efficiency in academic achievement

Performance in international comparative studies

Ministerial Committee Report on the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examinations

 

Status of Curriculum Delivery and Support to Schools

 

 

Briefing on Matric Results for 2015

 

Status report on School Readiness for 2016

 

School-Readiness monitoring 2017

 

3-Stream Model

 

2nd Chance Programme

 

SACMEQ IV Report and State of Exam-Readiness

 

 

 

Matric Exam Results 2016 and 3-Stream Model

 

Standardisation processes and procedures

 

Progress in implementation of CAPS and IIAL

 

Update on final consolidated NSC Exam Results 2016, Merging of Exams and Remodelling of ANA

 

Preparations for 2017 NSC Exams

 

NEEDU Systemic Evaluation of the Basic Education Sector

 

Early Grade Reading Study

 

TIMSS Grades 5 – 9 Performance

Standardisation of 2017 NSC Exams

School readiness and 2017 NSC Exam Outcomes

3-Stream Model and 4th Industrial Revolution

Introduction of History as compulsory subject and Draft Rural Education Policy

QLTC and Consolidated 2017 NSC Exam Results

Development, supply and effective utilisation of teachers

 

Implementation of

the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) + Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD)

Funza Lushaka Bursary programme and placement of graduates of the programme

 

Status and Functionality of Teacher Centres

 

Measures to improve Initial Teacher Education Programmes (Joint meeting with PC on HET)

Initial Teacher Education Programmes and CPTD

Initial Teacher Education Programmes and CPTD

ETDP-SETA on collaborative work with DBE

Improvement of Initial Teacher Education Programmes

 

Strengthening of accountability, improvement of school management and governance and district support.

 

Findings of a research project on Initial Teacher Education

Preparations for SGB elections

School Governance and Management

 

Provincial and District Monitoring and Support (i.r.o Policy Implementation and Financial Management)

 

Database Management and Support

Engagement with Stakeholders on Jobs-for-Cash Report

 

Ministerial Task Team Report on Selling of Posts

 

Implementation of Recommendations of Gauteng Oversight

 

Implementation of Recommendations of KwaZulu-Natal Oversight

Preparations for SGB elections 2018

 

 

Eradication of inappropriate school structures, construction of new structures and provision of infrastructure facilities through ASIDI

 

 

Performance of the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) and Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG)

 

Implementation of conditional grants

Infrastructure and Rationalisation of schools and Review on Improvement of PED reporting systems

 

School Infrastructure and Grants

 

 

Provision of Learning and Teaching Support Materials

 

 

 

 

 

Inclusive education

 

Implementation of Inclusive Education and state of Special Needs Schools

 

Rural Schools/Multi-Grade Schools/Farm Schools/Non-Viable Schools/Special Needs

Report on Inclusive Education and Special Needs Education

 

SAHRC Report on Investigative Hearings on Inclusive Education

Report on Inclusive Education and Special Needs Education

 

SAHRC Report on Investigative Hearings on Inclusive Education

 

 

 

Expanded access to ECD and improvement of the quality of Grade R provision

Progress on implementation of Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes (joint meetings with DSD)

 

Progress on Implementation of ECD Programmes

 

Progress on implementation of ECD programmes

 

School connectivity and access to ICT resources

Progress on the roll-out of ICT, Broadband and school connectivity

Progress on Provisioning of ICT to Schools and connectivity

Update on Provision of ICT in Schools + School Connectivity

 

 

ICT roll-out in Schools

 

Partnerships for education reform and improved quality

Implementation of the Education Collaboration Framework

Progress in Implementation of QLTC

NECTU, QLTC and NEEDU

 

 

NECT

High Level Panel Recommendations

 

Effectiveness and efficiency in the use of available resources

 

 

Implementation of conditional grants

Performance of the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) and Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG)

 

 

 

Pro-poor programmes

 

Draft Policy on Learner Transport

 

Status of Learner Transport Policy

 

 

Social Cohesion

Progress on Implementation of the Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL)

Implementation of Social Cohesion and Learner Wellness Programmes

 

School Safety/Violence in Schools + Bullying

 

Progress on IALL and History as compulsory subject

 

Psychosocial wellbeing of learners

Follow-up briefing on Drug Testing in School Sport (joint meeting with PC on Sport and Recreation)

Progress in Provision of Physical Education and School Sport Programme

 

Prevention and management of learner pregnancies

 

Safety in Schools

 

Save-the-Child SA on Violence against Children

Safety in Schools

Oversight over International Agreements

 

Progress on implementation of international agreements

 

Progress on implementation of international agreements

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Legislation: No legislation was referred to the Committee for processing during the Fifth Term. The draft Basic Education Amendment Laws Bill that was envisaged for referral to the Fifth Parliament received a high volume of public submissions, which contributed to the delay in the processing of the Bill.

 

 

  1. Oversight trips undertaken:

 

A total of 32 key oversight and monitoring visits were conducted to provinces and entities accounting to the Committee. These oversight visits focussed on areas such as state-of-school readiness, exam readiness, the functionality of schools, implementation of priorities, specific challenges as they arose and the use of resources. The Committee also held several strategic and operational workshops with the Department, focusing on ways of addressing key challenges. In addition, the Committee Chairperson as well as individual Members participated in numerous engagements on basic education, including presiding over the handing over of newly built schools.

 

The following table lists key oversight trips that were undertaken during the Fifth Parliament. The objectives of each oversight, key recommendations that could be monitored further and responses to the recommendations (in some cases) are attached as Annexure C. Comprehensive reports of each oversight visit, including the observations and a full list of recommendations made by the Committee, are available in the Parliamentary records as well as online.

 

 

 

Key Oversight visits undertaken in the Fifth Parliament

Date

Area Visited

Focus area

Status of Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29 – 30 Aug 2014

Pretoria

DBE Strategic and Operational Workshop

Adopted + Tabled

22 – 26 Sep 2014

N Cape + E Cape

Exam Readiness

Adopted + Tabled

15 Oct 2014

Durban

Meeting with President on Operation Phakisa

Oral Report

16 Oct 2014

Cape Town

Handover of Primary School

Oral Report

24 – 26 Nov 2014

N West + Limpopo

School Readiness 2015

Adopted + Tabled

4 Dec 2014

Diepsloot

Official Release of 2014 ANA Results

Adopted + Tabled

23 Dec 2014

Pretoria

Standardisation Meeting

Adopted + Tabled

 

 

 

 

2015:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 – 6 Jan 2015

Johannesburg

NSC 2014 Results Release

Adopted + Tabled

2 – 6 Feb 2015

KwaZulu-Natal

School Readiness

Adopted + Tabled

7 – 8 March 2015

Midrand

National Teacher Awards

Adopted + Tabled

29 May 2015

Cape Town

Visit to IESA

Adopted + Tabled

19 – 24 July 2014

Limpopo + Mpumalanga

Oversight on Special + Farm Schools

Adopted + Tabled

14 – 18 Sep 2015

KwaZulu-Natal

2015 Exam Readiness

Adopted + Tabled

23 Dec 2015

Pretoria

Standardisation Meeting

Adopted + Tabled

 

 

 

 

2016:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 – 6 Jan 2016

Midrand

2015 Exam Results Release

Adopted + Tabled

25 – 29 Jan 2016

KwaZulu-Natal

School Readiness 2016

Adopted + Tabled

31 Jan – 3 Feb 2016

Eastern Cape

School Readiness

Adopted + Tabled

27 – 28 Feb 2016

Midrand

National Teacher Awards

Adopted + Tabled

22 – 24 Mar 2016

Cape Town

DBE Workshop

Adopted + Tabled

23 Dec 2016

Pretoria

Standardisation Meeting

Adopted + Tabled

 

 

 

 

2017:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 – 5 Jan 2017

Midrand

Official Exam 2016 Results Release

Adopted + Tabled

10 – 12 Jan 2017

Port Elizabeth

School Readiness 2017

Adopted + Tabled

26 – 27 Feb 2017

Pretoria

NECT Dialogue

Adopted + Tabled

29 Jan – 3 Feb 2017

KwaZulu-Natal

School Readiness 2017

Adopted + Tabled

25 – 26 March 2017

Pretoria

Annual Teacher Awards

Adopted + Tabled

26 – 31 March 2017

Gauteng

State-of-Schooling

Adopted + Tabled

25 – 29 June 2017

W Cape

State-of-Schooling (Farm)

Adopted + Tabled

31 Jul – 4 Aug 2017

W Cape

State-of-Schooling

Adopted + Tabled

5 – 6 Dec 2017

Johannesburg

Decolonisation of Education Dialogue

Adopted + Tabled

 

 

 

 

2018:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 – 5 Jan 2018

Johannesburg

2017 NSC Results Release

Adopted + Tabled

28 Jan – 2 Feb 2018

Mpumalanga

School Readiness 2018

Adopted + Tabled

17 – 18 Feb 2018

Johannesburg

National Teacher Awards

Adopted + Tabled

5 – 6 Apr 2018

Menlyn

Education Excellence Awards

Adopted + Tabled

24 Apr 2018

Cape Town

Vodacom Training Centre

Adopted + Tabled

12 – 17 Aug 2018

N West

Exam Readiness Oversight

Adopted + Tabled

28 – 29 Aug 2018

(Chair)

Menlyn

ELRC 2018 Education Indaba

Adopted + Tabled

5 – 6 Oct 2018

Menlyn

World Teacher Day Celebration

Adopted + Tabled

 

 

 

  1. Challenges emerging

 

The following challenges emerged during the oversight visit:

 

  • Technical/operational challenges:
  • Accommodation Challenges – Accommodation recommended by travel agents is not always up to standard with Members complaining about accommodation arrangements/standards. Agents book an amount for dinner (with no limitations), but many hotels insist that we utilise the “government Rate/Government package” which only allows for restricted dinner – Members are also then not allowed to have in-room dining. This “special rate/package is much less than what we have approval for in terms of dinner.
  • Ground Transport – Should ensure that the drivers have copies of the committee programme/itinerary for the duration of the oversight visit to familiarise themselves with the routings and distances to avoid getting lost or not arriving on time.

                 

 

 

 

  1. Special Invitations/Engagements (Per Year):

 

8.1       Year 2014:

 

 

  • A two day strategic and operational workshop with the Department of Basic Education, Heads of Department (HODs) of the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) or their representatives, Chairpersons of the Standing Committees on Education in the Provincial Legislatures and Statutory Bodies
  • The Chairperson attended the following on behalf of the Portfolio Committee:
    • Official Handover of the Lower Mpako Senior Primary School in Mthatha
    • Operation Phakisa Engagement with President in Durban
    • Official Handover of the Heideveld Primary School, Cape Town
    • Launch of “Save the Child SA”, Newtown, Johannesburg
    • SADTU Principals Seminar on Violence in Schools (Cape Town)
    • ELRC AGM (Centurion)

 

 

8.2       Year 2015:

 

 

  • The Chairperson attended the following on behalf of the Portfolio Committee:
    • Funeral of Staff Member family (Polokwane)
    • SADTU Principals Seminar on Violence in Schools (Cape Town)
    • ELRC AGM (Centurion)

    

  • Offices of Inclusive Education South Africa (IESA) and visit to some Full Service School in Cape Town.

 

 

 

           

8.3       Year 2016:

 

  • The Chairperson attended the Baku International Humanitarian Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan
  • The Portfolio Committee hosted a 3-day Workshop with the Department and Sector Stakeholders
  • The Chairperson attended the Launch of the Four-Grants (Pretoria)
  • The Chairperson attended the SAHRC 20th Anniversary Conference, Midrand

 

 

8.4       Year 2017:

 

  • The Portfolio Committee processed the Recommendation contained in the High Level Panel Report pertaining the Basic Education Sector
  • The Portfolio Committee attended a meeting with Vodacom at the Western Cape Training Centre
  • Roundtable with PEDs on targets and indicators
  • Two Members participated in the Taking Parliament to the People (TPTTP) programme in Gauteng
  • The Chairperson attended the following:
  • Flagstaff Educator Sector Meeting, Flagstaff
  • Funeral of member of staff, Mthatha
  • SAIDE Colloquium, Durban
  • SAAEA Conference, Pretoria
  • Opera Rocks Function, Melrose Arch
  • International Study Visit to New York
  • 2018 National Educator Excellence Awards, Menlyn
  • ELRC 2018 Education Indaba, Menlyn
  • 2018 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla, Pretoria
  • Curro Dinner, Sandton
  • CSTL Conference, Gauteng
  • Anglo American Launch, Midrand

 

 

  1. Study tours undertaken

 

The Portfolio Committee did not undertake any International Study Tours during the period under review. The Committee had planned to undertake its study tour to South Korea as programmed for 2019 but this did not materialise due to budgetary constraints. However, the Chairperson, honoured invitations to attend the following International sessions:

 

  • 27 September – 20 October 2016 – Baku, Azerbaijan. To participate in the Baku International Humanitarian Forum
  • 20 – 28 October 2018 – New York, United States of America. To participate in the UNICEF/DBE Learning Exchange Tour.

 

 

  1. International Agreements: None were referred during the period under review

 

 

  1. Statutory appointments: N/A

 

 

  1. Interventions: None

 

 

  1. Petitions

 

The following petitions were referred to and considered by the committee:

 

Title

Date referred

Current status

Petition from 31 church and school representatives of Graaff-Reinet, calling for relief in respect of various matters pertaining to the provision of quality education, submitted in terms of Rule 312 (Ms A Lovemore)

8 December 2014 – Referred 10 December 2014

Report adopted and tabled

Petition from Residents of Limpopo, requesting an audit of the schools feeding programme in the Province, submitted in terms of Rule 312 (Ms D Van Der Walt MP)

4 September 2015 – Referred 7 September 2018

Report adopted and tabled

Petition from residents of Greater Edenvale in Gauteng, calling on the Assembly to investigate pressure on schools in the Edenvale area and the fact that no state schools are planned in Greenstone to accommodate the increasing numbers of learners, submitted in terms of Rule 347 (Mr M Waters)

28 November 2017 – Referred 28 November 2018

Report adopted and tabled

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Obligations conferred on committee by legislation:

 

In terms of Section 5 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and Related Matters Act, No. 9 of 2009 the National Assembly, through its Committees, must annually compile Budgetary Review and Recommendation reports (BRRR) that assess service delivery and financial          performance of departments and may make recommendations on forward use of resources. The BRRR is also a source document for the Committees on Appropriations when considering and making recommendations on the Medium Term.

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, for the last five years, completed its Budgetary Review and Recommendation Reports (BRRRs) as prescribed. Among other relevant authorities, the Office of the Auditor-General of South Africa was called to brief the Committee on Audit Outcomes of the Department and its Entities. This was held prior to the Portfolio Committee considering the Annual Reports of the Department and Entities. This process culminated in the production of the Portfolio Committee Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR).

 

The 6th Parliament will need to monitor the implementation of the 2018 BRRR key recommendations to the Department.  These are as follows:

 

 

  • Improve the audit outcomes

 

  • Address the following recurring challenges:
  • Irregular expenditure, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure;
  • The reliability of the reported information in the LURITS database in Programme 4;
  • Material misstatements in the reported performance information and financial statements;
  • Non-compliance issues around annual financial statements;
  • Internal control deficiencies, including leadership oversight; and,
  • Inadequate consequence management

 

  • Continue to intensify the implementation of inclusive education to reach all learners with special education needs, including ensuring that all schools for special needs education are well resourced and adequately adapted for learners with special needs and that educators are adequately trained and developed.

 

  • Address deficiencies in respect of curriculum coverage and textbook retention and retrieval system, as noted by the Auditor-General.

 

  • Provide the necessary support to the relevant Provincial Education Departments to ensure effective and efficient utilization of conditional grants. The Department should consider developing clear performance evaluation frameworks for the grants under its control, with well-defined performance indicators that can be tracked consistently across project cycle stages for all provinces and performance indicators should be based on quality, cost and time factors. A process should be put in place to hold to account those Provincial Education Departments that do not comply.

 

  • Implement the planned headcount reduction strategies to ensure that the Department remain within the compensation of employees ceiling.

 

  • Strengthen the monitoring of the roll-out of ICT in schools, particularly in rural areas, to ensure that access to ICT resources reaches 100 percent by 2019, as required by the Medium Term Strategic Framework.

 

  • Fast track the effective implementation of competency assessments for principals in all the Provincial Education Departments since this indicator is linked to the imperatives of the NDP.

 

  • Put more effective/stringent penalties against Implementing Agents who perform poorly in relation to the ASIDI programme.

 

  • Take the necessary steps to ensure that the budget follows learners, including those who migrate to other provinces.

 

  • Address the deficiencies identified by the Auditor-General regarding Grade R, including infrastructure, teacher learner ratio and qualifications.

 

  • Strengthen the monitoring and implementation of curriculum coverage as well as textbook retention and retrieval.

 

  • Strengthen district monitoring and support to schools. There should be consequence management for district officials who consistently underperform.

 

  • Ensure that all training on inclusive education and special education needs is adequate, including for deaf teacher assistants to teach content.

 

  • Ensure that the Second Chance Matric Programme is inclusive of learners with special education needs with effect from 2019.

 

  • Improve performance in relation to the indicators on teacher participation in self-diagnostic assessments.

 

  • Improve performance in respect of the indicators relating to the ASIDI programme, namely, completed schools to replace inappropriate structures, provision of water and decent sanitation.   

 

  • Together with relevant authorities, fast track the implementation of plans to allocate ring-fenced funds for learner transport.

 

  • Consideration should be made for additional funding for the ASIDI programme, given that expenditure on ASIDI projects increased at the end of 2017/18 and further that the First Quarter 2018/19 report showed that the programme had 83 schools under construction and another five schools had reached partial completion. Based on the current acceleration on the projects, it would appear that the budget allocation will not be enough to complete projects that are currently running.

 

  • Consideration should be made to increase the budget of Umalusi due to its expanded mandate.

 

 

 

 

  1. Other matters referred by the Speaker/Chairperson (including recommendations of the High Level Panel)

 

The High Level Panel (HLP) report was referred to the Committee and the resultant report was produced:

 

Date of referral

Expected report date

Content of referral

Status of Report

6 June 2018

27 November 2018

HLP Recommendations (Basic Education) deliberated on 30 October 2018

To be adopted on 27 November 2018

 

 

 

 

 

The High Level Panel (HLP) made several findings and five (5) key recommendations pertaining to the basic education sector for consideration by Parliament, through the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education. The Committee engaged the Department of Basic Education to solicit their responses to the main findings and recommendations of the HLP. The DBE responded to the five main recommendations contained in the HLP report and submitted a comprehensive report covering various areas of findings in the HLP report.

 

In summary, the HLP report calls for the following:

 

  • More reliable national assessments of learning;
  • New ways of teaching basic reading skills in the Foundation Phase;
  • Broaden access to quality and standardised ECD programmes, including transferring the ECD programme from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education;
  • Tightening up school management and governance, including devolving management autonomy to school principals; and
  • Improving the extent of returns on investments in education.

 

In general, the sector is making steady progress towards addressing these recommendations as well as the report’s findings.

 

In terms of legislation, the HLP report identifies the following areas requiring attention, namely,

 

  • The passing of legislation to devolve management autonomy to school principals, who in turn hold heads of schools and teachers accountable, while national and provincial departments monitor and evaluate the performance of schools
  • The transfer of the ECD programme to the DBE and the introduction of a new funding model will require the amendment of existing legislation.

 

Issues for follow up

 

  • The 6th Parliament should consider the proposed areas of legislative work
  • The 6th Parliament should consider monitoring the implementation of the recommendations and findings of the HLP report.

 

 

  1. Committee strategic plan – Copy Attached

 

 

  1. Master attendance list – Copy Attached

 

  1. Annexure C: Key oversight visits – objectives, key recommendations that could be monitored further and responses to the recommendations

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