ATC190712: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Budget Vote 14: Basic Education, dated 12 July 2019.
Basic Education
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Budget Vote 14: Basic Education, dated 12 July 2019.
The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education having considered Budget Vote 14: Basic Education, together with the Annual Performance Plan of the Department of Basic Education, reports as follows:
1. Introduction
- The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education considered the 2019/20 Annual Performance Plan (APP) and Budget of the Department of Basic Education on Tuesday, 9 July 2019. Due to time constraints, the Committee could not convene briefing sessions with the two statutory bodies, South African Council for Educators (SACE) as well as the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi) who receive voted funds from the budget of the Department.
1.2 The budget briefing served to acquaint the 6th Parliament Portfolio Committee with the mandates, programmes and priorities of the Department.
1.3 Those that appeared before the Portfolio Committee during the Budget Review sessions included the following:
1.3.1 Department of Basic Education (DBE): Hon A Motshekga: Minister of Basic Education, Hon M R Mhaule: Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Mr P R M Khunou: Chief Finance Officer, Mr S G Padayachee: Acting Director-General, Dr G Whittle: Deputy Director-General, Ms N L Mbonambi: Director, Mr E Mhlanga: Chief Director, Mr E R Mafoko: Acting Chief Director, Dr S Sithole: Chief Director, Ms C Nuga-Deliwe: Chief Director, Dr M S Pillay: Chief Director, Adv. S D Misser: Chief Director, Adv. M P Masuku: Chief Director, Ms E Mmola: Director, Mr L Mahada: Parliamentary Liaison Officer, Ms L Carolissen: Liaison Officer, Ms H Mokgatlhe: Ministerial Liaison Officer, Ms P Mphigalale: Senior Secretary, Mr N M Ramahuma: Ministerial Services and Ms S I Lubisis: Ministerial Liaison Officer.
1.4 This report gives a brief summary of the presentation made by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to the Portfolio Committee, focusing mainly on the Department’s 2019/20 Annual Performance Plan, the 2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) allocations, and the overview of allocations per programme. The report also provides the Committee’s key deliberations and recommendations relating to the Vote.
1.5 Copies of all presentations on the Budget Review of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) were available from the office of the Committee Secretary.
2. Overview of the Annual Performance Plan (APP) for 2019/20
2.1 Strategic overview by the Department of Basic Education (DBE)
The Minister of Basic Education, Hon A Motshekga, Deputy Minister Hon M R Mhaule and the Acting Director-General, Mr S G Padayachee led a delegation from the DBE to present on the 2019/20 APP and the Budget of the Department of Basic Education.
- The Minister, in her address, thanked the Portfolio Committee for the opportunity offered to present the APP of the Department. She gave a broad overview of the presentation as it pertained to the legal obligations of the Department – including all availability and shortcomings in respect of resources.
2.1.2 Background and Context - The Portfolio Committee was presented with some background and context to the 2019/20 APP and an indication that the sector demonstrated improvements in monitoring and evaluation to assist with addressing challenges related to performance of the Department.
The Department gave a detailed overview by outlining the shape and the size of the basic education sector, giving a comprehensive breakdown of the number of learners, educators and schools in the ordinary school sector by province for 2018. The Department also the government wide, as well as the education sector based on the NDP vision 2030, SONA 2019 and Action Plan to 2024. The presentation further covered the National Senior Certificate Examination results as well as key activities in the sector to with and goals. It also covered key identified on the 2019/20 APP and actions taken to the issues.
The Department’s Strategic Plan was anchored on the Government’s long-term plan; the and the 2014-2019 (MTSF).
2.1.3 Key Government Priorities – the Department noted that the President announced the seven (7) bold priorities of Government as follows, and basic education was critical in priorities 2, 3, 5 and 6:
- Economic transformation and job creation;
- Education, skills and health;
- Consolidating the social wage through reliable and quality basic services;
- Spatial integration, human settlements and local government;
- Social cohesion and safe communities;
- A capable, ethical and developmental state; and
- A better Africa and World.
2.1.4 The State-of-the-Nation-Address (SONA) 2019 – The Department noted that in the SONA in early 2019, the responsibility for ECD centres was migrated from Social Development to Basic Education. To this effect, the Departments has started to develop plans to ensure that pro-poor programmes, such as the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in schools, are strengthened to address hunger among millions of children in our country. The key achievements were in response to the SONA and work was being done to mobilise and reprioritise resources. There were clear links between SONA and sector priorities.
The SONA 2019 speech by the Honorable President Ramaphosa also indicated the following priorities in education and skills development through the sector and the Department:
- To proceed with the process towards two years of compulsory ECD for all children before they enter Grade 1;
- Ensuring that the sector substantially improved reading comprehension in the first years of school, building on the Department’s early grade reading studies, which have demonstrated the impact that a dedicated package of reading resources, expert reading coaches and lesson plans could have on reading outcomes;
- The provision of digitised material for learning on a tablet device, focusing on the most disadvantaged schools which were in the poorest communities, including multi-grade, multiphase, farm and rural schools.
- In line with the Framework for Skills for a Changing World, the preparatory work for training both educators and learners to respond to emerging technologies, including the internet, robotics, coding, and artificial intelligence, was well under way;
- Curriculum and materials development had been prioritised for new technology subjects and specialisations, including technical mathematics and technical sciences, maritime sciences, aviation studies, mining sciences, aquaponics; and
- To expand participation in the technical streams, several ordinary public schools would be transformed into technical high schools.
2.1.5 Key MTSF 2014 – 2019 Priorities - The DBE’s priorities for the 2014-2019 MTSF are as follows:
- Improving the quality of teaching and learning through development, supply and effective utilisation of teachers;
- Improving the quality of teaching and learning through provision of adequate, quality infrastructure and Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM);
- Improving the assessment for learning to ensure quality and efficiency in academic achievement;
- Expanded access to Early Childhood Development (ECD) and improvement of the quality of Grade R, with support for pre-Grade R provision;
- Strengthening accountability and improving management at the school, community and district level; and
- Partnerships for education reform and improved quality.
- Strategic Objectives, Indicators and Targets in the 2019/20 APP
2.2.1 The Action Plan to 2019 - The Action Plan to 2019: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2030 was the sector plan for basic education. It had been reviewed and strengthened for the 2020-2024 planning cycle. The Action Plan was based on 27 national goals intended to improve basic education across all levels. Thirteen (13) of these goals, are output goals, dealing with better school results and better enrolment of learners in schools. The remaining fourteen (14) goals deal with the support that was expected to take place for the output goals to be realised.
The Department’s strategic outcomes oriented goals were linked to the five Budget Programmes of the Department:
- Programme 1: Effective and efficient governance and management. The purpose of the programme was to manage the Department and provide strategic and administrative support services.
- Programme 2: Effective development, monitoring of curriculum implementation and support. The purpose of the programme was to develop curriculum and assessment of policies, monitor, and support their implementation.
- Programme 3: Improved teacher supply, development and utilisation. The purpose of the programme was to promote accountability, quality teaching and institutional performance through the effective supply, development and utilisation of human resources.
.
- Programme 4: Effective systems for planning, co-ordination, information management, assessment and district support. The purpose of the programme was to promote quality and effective service delivery in the basic education system through planning, implementation and assessment.
- Programme 5: Improved social cohesion in schools and wellbeing of learners. The purpose of the programme was to develop policies and programmes to improve the quality of learning in schools.
2.2.2 Education Sector Priorities – The following activities were developed around the key priorities articulated in the NDP vision 2030, SONA 2019, MTSF priorities and the revised drafts of the Sector Plan and Action Plan to 2024: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2030. Over the next five (5) years, the Department was intending to work on implementing the following priorities, which were linked to the NDP vision 2030, the 2019 SONA and the Sector Planning priorities in support of improved reading and learning outcomes:
- ECD Function Shift;
- Early Grade Reading;
- ICT’s in Education;
- Assessments;
- Violence and Social Cohesion in schools; and
- SAFE Initiative.
2.2.3 Key Improvement Plans of the Department Towards the 2014-2019 MTSF and NDP vision 2030 – In improving the education sector, the Department has taken the following steps:
- Engagements through HEDCOM Sub-committees in collaborating and improving the sector’s performance;
- Conducted Gap analysis of the sector alignment and working on mitigating the gaps identified for medium and long- term plans; and
- Continued analysis of plans and reports to strengthen the management of Performance Information in the sector.
- Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) Analysis of the APP 2019/20 - The DPME analysed the first and second drafts of the 2019/20 APP and made recommendations as follows:
- The Department to clarify the performance indicators in the short definition;
- Resource considerations to be updated;
- The Department has not included the following MTSF indicators in its APP:
- Percentage of Grade 1 entrants who attended Grade R that were school ready.
- The percentage of youth who obtained any FET qualification;
- Proportion of principals appointed based on competency assessment processes per year;
- Proportion of principals who have signed performance agreements each year.
The DPME commented that the Department ensured that the MTSF indicators were included in the APP and that the Department strengthened the situational analysis.
3. DBE Programme Performance
The Annual Performance Plan (APP) summarised 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 2019: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2030. The activities of the Department had been structured into five programmes as elaborated in the Annual Performance Plan:
- 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.
There was a combined total of 43 performance indicators for all five programmes of the Department – and could be broken down into 28 (65 percent) annual targets, 13(30 percent) quarterly targets and two (5 percent) bi-annual targets.
Most performance indicators in the 2019/20 APP were introduced in the 2016/17 financial year as part of the Revised Strategic Plan of the Department. They showed an improved alignment with the Department’s policy development and monitoring role and are largely anchored in the MTSF and the APP. The Department introduced three new indicators in the 2018/19 APP.
3.1 Programme 1 – Administration
3.1.1 Strategic Objective: To improve the administrative and governance systems through compliance to the key legislations governing administration in order to supp ort the delivery of education and to strengthen accountability.
3.1.1.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The Department’s target for the percentage of service provider invoices within the procurement unit paid within 30 days is at 100 percent while the percentage of received misconduct cases resolved within 90 days is set at four (4).
3.2 Programme 2 – Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring
3.2.1 Strategic Objectives 1: To develop and distribute digital content annually to promote e-learning in schools.
3.2.1.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target for the number of schools per province monitored for utilisation of ICT resources is at 27 (three per province), while the target for the number of off-line digital content resources developed, (funding depended on sponsorship) is set at ten (10).
3.2.2 Strategic Objectives 2: To develop, print and distribute workbooks to schools annually for Grades R-9 in order to support teaching and learning.
3.2.2.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the percentage of public schools with Home Language workbooks for learners in Grades 1 to 6 is 100 percent. Similarly, the target for the percentage of public schools with Mathematics workbooks for learners in Grades 1 to 9 as well as the percentage of public schools with workbooks for Grade R is set at 100 percent.
3.2.3 Strategic Objectives 3: To monitor and support the implementation of the National Curriculum Statements (NCS) on Reading in Grades R-9 each year in order to improve teaching and learning.
3.2.3.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of schools monitored on the implementation of the reading norms as well as the target for the number of schools monitored on the implementation of the Incremental Introduction to African Languages (IIAL) nationally is 20. The target for the number of underperforming schools monitored on the implementation of the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) is set at 100.
3.2.4 Strategic Objectives 4: To develop and review the framework to support provinces in improving performance in Mathematics, Science and Technology subjects.
3.2.4.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of training sessions of CAPS for Technical subjects monitored is five (5) while the number of schools visited for monitoring CAPS implementation in technical schools is set at 18.
3.2.5 Strategic Objectives 5: To develop, monitor and support the implementation of policies and programmes for improving the quality of education in rural schools.
3.2.5.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of schools with multi-grade classes monitored for implementing the Multi- Grade Toolkit is 72 schools while the target for the number of advocacy campaigns conducted on the Rural Education Framework in the provinces is set at nine.
3.2.6 Strategic Objectives 6: To provide support to learners who have not achieved all the requirements of the NSC through the Second Chance Matric.
3.2.6.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of learners obtaining subject passes towards a National Senior Certificate (NSC) or extended Senior Certificate, including upgraded NSC per year is 30 000 learners.
3.2.7 Strategic Objectives 7: To ensure that learners with severe to profound intellectual disabilities access quality publicly funded education and support.
3.2.7.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of children/learners with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability (C/LSPID) who utilise the Learning Programme for C/LSPID is set at 3 327 children/learners.
3.3 Programme 3 – Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development
3.3.1 Strategic Objectives 1: To monitor the basic functionality of schools and School Governing Bodies (SGBs) on an annual basis to improve school effectiveness and accountability.
3.3.1.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the percentage of SGBs that meet minimum criteria in terms of effectiveness is 80 percent of 2 000 sampled SGBs while the target for the percentage of schools producing the minimum set of management documents at a required standard is 90 percent of 2 000 sampled schools.
3.3.2 Strategic Objectives 2: To identify and recruit the youth from all provinces for the Funza Lushaka Bursary annually in order to increase the supply of young teachers in the education system.
3.3.2.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of Funza Lushaka bursaries awarded to students enrolled for initial teacher education is 13 000 bursaries.
3.3.3 Strategic Objectives 3: To monitor the content knowledge of teachers in Mathematics, English First Additional Language, Physical Sciences and Accounting through Diagnostic Self- Assessments.
3.3.3.1 Programme Performance Indicators: For the number of diagnostic analysis reports produced, the Department set a target of four for EFAL, Physical Science, Accounting and Mathematics.
3.3.4 Strategic Objectives 4: To monitor the implementation of performance management systems in PEDs annually in order to strengthen accountability of schools and office-based educators.
3.3.4.1 Programme Performance Indicators: For the number of PEDs monitored on the implementation of IQMS as well as EMS: PMDS, the target is set at six.
3.3.5 Strategic Objectives 5: To monitor implementation of the post provisioning annually per province to ensure that there was an equitable distribution of teachers.
3.3.5.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of PEDs that had their post- provisioning process assessed for compliance with the post- provisioning Norms and Standards is nine PEDs.
3.4 Programme 4 – Planning, Information and Assessment
3.4.1 Strategic Objectives 1: To provide data on learner performance through the setting of question papers, administering the examinations and data analysis of the National Examinations and Assessments conducted periodically.
3.4.1.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of General Education and Training (GET) test items in Language and Mathematics for Grade 3, 6 and 9 developed is 250 test items developed in Grades 3, 6 and 9.
3.4.1.2 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of NSC reports produced is four (i.e. NSC Examination Report, NSC Schools Statistics Report, NSC Diagnostic Report in selected subjects and NSC Schools Subject Report)
3.4.1.3 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of question papers set annually for NSC and SC is 290 each.
3.4.2 Strategic Objectives 2: To provide basic infrastructure services (water, sanitation, and electricity) and replace schools built using inappropriate materials on an annual basis in order to improve the conditions under which learners are taught.
3.4.2.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the number of new schools built and completed through ASIDI is 40, the number of schools provided with sanitation facilities through ASIDI is set at 717 and the number of schools provided with water through ASIDI is 225.
In respect of electricity, the Department indicated that the scope of work that was allocated to be implemented through the ASIDI programme on the electricity sub-programme had been completed. Any outstanding schools that were not part of the programme, will be implemented through EIG programme by provinces.
3.4.3 Strategic Objectives 3: To promote the functionality of schools through the institutionalising of a standardised school administration system, designed to assist with school management and reporting to a national information system on an ongoing basis.
3.4.3.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target set for the percentage of public schools using the standardised school administration system, SA-SAMS for reporting is 98 percent while the number of provinces monitored by the Department officials for implementation of LURITS annually is set at nine provinces.
3.4.4 Strategic Objectives 4: To mentor and assess the performance of districts on an annual basis in order to strengthen the capacity of districts to support schools.
3.4.4.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The number of officials from districts that achieved below the national benchmark in the NSC participating in a mentoring programme is 30 officials.
3.4.5 Strategic Objectives 5: To mentor and assess the performance of districts on an annual basis in order to strengthen the capacity of districts to support schools.
3.4.5.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target for the percentage of school principals rating the support services of districts as being satisfactory currently is at zero. The percentage of District Directors that have undergone competency assessments prior to their appointments is set at 90 percent while the percentage of underperforming schools visited at least twice a year by district officials for monitoring and support purposes is set at 60 percent.
3.5 Programme 5 – Educational Enrichment Services
3.5.1. Strategic Objectives 1: To monitor the provision of nutritious meals served in identified public schools annually to enhance learning capacity and well-being of learners.
3.5.1.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target for the number of schools monitored for the provision of nutritious meals is set at 110 schools monitored.
3.5.2. Strategic Objectives 2: To promote the participation of learners in enrichment and co-curricular activities in order to make a positive impact on learning.
3.5.2.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target for the number of professionals trained in SASCE programmes is set at 900 professionals while the number of learners, teachers, officials, SGBs, parents and community organisation members participating in social cohesion and gender equity programmes is set at 7 500.
3.5.3. Strategic Objectives 3: To monitor the implementation of the NSSF in 185 hot-spot schools by 2019/20 in order to attain safe, caring and violence-free school environments.
3.5.3.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target for the number of hot-spot schools monitored towards implementation of the NSSF is set at 48 hot-spot schools.
3.5.4. Strategic Objectives 4: To contribute to the reduction of new infections and the impact of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis (TB) by providing a caring, supportive and enabling environment for learners, educators and school support staff.
3.5.4.1 Programme Performance Indicators: The target for the number of PEDs with approved annual business plans for the HIV/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Life Skills Education Programme is set at nine.
4. Overview of the MTEF 2019 Budget
|
Departmental Appropriation |
|||
|
|
2018/19 R’000 |
2019/20 R’000 |
Percentage Increase/Decrease |
|
|
450 476 |
496 253 |
10.2% |
|
Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring |
1 905 011 |
1 988 959 |
4.4% |
|
Teachers, Education Human Resource and Institutional Development |
1 290 480 |
1 366 199 |
5.9% |
|
Planning, Quality Assessment and Monitoring and Evaluation |
11 971 342 |
13 144 331 |
9.85 |
|
Educational Enrichment Services |
7 105 128 |
7 508 789 |
5.7% |
|
Total |
22 722 437 |
24 504 531 |
7.8% |
The Department has been allocated R24.5 billion in 2019/20, R26.0 billion in 2020/21 and R28.2 billion in 2021/22. The budget allocation for 2019/20 represents an increase of 7.8 percent from the 2018/19 allocation of R22.7 billion. Over the medium term, the Department’s budget is expected to increase from R24.5 billion in 2019/20 to R25.9 billion in 2020/21 and R28.1 billion in 2021/22. Included in the Department’s allocation is Compensation of Employees amounting to R546.8 million, R587.8 million and R625.9 million over the MTEF. The bulk of the Department’s allocation is made out of Conditional Grants, Transfers and Earmarked Funds.
At the programme level, all five programmes reflect budget increases; however, programme 1, 3 and 4 budget increases are below inflation, while programmes 2 and 5 reflect increases that are is above inflation rate.
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
496 253 |
527 200 |
558 457 |
|
Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring |
1 988 959 |
2 103 324 |
2 217 665 |
|
Teachers, Education Human Resource and Institutional Development |
1 366 199 |
1 442 562 |
1 523 186 |
|
Planning, Quality Assessment and Monitoring and Evaluation |
13 144 331 |
13 876 693 |
15 364 222 |
|
Educational Enrichment Services |
7 508 789 |
8 037 869 |
8 525 846 |
|
Total |
24 504 531 |
25 987 648 |
28 189 376 |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Compensation of Employees |
546 751 |
587 779 |
625 922 |
|
Goods and Services |
1 947 291 |
2 026 814 |
2 159 425 |
|
Interest and Rent on Land |
43 557 |
42 418 |
41 148 |
|
Transfers and Subsidies |
20 080 690 |
21 683 762 |
23 151 878 |
|
Payments for Capital Assets |
1 886 242 |
1 646 875 |
2 211 003 |
|
Total |
24 504 531 |
25 987 648 |
28 189 376 |
4.4 Details of Earmarked Allocations (R’000) over the 2019 MTEF
|
Earmarked Funds |
|
|
|
|
|
1 151 141 |
1 214 073 |
1 279 530 |
|
Examiners and Moderators |
32 086 |
33 253 |
34 420 |
|
National School Nutrition Programme |
5 357 |
6 326 |
6 525 |
|
Oversight-Maths, Science and Technology |
2 068 |
2 099 |
2 170 |
|
Matric Second Chance Programme |
85 261 |
85 150 |
89 833 |
|
Learners with Profound Intellectual Disabilities Conditional Grant |
1 313 |
1 351 |
1 389 |
|
TOTAL: EARMARKED FUNDS |
1 277 226 |
1 342 252 |
1 413 867 |
|
Conditional Grants |
|
|
|
|
Education Infrastructure Conditional Grant |
10 514 478 |
11 466 632 |
12 326 629 |
|
HIV and Aids Conditional Grant |
256 951 |
270 644 |
285 529 |
|
Learners with Profound Intellectual Disabilities Conditional Grant |
220 785 |
242 864 |
256 222 |
|
National School Nutrition Programme Conditional Grant |
7 185 715 |
7 695 901 |
8 165 351 |
|
Maths, Science and Technology Conditional Grant |
391 302 |
413 259 |
435 988 |
|
TOTAL CONDITIONALGRANTS |
18 569 231 |
20 089 300 |
21 469 719 |
4.6 Details of Transfers (R’000) over the 2019 MTEF
|
Other Transfers |
|
|
|
|
Unesco Membership Fees |
15 431 |
16 295 |
17 191 |
|
|
150 |
158 |
167 |
|
Guidance Counselling and Youth Development Centre: Malawi |
186 |
196 |
207 |
|
Childine South Africa |
69 |
73 |
78 |
|
National Education Collaboration Trust |
111 945 |
118 102 |
124 598 |
|
Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality |
3 480 |
3 671 |
3 873 |
|
NSFAS: Funza Lushaka Bursaries |
1 224 271 |
1 291 606 |
1 362 644 |
|
Transfers to Public Entities |
|||
|
|
134 634 |
142 012 |
149 822 |
|
ETDP SETA |
429 |
453 |
478 |
|
South African Council for Educators |
20 000 |
21 100 |
22 261 |
|
TOTAL TRANSFERS |
1 510 595 |
1 593 666 |
1 681 319 |
4.7 Detailed Breakdown of the Budget over the 2019 MTEF
|
|
|
|
|
|
Compensation of Employees |
500 478 |
538 698 |
573 716 |
|
Operational budget |
141 000 |
153 985 |
166 970 |
|
School Infrastructure Backlog |
1 327 048 |
969 036 |
1 038 937 |
|
Safe Project |
700 000 |
800 000 |
1300 000 |
|
Office Accommodation |
209 187 |
220 713 |
233 757 |
|
Departmental Projects |
262 222 |
271 618 |
301 154 |
|
Earmarked Funds (including CoE) |
1 284 770 |
1 350 632 |
1 423 804 |
|
|
1 510 595 |
1 593 666 |
1 681 319 |
|
Conditional Grants |
18 569 231 |
20 089 300 |
21 469 719 |
|
|
24 504 531 |
25 987 648 |
28 189 376 |
4.8 General Budget Support to the Department for 2019 MTEF
|
General Budget Support |
|
|
|
|
Rural Education Assistance Project |
29 164 |
29 164 |
|
|
Systemic Improvement of Language and Numeracy in Foundation Phase |
26 779 |
16 529 |
16 201 |
|
Technology Grade 7-9 |
20 480 |
19 564 |
19 955 |
5. Committee Observations and Deliberations
The Portfolio Committee raised the following with the Department of Basic Education in respect of Budget Vote 14: Basic Education:
- Members needed clarity regarding the findings of the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), which highlighted the increased and high levels of violence in schools. Members sought clarity on the specific budget allocation to deal with safety at schools specifically.
- Members enquired about the functionality and operations of the Learner Unit Record Information and Tracking System (Lurits) for tracking learners. Members also asked whether the Department was collaborating with the Department of Social Development in this regard.
- In respect of teacher training and development, Members were interested to know whether the two/three-days training programme was adequate enough to address pertinent issues and whether considerations would be given to increase the training period.
- Members also asked the exact percentage of the budget allocation given to special needs education programme.
- With regard to phsyco-socio support provided, Members wanted to find out whether this would translate into more support, monitoring and oversight by social workers to schools.
- Members needed clarity on how the current Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme was structured to ensure that it attracts more science and maths educators.
- Where officials were performing below the set benchmark, Members needed clarity on whether there were measures in place to assist such officials in reaching the benchmark set.
- Members wanted to know how the Department was dealing with illegal and unregistered schools.
- In respect of Conditional Grants, Members wanted to know whether there were any measures in place to adequately oversee and monitor if the money was being utilised for its intended purpose.
- Members advised the Department to ensure that the spending trends in the building of schools were carefully monitored to ensure work was streamlined in order to focus on the actual building of the school.
- In respect of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), Members requested an update and status of the NSNP projects to be piloted in the Northern Cape.
- Members were of the view that the Department was not doing enough to support and adequately monitor special schools, specifically in respect of ICT connectivity and the learning and teaching support material (LTSM).
6. Responses from the Department of Basic Education
Minister Motshekga mentioned that there was a separation in respect of the mandate and competency of the National Department (DBE) and that of Provincial Education Departments (PEDs). She agreed that there were many responsibilities that were not necessarily of the National Department. Although the Department worked closely and collaboratively with PEDs, it did not always have the necessary resources to carry out some of the functions required.
In respect of school safety, the Minister reiterated that the Department wanted to avoid the militarisation of schools in protecting learners and educators. She further reminded Members that the Department did not run schools – this was the responsibility of PEDs. The Minister offered to collect the necessary information from PEDS in respect of school safety and security programmes with plans they have and she was willing to come back to do a comprehensive presentation to the Portfolio Committee at a later stage.
Regarding the TALIS findings on violence in schools, the Minister mentioned that South Africa was the only African country that participated in the survey. The participation afforded the Department an opportunity to assess itself against other first-world countries.
The Minister reminded Members that, in respect of the Infrastructure Grant, the monies were transferred directly to PEDs. There was an evidence that when PEDs have ran out of money, they tapped into grant allocations to supplement. The Department was in discussion with National Treasury regarding shortcomings with the current framework and possibly considering a different model altogether.
Hon Motshekga agreed that the bursary scheme was very specific in respect of the needs and priorities of the Department – with maths and science being a priority area. There was a need to ensure adequately trained teachers in these priority areas.
In respect of illegal/unregistered schools, the Minister indicated that the registration of schools remained a provincial competence and was the responsibility of the MECs to deal with such illegal schools.
With Early Childhood Development (ECD), the Minister agreed that this was a huge area and there was a need to ensure a phased in approach to these centres. The Department was collaborating with the Department of Social Development in respect of funding and the migration of the various levels.
Regarding the pilot of the NSNP project in the Northern Cape, the Minister indicated that the province was chosen as it already had an advanced NSNP programme with the necessary infrastructure for meal preparations and running the best nutrition programme.
Deputy Minister Mhaule highlighted the contentious issues around school safety and security. This was a matter to be dealt with through the collaboration with sister departments and communities at large, as this was a societal issue. The Deputy Minister was of the view that if social cohesion programmes were successful and well implemented, there would be less safety and security issues at schools generally.
7. Portfolio Committee Recommendations:
The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, having considered Budget Vote 14: Basic Education, together with the Annual Performance Plan of the Department of Basic Education recommends that the Minister of Basic Education ensure the following:
- Engage with PEDs as well as sister departments in respect of school safety and security programmes and plans and do a comprehensive presentation to the Portfolio Committee in the next Term on the same issue. The presentation to also include the National Sector Plan on School Safety.
- Prepare for comprehensive presentations on some key focus areas including, amongst others:
- ICT;
- Teacher Development and Training;
- NSNP;
- Language Policy; and
- Infrastructure.
- Conclusion
Having satisfied itself in its engagement with the Department of Basic Education on its Annual Performance Plan and the Budget, the Committee recommends that the House approves the Budget Vote 14: Basic Education.
Report to be considered.
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