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TUESDAY, 15 JULY 2014
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
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Members of the Extended Public Committee met in the National
Assembly Chamber at 16:35.
House Chairperson Mr C T Frolick, as Chairperson, took the Chair
and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers
or meditation.
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 15 – Basic Education:
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Hon Chair, hon members and
colleagues, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, we thank
you for this debate on Vote 15 - Basic Education. During the
state of the nation address the President reminded us that – as
we enter the second phase of our transition from apartheid to a
national democratic society – we have to embark on radical
socioeconomic transformation.
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We must do this in order to push back the triple challenge of
poverty, inequality and unemployment. And this change can only
come about with far-reaching interventions. The President also
confirmed that South Africa is a much better place to live in
than it was in 1994 and that the lives of millions of our people
have improved.
In the Department of Basic Education we continue to open the
doors of learning and a culture with high levels of
participation at 99% enrolment in the compulsory basic
education. Eighty-six per cent of our schools have been declared
no-fee schools and over 9 million learners are fed at school
through the National School Nutrition Programme.
Through the pro-poor package we will achieve more than
R8 billion in funding for no-fee schools to ensure that no child
is left behind because of poverty. The amount allocated per
learner for the no-fee schools in 2014 exceeds R1 000.
As we present the 2014-15 budget we wish to confirm that, as we
embark on this radical transformation, both the National
Development Plan, NDP, and the ANC manifesto of 2014 will guide
our programmes. Our medium-term to long-term plans elaborate on
the work to be done between now and 2030.
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The NDP states that education is a means to building an
inclusive society and providing opportunities for South Africans
to realise their full potential. It further says that education
provides a tool for people to solve their problems.
We are very encouraged to know that the President confirmed that
the ruling party continues to rate basic education as an apex
priority for this government. We will continue to promote
universal access to education by ensuring that all children
between the ages of 7 and 15 are in school. We will increase the
number of Grade 12 learners who can gain entrance to university,
moving incrementally from 172 000 in 2013 to more than 250 000
in 2019. We will work to improve both the quality and quantity
of our passes.
We will continue to eradicate mud schools and other
inappropriate structures, particularly in the Eastern Cape, and
provide the necessary resources needed for proper schooling to
take place.
Our own internal assessments and international benchmarking
assessments confirm that once progress has been made with
access, equity and redress, the emphasis in this administration
will be on attaining quality efficiently.
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The focus for 2014 to 2019 is consolidating the achievements
that we have made so far, and then driving home the theme of
improving quality and efficiency throughout the entire schooling
sector with renewed emphasis on curriculum coverage, the need to
strengthen quality, efficiency and accountability in our
provinces, districts and schools. In the next five years we will
make sure that there are more aggressive radical changes and
appropriate interventions to turn our schooling system around.
We have therefore moved boldly to reconfigurate the Basic
Education department internally for an even better performance.
In line with heightening accountability and enhancing service
delivery, the department is invoking sections 3 and 8 of the
National Education Policy Act of 1996 to hold districts and
provinces that are not performing accountable. We believe that
the time has come to place responsibility and accountability
where it belongs. We will track learners’ performance more
closely in order to ensure that our interventions are working
and that we are decreasing the drop-out rate and increasing
retention levels in our schooling system. The Council of
Education Ministers held its first meeting a week ago and all
MECs agreed that the time for radical transformation has come.
In the first week of August we are meeting again to finalise our
plans as a sector.
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Today we stand here to account and to seek a fresh mandate for
the 2014 programme on the gains made in recent years. Our
overall budget for the Department of Basic Education for 2014-15
stands at more than R19 billion. Last year it was more than
R17 billion. This is an increase of R2,008 billion. This Once
again confirms government’s commitment to education.
The budget allocation to provincial departments of education
stands at R186,147 billion and it will exceed R200 billion in
2015-16. In this budget Umalusi has been allocated R1,7 million
in 2014-15 and it will reach R112,7 million in 2015-16. The
budget of the National Education Evaluation Development Unit,
Needu, has also been increased to R14,2 million.
The Kha Ri Gude programme, which is our mass literacy campaign
and which impacts on the lives of many millions of people, has
been allocated R634,9 million. And from that allocation
R66,2 million has been allocated to the Expanded Public Works
Programme.
The year 2014 is a watershed year, which marks the completion of
the implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy
Statements, Caps, throughout the education system. It is a year
that sees the first cohort of Grade 12 learners sitting the
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Caps-aligned national curriculum and National Senior
Certificate, NSC, examinations and this signals stability on the
curriculum landscape.
We have allocated an amount of R30 million for 2014 in order to
improve learner outcomes and this will reach R40 million in
2014-15. As of June 2014, over 9 million learners in more than
21 000 quintiles 1 to 3 primary schools and secondary schools
benefited from the school nutrition programme. This increase is
attributed to the successful extension of the programme to
public secondary schools. The conditional grants for the
national school nutrition programme has increased by more than
R288 million to R5,462 billion and it will reach R5,7 billion in
2014-15.
Although the department has made strides to extend the basic
right to nutrition to millions of learners in our schools, it
has become necessary to consider a nation-wide deworming
programme linked to the national school nutrition programme to
maximise the health and cognitive benefits of school meals.
We will continue to enhance learner safety and the wellbeing of
our learners through a concerted campaign against drugs and
substance abuse as well as youth criminality.
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We want to report that any country that chooses to hide its
heritage and historical footprints from its children takes the
risk of having them repeat the mistakes of their predecessors.
As a result we are currently conducting comparative studies and
research on countries offering history as a compulsory subject.
Research has shown that history as a subject has a number of
positive effects that contribute to nation-building, national
pride, patriotism, social cohesion and cultural heritage.
We are also working on a language development framework. We have
prioritised the implementation of a SA Sign Language investment
and we have made progress in the development of African
languages, including the implementation of the policy on the
incremental introduction of African languages. We are working
hard to strengthen utility of and proficiency in English as a
first additional language and the language of learning and
teaching through the strategy of English across the curriculum.
In respect of early childhood development the National
Development Plan underlines the need for all children to have
access to at least two years of preschool education. The ANC, in
its manifesto, echoes this sentiment of making two years of
preschool education compulsory. And due to successes in rolling
out early childhood development programmes, legislative review
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to make schooling for young people aged 5 to 15 years compulsory
is on the cards.
The department has made significant progress in increasing
access to Grade R. Currently we have 16 909 public schools
offering Grade R. The intention is to increase them to 18 475.
The enrolments at preschool institutions are currently standing
at 779 330. The general household survey of 2013 indicated that
a total of 481 000 five-year-old learners are in preschool
institutions.
The first ever impact evaluation of Grade R on learning outcomes
was conducted in 2013 with the support of the Department of
Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and the report was
presented to the Cabinet on 19 March 2014. In response to the
recommendations made, a management plan has been approved to
strengthen the quality of implementation and provision of
Grade R schooling in our country, especially in relation to
teaching.
The National Curriculum Framework for children under four years
of age is also being rolled out at registered early childhood
centres. And all preparations, like practitioner training and
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supply of resources, have already started and will be completed
during this calendar year.
It is clear that our interventions are bearing fruit. As
indicated in the fifth administration, quality education and
efficiency will dominate our work. The department is committed
to the improvement of learners in the National Senior
Certificate results this academic year and beyond in order to
strengthen strategies to improve the quality and the quantity of
passes. I don’t want to repeat last year’s statistics, and the
feats that we made, when we grew from 67,8% in 2010 to 78,2% in
2013 in terms of matric results – and when the supplementary
results added we ended up at 80,8%.
In terms of annual assessments, education experts point out the
fact that the first five years in education are the most crucial
in the educational career and outcomes of children. And we
commit ourselves to continue to strengthen learning in the
foundation and intermediate phases and ensure that the senior
phase provides a solid base for studies in Grades 10 and 12 or
the Further Education and Training band.
Regarding maths, science and technology, MST, due to our focus
on quality and efficiency, the recommendations of the
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ministerial task team on reading, maths, science and technology
have been integrated into our plans. Excellent progress has
already been made in implementing this recommendation. The MST
directorate has been established and the office already has a
person from the maths community working to ensure that indeed we
implement all the recommendations in the report.
Before I leave this subject of maths, let me congratulate the
six learners from both KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape who
represented our country in the International Mathematical
Olympiad, which was conducted in our country between 6 and 12
July – and for the first time on the African continent.
I want to thank the maths community that successfully hosted a
very successful Maths Olympiad, but in particular I want to
thank a Grade 12 learner, Robin Visser, from here in the Western
Cape, who earned our country a bronze in the Olympiad.
[Applause.] I also want to thank the entire maths community who
ensured that, as a country, we hosted a very successful event at
the University of Cape Town.
On learner and teacher support material, the Department of Basic
Education has made great strides to positively change the
learning and teaching landscape in the country over the years,
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with various research findings and reports bearing testimony to
this. The expanded access to learning and teaching material has
been at the centre of this positive shift.
In 2011-12 the sector spent R7,7 billion on the roll-out of
textbooks for the implementation of Caps over the last three
financial years. So, 2014-15 has been targeted as the year in
which the sector will be moving towards one textbook per learner
per subject. The sector has developed, printed and delivered
more than 200 million Grade R and Grade 9 language and
mathematics workbooks to more than 24 000 public schools - this
has been done twice a year since 2011.
As a sector we are very concerned about the low retention and
retrieval of these valuable resources, which militates against
the provision of a textbook for each learner per year in every
subject. However, the budget for the top-up has been provided to
provinces. But following a national screening process a single
core textbook will be listed for each subject in the national
catalogue to ensure universal coverage.
There will no longer be eight titles per subject simply because
the high cost involved demands more rational and cost-effective
approaches. Millions of textbooks and workbooks have been
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delivered to schools. The focus from here onwards will be to
continue to monitor their utilisation in order to improve
learning outcomes and impact. Parents, educators and officials
are therefore encouraged to retrieve and protect these books.
I also want to report that, as Minister, I have received the
ministerial committee report from the team, chaired by Prof
Brian O’Connell, which was looking at the National Senior
Certificate requirements, popularly known as the 30%. I am
currently studying the report and I will make an announcement
shortly on the recommendations in going forward. But I have to
make sure that I present the report to the Council of Education
Ministers and immediately after our meeting we will make public
the report, and also our response to the report.
In the 2014-15 budget an allocation of R896,7 million for
workbooks has been made and for textbooks the provinces have
been allocated R4,2 billion. For infrastructure 2014-15, we have
been allocated R10,1 billion and of this R6,9 million go to
provinces for the education infrastructure grants and the
balance remains with the national department.
Regarding the information and communications technology, ICT,
Action Plan 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025, the
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action plan for 2014 requires that we put an e-education
strategy in place. I again want to make the commitment that,
together with the Department of Communications and all other
relevant departments nationally and provincially, we will be
announcing a national e-learning plan in due course. We are
working with the provinces to align all our programmes in order
to make sure that we have one single e-strategy in terms of eeducation.
On teacher development, the cliché which says every education
system stands and falls by its teachers is very true. Study
after study from our local assessment and evaluation programmes
to international tests confirm the central role of teachers. As
a result, everything we do with teachers - from their conditions
of service, recruitment, deployment and utilisation, including
their general professional development and conduct - occupies a
very high position on our list of priorities.
Because of time, I will quickly read the figures, but we want to
confirm that we are completely committed to making sure that
teachers, who are indeed at the centre of everything we do,
receive our highest attention.
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For 2013-14 we have been allocated a budget of R893 million,
which has increased from the R424 million budget of 2010-11. We
have done lots of work around teacher centres with partners like
Vodacom. We have also done lots of work with the British Council
of Education in terms of education first for all. We are
implementing a self-diagnostic assessment for teachers which
will be introduced in 2015. The SA Council of Educators, in
collaboration with the Department of Basic Education, is phasing
in the continuing professional teacher development management of
teachers.
The department has also reviewed the current integrated quality
management system in consultation with teacher unions and has
developed a revised instrument, the quality management system
for school-based educators. For the current year the Integrated
Quality Management System has been allocated R42,2 million.
We also want to say, we are conducting research into the Grade R
programmes in order to mainstream teachers and make sure that
they remain at the centre of our work. We are strengthening our
work with districts to make sure that indeed we are able to
support schools because the centrepiece of our entire work is
schools.
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Education districts have a very important role in supporting
schools, improving their functionality and developing the
countries’ education institutions in order for the national
learning outcomes to be achieved. Analysis of district
performance over a period of four years indicates that we must
strengthen the processes and systems by which districts support
schools and capacitate officials and managers who work at
district level in order to provide much needed support to
underperforming districts and schools.
Let me use the last few minutes, let me take this opportunity to
thank the chairperson, the members of the portfolio committee,
my colleague Comrade Enver Surty - who is always a pillar of
support - and my colleagues from provinces for supporting us
during the debate and also attending the programme.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our
partners who were invited, my family – with the head of the
family over there - for their support ... [Laughter.] Let me
also thank the members of the committee – I have run out of
time.
We will publish some of the plans that we are working on. We
have been working on a plan with the Deputy Minister and in the
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next 180 days we will be issuing it in detail, because, hon
member, you said you wanted details. So, we promise that in the
next 180 days we will issue the details and plans of an aligned
programme. We have to align our programme with provinces in
order to make sure that, indeed, members can hold us accountable
around dates, times and outputs that we put in place. So, we are
working on comprehensive plans on libraries, ICT, and
psychosocial support for learners to make sure that we produce
holistic-minded children.
However, because of time, we are unable to give you all the
details and the timeframes. But we will make them public as soon
they are ready in the next 180 days. Thank you very much.
[Applause.]
Ms N GINA: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and hon Deputy Minister
of Basic Education, hon members of the portfolio committee, MECs
from various provinces, acting director-general - though I have
not seen him, I think he is present - officials and board
members of our statutory bodies who are present, the Department
of Basic Education officials and distinguished guests, I greet
you all.
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I am humbled to take part in this debate on Vote No 15 for Basic
Education at the start of the new and far-reaching phase of our
democratic transition, where we are marking 20 years of
democracy. Indeed, it is a great stride. It is a phase where we
continue to make education available to all. It is a phase that
continues to bolster the gains achieved in the past five years.
In the past five years, those who care about our education
system did not only lament, but did their bit in supporting the
call to make education an apex priority. Groundbreaking
achievements were made and a great and solid foundation exists
for all to see. Those who are not pessimistic about our
education system will join us again as we move forward in making
sure that Basic Education remains an apex priority in the
Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTEF, of 2014 to 2019.
Everything is being put in place and there is no confusion about
what needs to be done.
The ANC manifesto presents the key commitments in the coming
five years as, firstly, making early childhood development a
priority; secondly, eradicating illiteracy; and thirdly,
improving the quality of teaching and learning in all schools.
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We want to forge ahead towards realising the two years of
compulsory preschool education and strive for fuller integration
of Grade R educators in the post and remuneration structures.
The ANC commits to providing interventions through curriculum
and assessment policies to improve performance in our schools.
In order to improve performance, the ANC-led government will do
the following.
Firstly, it will maintain an upward trend in the mathematics
pass rate while improving the quality of those passes. Secondly,
it will also introduce compulsory African languages in schools
through the Department of Basic Education. Thirdly, it will
prioritise teacher development. Fourthly, it will campaign to
ensure good discipline and accountability in all our schools so
that teachers are on time, in class and teaching and that
learners are in class and learning. Principals will be supported
to maintain discipline and high standards of conduct.
Lokho-ke Ngqongqoshe kwenzelwa ukuthi, ngokwesintu siye
sikholelwe ukuthi uma ufishi ubole ekhanda konke okungezansi
kubolile. Yingakho othishomkhulu bezoqiniseka ukuthi bayazibamba
lezi zikole ukuze sikwazi ukuthola imiphumela ekufanele
siyithole ezikoleni. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
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[That will be done hon Minister because in the African culture
it is believed that if a fish’s head is rotten, the whole body
is also rotten. That is why principals should ensure that they
manage these schools well so that we can receive the befitting
results from our schools.]
Furthermore, we will implement school safety programmes aimed at
ensuring that every child has a textbook for every learning area
and that the retrieval of those textbooks is improved. Lastly,
we will continue to work towards the eradication of illiteracy
through the Kha Ri Gude mass literacy programme.
Our mandate is clear. Our mandate is to support the journey that
we have travelled for the past five years. In the past five
years, we have made substantial gains and, going forward, we
need more vigour and significant interventions.
There is no doubt that in the past five years, we have
stabilised the curriculum. The incremental implementation of the
Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement, Caps, is culminating
this year, where our Grade 12s will also sit for the Curriculum
Assessment Policy Statement-aligned examination. This means that
all teachers across the grades in our country and phases deliver
curricula that are coherent and streamlined.
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In the past five years, we have seen the landscape of the
learning and teaching resources changing for the better. The
provision of the learning and teaching support material, LTSM,
improved tremendously. When Caps was introduced to each grade,
efforts were made to provide each learner with a relevant
textbook or workbook. We are pleased with the report from the
department that since 2011-12 the sector has spent over
R7 billion on the roll-out of textbooks for the implementation
of Caps over the last three financial years, to which the
Minister has just alluded.
Since 2011, we have seen the roll-out of about 204 million Grade
R to Grade 11 language and mathematics workbooks to over 24 000
public schools and bear in mind that that is done twice a year.
So, as the committee and the ANC, we would like to commend and
congratulate the department for doing such a huge job.
Our good story to tell is the immense contribution by the Kha Ri
Gude mass literacy campaign. This project provides adult basic
literacy and numeracy. To date, over 3,4 million citizens have
benefited and indications are that the Kha Ri Gude graduates
have been able to find better employment. Furthermore, over
240 000 volunteers participated, which gave them employment
opportunities. However, as committee, we advise that an impact
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evaluation of the programme is necessary so that we know the
exact extent of job opportunities and the employment rate of the
graduates that we get from Kha Ri Gude.
We, however, note the calls around the quality and value of the
National Senior Certificate or matric qualification. In our view
there are notable interventions and improvements in the system.
While others say there is no quality in our education system, we
see improved performance.
The improved performance is attributed to the strategic
interventions implemented by the national and provincial
departments, which are aimed at ensuring that learner resources
such as the provision of Mind Map, Shuttleworth and Siyavula
study guides, exam papers, additional classes and continuous
teacher support initiatives are provided to all targeted
schools.
Siyi-ANC sibonga kakhulu kothisha ngokuthi sibabone befaka
igxalaba namandla ngokweqile, ukuze sikwazi ukubona intuthuko
nobungcono bemiphumela yokufunda kwabantwana bethu. (Translation
of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
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[As the ANC, we are very grateful to the teachers for making an
enormous effort in ensuring that we see progress and better
results with regard to the schooling of our children.]
Further concerns are that our education system is shedding
learners throughout the 12-year journey of learning. Some
commentators even give numbers that out of 1,2 million learners
that entered Grade 1, only half a million sit the Grade 12
examination, 12 years down their schooling. This is indeed a
concern. However, we are convinced that the phase we have
entered in is working efficiently.
In our committee, the Minister indicated that the department is
ready to tackle the challenge of quality, to address the dropout rate and increase the retention rate. The department has
developed the National Strategy for Learner Attainment
Framework. This is a comprehensive strategy that has been
incorporated into the Provincial Improvement Plan, District
Improvement Plan and School Improvement Plan with 104 clear
activities that encourage all efforts to be channelled to the
classroom, where it matters the most.
We want to continue the journey of sustaining and improving on
the gains we have made in increasing the number of passes in
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mathematics and physical science. While we have reached parity
in the participation rate of boys and girls, the quality of
passes in mathematics and science by girl learners is lagging
behind. We welcome the establishment of the Ministerial Task
Team for Mathematics and Science to help further identify and
address challenges in the areas of mathematics, science and
technology and hope that the findings will be addressed
adequately.
The provision of the hybrid workbooks in natural sciences,
technology and mathematics should be commended. We also have
confidence in the partnership with Japan in the Japan
International Co-operation Agency project to improve learners’
ability to solve word problems in primary school mathematics.
The 2014 allocation to the education sector is R19,6 billion.
This will increase to R23 billion over the Medium-Term
Expenditure Framework period. The allocation confirms the
continued intention of the department and government to deliver
on the non-negotiables as identified in the Medium-Term
Strategic Framework priorities of the department. Let us remind
the country that the department has set targets with the
intention of moving towards 100%, based on steady progress and
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the reality of challenges in the sector. We need to move faster,
but efficiently.
As we have been promised by the Minister, we welcome the
department’s commitment to the following non-negotiables, namely
the delivery of LTSM, infrastructure, district support, teacher
placement, deployment and development, information and
communication technology, ICT, Kha Ri Gude, library services,
rural focus, curriculum, partnerships and social mobilisation,
and norms and standards for business processes across the
provinces.
However, the department must note the challenges that continue
to engulf education in farming areas, multigrade classes and
cases where learners need a differentiated curriculum. Our
oversight visit to the Free State and the Western Cape in 2013
showed that there are many gaps that still need to be closed.
Another challenge to the department is that there should be
clear and well-communicated programmes on how to address the
calls for our teachers and learners to be in class and on time.
While we celebrate progress, we can’t ignore that there are
still instances where teachers are always absent from school,
teachers are at school, but not in the classroom, there is
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insufficient curriculum coverage in a year and little written
work is given to learners. The impact on learner performance if
these issues are not rectified is immense.
Okunye Ngqongqoshe, kukhona la sathola ukuhlukumezeka kakhulu,
sihambe nekomidi siye endaweni yaseMpumalanga Kapa lapho sathola
ukuthi sengathi sekuwumthetho ukuthi kube nerejista ebizwa ngeearly departure register, lapho othisha baphuma ngaphambi
kwesikhathi bese bekubhala lokhu kuleyo rejista. Njengekomidi
sithanda ukukhala kakhulu ngako sithi uma umkhuba onjengalo
ungabanjwa usaqala singagcina sibona intuthuko nempumelelo
yezikole zethu singasakwazi ukuyithola ngenxa nje yemikhutshana
abantu abathanda ukuyenza kodwa ibe ingasiniki imiphumela
emihle. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[The other issue that disturbed us very much, hon Minister, is
that when we were at a certain place in the Eastern Cape with
the committee, we found that there was a register known as the
early departure register. It is perceived to be a rule that
there should be one, and it is used by teachers to report that
they are knocking off early. As a committee we would like to
make an earnest appeal to you about this and say that if this
bad behaviour is not nipped in the bud, we will end up not
realising the progress and success of our schools as a result of
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such bad habits which in turn would not yield the good results
that we want to see.]
However, having said that, as a committee, we are yet again
pleased to know that the Minister is having quarterly meetings
with all the district managers, because we find that in these
meetings, they are given a platform to share good practices. We
hope and believe that bad elements and an unacceptable culture
that is beginning will be discussed and we will eliminate it.
We realise that the Minister is confronted with a huge
challenge, that she can’t expect the same excuses and the same
approaches to address the challenges in the system. Something
must change, fast and drastically. Hon Minister, we all know by
now that the learner outcomes are not optimal across all grades
and this has been confirmed by many results and challenges. It
can’t be right that the next phase keeps acknowledging such
challenges while not addressing them adequately.
The Department of Basic Education officials promised us that
there will be seamless and co-ordinated long-term planning in
the sector and things will be done faster and more efficiently.
We support that commitment and we welcome it. As the portfolio
committee, we will strengthen our oversight to that effect.
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We wish the department all the best and hope that this phase
will indeed be a milestone characterised by efficiency and
urgency, to deliver quality education. The ANC supports this
budget. Thank you very much, Chairperson. [Applause.]
Ms A T LOVEMORE: Chairperson, it is all about jobs, Minister. It
is all about jobs. Education is all about jobs. Every phase of
the education system is about preparing for jobs. Whether it is
about preparing to become an artist, or an artisan, or an
engineer or a politician, it is about preparing for a job.
There can be no better life without a job. There can be no true
freedom without a job.
The youth of South Africa are the worst affected by
unemployment, with nearly 4 in 10 out of a job. South Africa’s
Statistician-General has attributed the youth unemployment rate
to a mismatch between skills and jobs.
A National Treasury report states that unemployed youth in South
Africa are generally low-skilled. The principal reason given by
employers for not employing young people is that schooling does
not accurately reflect skill levels and skilled, inexperienced
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workers are seen as risky to employ. In other words, employers
cannot trust the senior certificate.
Tragically, those low skill levels and excessively high
unemployment rates affect predominately our poor black youth.
Minister, you have achieved the numbers. You have achieved
quantity within education. With very few exceptions, all of our
young people between the ages of 7 and 15 are in school. Grade R
is available to almost all our preschool children.
Secondary schooling is a constitutional right, and it is
available to all. For the development of a system that, in
theory anyway, does not discriminate on a racial basis and is
open to all, we do salute you.
But counterproductively, Minister, your government has aspired
to quantity before addressing quality. You mentioned this and it
is not the norm internationally. South Africa is an outlier in
this regard.
The quality of education in South Africa is by every
international and national measure poor. We feature extremely
low on every scale that measures the basics of all learning -
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numeracy and literacy. And the quality of our education is
unequal. It is the poorest for the poor.
Our low-skilled youth have little chance ever of complete
independence from the state; young people who are destined never
to break their cycle of poverty. We can do it, Minister; it can
be done.
We spend R200 billion on education in this country each year. We
cannot allow one fifth of our national expenditure to buy us a
predominately low quality education. It cannot be allowed to buy
us a low-skilled young populace that employers find too risky
and too costly to take a chance on.
Now, what is to be done? We certainly look forward to
interrogating the plans that you will be making public. And we
appreciate the fact that you will make those plans public.
Minister, your department’s annual performance plan presented to
us a fortnight ago for the 2014-15 financial year has again
failed to specify targets for learner outcomes, and for almost
every measure of education quality and excellence for which you
have been found wanting in the past.
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However, a fortnight ago you also presented us with a promising
document, your draft Medium-Term Strategic Framework for 201419. Some of your 2019 targets - in my view, and you are aware are too low, such as having 55% of our teachers competent to
teach in the year 2019. But we welcome your commitment to
aspects such as competency tests and performance agreements for
principals. Today, you presented your focus on quality and
efficiency. That quest for quality will inform all interactions
in the education sector in South Africa going forward.
So, it becomes important to understand what we mean by a quality
education. Let me explain what we mean. There exists a very
straightforward, universal definition of quality. Quality is
very simply fitness for purpose.
So, the learner that you educate must be able to leave school
fit for the purpose of becoming an involved, contributing member
of his or her society. That includes being fit for the purpose
of getting a job. The economy must have a place for the young
people leaving our schools. And employers must have confidence
in the certificate that the young people present to them.
The education offered to our young people must be of such
quality that it is fit for the purpose of offering every young
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child the chance to develop and reach his or her potential no
matter what the specific inherent abilities of that child might
be.
Quality is not what Gauteng MEC Panyaza Lesufi is advocating. He
wants every child in Gauteng’s secondary schools taking pure
maths. Quality is not what you mentioned today, Minister. It is
not what Sadtu, South African Democratic Teachers Union, Sadtu,
is calling for, and you are advocating very quickly, and that is
compulsory history.
No, we have to realise that some children are academically
strong, some are practically inclined, and others are creative
spirits. Each individual child’s inherent abilities must be
supported to full development. And we have to measure quality
accordingly.
So, how do we transform our schools and our education system
into an environment that boasts competent, committed teaching
and truly effective learning? And, crucially, given the past
from which we come, how do we transform it into an environment
that is truly equal and non-racial, where outcomes are not
intrinsically linked to the colour of a learner’s skin or the
place of the learner’s birth?
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How do we best allow education to reach its potential in
breaking the cycle of poverty? Then, there is no shortage of
sources giving ideas or advice on how to reach those goals.
Minister, start with the National Development Plan with 34 pages
dedicated to education, 34 pages that we support fully, and
reflect very closely, the DA’s education policy.
I know that you have already started to implement the quick
wins. But underpinning every recommendation in the NDP is the
requirement that the administration of education in the public
sector is the prerogative of the government, not of Sadtu.
No longer should Sadtu members get away with ill-disciplined
behaviour in our schools; no longer should Sadtu interfere with
appointments; no longer should Sadtu members refuse to sign
performance agreements or undergo competency tests; and no
longer should Sadtu members escape accountability. You have to,
Minister, reclaim your management prerogative from Sadtu, as
does every education MEC.
Last week in Gauteng, Sadtu urged its members publicly to work
to - in their words - defend the ANC’s control of government in
2016. We know that you are up against a political ally, but you
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have to rise to the challenge and put the interests of the
learners first, always.
Use the courts to do whatever it takes, but make Sadtu
understand that it does not run education in this country. Take
a look, please, Minister, at the list of critical skills
recently gazetted by the Department of Home Affairs. We are
prepared as South Africa to grant permits to people who possess
these skills because we need them so desperately. Maths, science
and technology are the underlying themes in that list.
You will, I trust, be addressing technology from the beginning
of next year. You have committed to the phased implementation of
a revised curriculum for schools of technology from the
beginning of 2015. With motor mechanics, electricians, fitters
and turners, every imaginable kind of engineer on that list of
critical skills, delay is not an option.
To your credit, you had the state of maths and science teaching
investigated. The report you know is damning. Urgent
intervention is required.
In fact, the Minister announced that all secondary schools
should offer mathematics. He announced the filling of all vacant
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maths and science teachers’ posts as soon as possible. South
Africa has to hold him and you, Minister, to this promise.
The third critical document in our view is the McKinsey 2007
report entitled “How the world’s best-performing schools come
out on top”.
McKinsey asserts that the quality of an education system cannot
exceed the quality of its teachers. Three things matter most:
getting the right people to become teachers, developing them
into effective instructors, and ensuring that the system is able
to deliver the best possible instruction for every child.
We need to find and train enough of the right people. Please,
screen aspirant teachers, Minister. A poor selection process can
result in bad teachers being in our system for up to 40 years.
Work with your colleague in Higher Education to ensure that
teacher training is producing competent teachers. Place teachers
so that they teach what they are qualified to teach. Keep on
doing competency tests and provide truly effective support to
get ill-performing teachers up to speed. Pay teachers well. Turn
teaching back into a profession.
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Minister, you have said it and I will echo it. Quality education
is the future focus. We will expect nothing less for every
child. The phenomenon of poor education for poor people must
cease to be. Quality education must yield fit-for-purpose young
adults.
Education cannot continue to contribute to the high unemployment
rate. Indeed, education must contribute to employment in a very
direct and progressive way. Minister, ultimately, it is all
about jobs. [Applause.]
Ms N R MASHABELA: Hon House Chairperson, hon Minister, and hon
members of the Committee, the budget before us seeks not to
transform basic education, but to continue the status quo that
compromises the education of a black child. The EFF rejects the
budget as proposed by the Department of Basic Education, because
it lacks imagination and simply shifts the goalposts.
The first issue is early childhood development. Teach children
when they are as little as three years old, because they absorb
knowledge easier and are more likely to succeed in their
education. It is unsurprising that only 24% of Grade 6 learners
in former black schools can read, as opposed to 86% in the same
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grade in former white schools. Early childhood development means
exactly that, as early as three years.
The EFF cannot accept that 20 years later only 41% of teachers
are currently meeting the required content knowledge levels of
the subjects they teach. Learners are now paying for the
department’s bad decision of closing teacher colleges and 20
years later, we now have a shortage of teachers. The EFF says
that the department should reopen teacher colleges, retrain the
current teachers to have skills to deal with learners with
special educational needs, and increase the salaries of
teachers, and then results will improve.
Improving Adult Basic Education, Abet, is important when
literacy levels in our country are as low as they are. The basic
Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure document is
useless, when we are sitting here with only 10% of 24 493 public
schools having no water supply. Infrastructure is a challenge.
This is not a good story to tell.
Twenty years later, Mthetho Senior Primary School in the
Amathole region in the Eastern Cape is still a mud school.
Makelle Primary school at GaKgoši Pheega, in the Modjadji region
in Limpopo, with 167 learners from Grades R to 7 and three
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teachers, has only three mobile classrooms. They have no water
supply, no security and no toilets. Teaching and learning that
takes place in mud schools or zozo rooms [mobile classrooms] is
unacceptable. Nondelivery of textbooks is precisely because the
department lacks imagination and courage.
The state should build capacity to print and deliver the books
and not rely on the corrupt tender system. The department should
abolish tenders and build capacity to execute their own tasks.
The department should make all teachers permanent. There is no
temporary arrangement when one’s aim is to professionalise
teaching and learning.
The EFF is saying that the department should go back to the
drawing board; build capacity to print and deliver textbooks;
implement compulsory early childhood development from the age of
three years; eradicate mud schools and zozo rooms [mobile
classrooms] and build flushing toilets in every school.
Mohl Modulasetulo, motšwagagabo ga a laele, ke Sepedi seo. Ge e
le melato yona re tla rerišana. Sebatakgomo. [Legoswi.] [Hon
Chairperson, we meet to part and we part to meet. Thank you.
[Applause.]]
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Mr A M MPONTSHANE: Hon House Chairperson, hon Minister and hon
Deputy Minister, the hon Minister was correct when she said that
we needed radical transformation in order for us to achieve
quality education. But the unfortunate thing is that definitions
of concepts such as radical transformation will remain ever
problematic, meaning different things to different people.
If I may ask: Does the Minister’s definition of radical
transformation include strong leadership as one of the most
important blueprints for radical transformation? Without this
blueprint, no transformation can take place. The department,
which continues to be without a permanent head, cannot effect
any meaningful transformation.
To improve overall education performance, Programme 2 envisages
inter alia, increasing the number of five-year-old learners
enrolled in publicly funded Grade R classes. This is laudable,
but again, without the accompanying strong leadership at this
level, the efforts will come to naught. Currently, Grade R
teachers are not covered by the Employment of Educators Act.
Their pay is ashamedly very low and not standardised; it varies
from one province to another by R5 000 at the most. Surely,
radical transformation is urgently needed at this phase in terms
of the qualifications and salaries of Grade R teachers.
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Again, to improve school management, Programme 3 envisages the
following among other things, developing the SA Standard for
Principals by the start of 2015 to define the role of school
principals; and establishing learning networks for principals in
June 2014, but today it is already July.
Do we have bold leadership to implement this? What happened, if
one may ask, to the agreement for the evaluation of principals
and deputy principals? The department’s leadership has been held
to ransom by teacher unions in the negotiating chamber for over
five years now. I am told that this agreement has now been ...
[Time expired.] [Applause.]
Ms C N MAJEKE: Hon House Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy
Minister, hon members, the UDM believes that the major
intervention, if any, is to be made in the basic education
sector, should mainly be in school leadership; management and
governance; teacher content and knowledge; school environment;
learner discipline; and a culture of reading and writing.
In this regard, we wish to make the following recommendations
for further consideration and prioritisation by the Ministry as
part of enriching the departmental five-year strategic plan as
well as the Annual Performance Plan for the financial season
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2014-15. Some of these matters may have been raised; however, we
strongly feel that they deserve to be lifted up in the
prioritisation process.
In line with the Department of Basic Education’s Medium Term
Strategic Framework, MTSF, priorities, the critical activities
and targeted outputs for the next five years, the department
needs to improve the quality of early childhood education and
primary schools education, including the implementation of the
foundation for learning campaign, emphasising the promotion of
language and numeracy; conduct external tests for all Grade 3
and Grade 6 learners every year and provide results to parents
for further engagement and a practical role to be played by
parents; investigate a system of effective evaluation of all
learners based on the extent to which learner performance
improve, with results influencing occupation-specific
dispensation pay for teachers; ensure that teacher unions have a
formal and funded role in teacher development; and strengthen
management capacity to ensure working districts and schools this entails bringing in management capacity from the private
sector, civil society and elsewhere in the public sector; phase
in a process of measurable improvements through targeting
efforts selected education districts and dysfunctional schools;
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and to use infrastructure budget as an incentive for schools
that deliver improved teaching and learning.
We further welcome the decision to improve national and
provincial alignment and efficiency of education expenditure,
through, amongst others things, procuring textbooks nationally
and allocating resources to improve district capacity; and the
use of conditional grants to ensure alignment.
The Department of Basic Education should also develop a social
compact for quality education. This will include a National
Consultative Forum dedicated to clarifying the non-negotiable
and performance targets for key stakeholders and the monitoring
thereof.
Mobilisation of communities at all levels should be given
priority to raise awareness and participation in education
issues. Examples include graduates assisting former and
dysfunctional schools, corporate social investment and party
branch campaigns to clean up schools; supporting food gardens
and encouraging young graduates to enter teaching ... I thank
you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
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The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Hon Chairperson, hon
Minister, hon MECs for education who are present here, hon
members in the National Assembly, members of the audience,
ladies and gentlemen, two days ago we lost writer, a patriot, a
voice for equality and South Africa’s first Nobel laureate in
literature - Nadine Gordimer. She was a voice for those who were
opposed to oppression and opposed to a regime that excluded the
vast majority of our people.
On Friday, two days from today, we will be celebrating Madiba,
another Nobel laureate, a person committed to the transformation
of our country and who contributed immensely to what we are
today. In fact, he said the following on the birthday of Walter
Sisulu, his comrade and colleague:
What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived.
It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that
will determine the significance of the life we lead.
In other words, in living and in contributing, we should take
note of the fact that life is not merely about being fit for
purpose, or not merely about having a job, but about making a
difference, particularly in the context of our country. It is
about ensuring that we do more to enhance the opportunities,
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access and quality of education for those who have been
historically deprived.
As we speak, we cannot pretend that in just a mere 20 years
after the achievement of our democracy, there are no challenges
within our democratic dispensation. The inequalities of the past
still haunt us. We see that inequality in terms of
infrastructure, and in the provision of water, electricity and
resources. Notwithstanding the valiant efforts we have made in
terms of providing that infrastructure and in improving
resources, we still have a huge challenge ahead of us.
I cannot but agree with the hon Lovemore that poverty and
socioeconomic circumstances do indeed determine the performance
and achievement of learners. This means that we have to look at
the socioeconomic conditions more closely.
Just three years ago, Nadine Gordimer, the Nobel Peace laureate,
said there was a huge expectation that in a democracy we would
achieve miracles. She said we had only enjoyed democracy for
17 years, and yet there was an expectation that we would be able
to turn around systems that had been neglected and disregarded
for decades, if not centuries. She meant that we should not be
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impatient about change; let us rather celebrate the strides that
we have made and work harder together to make a difference.
I think Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu would have been quite
happy and pleased if they were able to go to Lusikisiki or
Libode in the Eastern Cape, to see a school being delivered week
after week. This is not just an ordinary school or mud school
... [Applause.] ... but a school with a laboratory, a library,
with media connectivity, sport facilities, Grade R classes,
jungle gyms and sanitation facilities for learners. These are
state of the art schools that have been delivered week after
week since August last year, and will continue to be delivered
in the course of this year and beyond this year. We have that
particular responsibility if, indeed, we are compassionate and
concerned about the quality of education, particularly for the
poorest of the poor.
I take heart in what the colleague from the EFF said about early
childhood development, but let me perhaps share some insight
with you. Social scientists are saying that the most critical
and crucial years of a child are the first 1 000 days, and
indeed, cognitive and emotional development already takes place
during the period of gestation. Therefore, the Department of
Social Development, in collaboration with the Department of
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Basic Education, has set out a programme of action to ensure
that it does much more in relation to the first 1 000 days of a
child’s life.
We should take heart from the fact that we have done extremely
well in that more than 85% of our children who are eligible to
be in Grade R are in schools. According to the household
statistics that have been provided, more than 92,5% of every
child in South Africa has had at least one year of preschool
learning. Indeed, the commitment of this government and the
Department of Basic Education is to incrementally increase it to
two years, as set out in the National Development Plan, the NDP.
Hon Lovemore, I do not think that there is any disagreement
between what the NDP states and what the Department of Basic
Education seeks to do. It seeks to do this because it believes
that the manifesto of the ruling party, the NDP and the action
plan of the department are the critical documents that will
determine the course for the future. Indeed, we have already
fully aligned the programmes of the department with that of the
NDP, so there is no debate about that.
I think we should take heart from the fact that while we have a
particular challenge in relation to the quality of education,
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there are unbelievable achievements that are occurring
throughout the country. One needs to go to Limpopo, the province
that was basically characterised and remembered for the
nondelivery of textbooks, and go to Mbilwi Secondary School in a
district called Vhembe. This school has 485 learners who study
mathematics and science. They have produced more than
150 distinctions in mathematics and science, and they do so
consistently. [Applause.] This is a huge, huge, positive result.
From the enrolment that we had in Mbilwi Secondary School, more
than 80% of its learners passed with a bachelors pass.
Yet, it’s not only at Mbilwi where it is happening, but also at
Dendron, a secondary school not too far from Mbilwi. This school
is also situated in Limpopo. These are examples of huge
increases that are occurring. We should not forget that in 2005,
not very long ago, only 38% of learners in our country studied
mathematics or any form of mathematics, be it on the higher or
standard grades. Today, every single child who does matric is
compelled to study either mathematics or mathematical literacy.
Today, we see a significant increase in the number of passes in
mathematics. Today, we see an improvement in the quality of
passes in mathematics.
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Indeed, what we have to say and agree upon is that we are slowly
but surely moving away from mediocrity towards excellence. We
have not reached that point, but it’s a goal that we have to
work towards together. I believe that with the commitment we
have, we certainly can succeed, and I think this is what the hon
Lovemore meant when she said that we have to work together to
ensure that we change the quality of our people’s lives.
Just two weeks ago I was in Tokyo, Japan, where we had an
informal discussion amongst Ministers, and we tried to identify
the challenges that we face in our countries. Interestingly,
about a week ago I received mail from a university colleague of
mine. Together we had studied towards honours degrees in
Philosophy. He reminded me about two principles; the one is
“episteme” or knowledge and the other one is “techne”, not
technical skills as you would get in a vocational school, but
the methodology and the ability to be creative, and to utilise
knowledge or the episteme in different contexts.
The conversation that took place amongst Ministers was no
different to what Plato had spoken about during the time of the
Greeks, many, many centuries ago. They said that in this rapidly
changing world, we must recognise that people do not assume one
particular task and function, but they must acquire the skills
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to be innovative and creative so that they could do more than
being fit-for-purpose people, since people tend to change jobs
more frequently in the 21st century than they did in the past.
They said that our single biggest challenge in the world is that
of innovation, creativity, analytical theory and problemsolving. They also said that, notwithstanding the fact that
literacy and numeracy lie at the heart of success – and we agree
with that – there is evidence that countries such as China and
Singapore that perform well in literacy and numeracy, have not
performed well at all in terms of innovation, creativity and
change. Therefore, the challenge in the 21st century is to
develop that capacity amongst our learners, but in order to do
that, it means that we would have to teach our teachers to be
able to teach pedagogically and methodologically differently, so
that they are able to teach learners to work collaboratively.
Learners should have the ability to learn through selfregulation.
The paradigm in the 21st century is far, far different from the
paradigm of the past, and it’s for this reason that the
Department of Basic Education has placed on itself the burden –
in fact it is not a burden – the vision and goal of ensuring
that we provide connectivity to our schools, that we utilise
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technology to enhance the capacity of our learners to work in
that self-regulated environment, to access information in our
knowledge economy and in fact to become citizens who are engaged
with the rest of the world in the process of learning in this
new paradigm.
We can take heart from the fact that more than 14 000 of our
schools in the country are now connected. In Gauteng and the
Western Cape in particular, information communications
technology, ICT, is provided to more than 80% of schools, and
more than 40% of our educators have been exposed to ICT training
and have acquired the ability to integrate ICT into the
curriculum.
I am certainly pleased to hear what the hon member of the IFP
had said with regard to professional leadership and management.
I think he would celebrate with us the fact that after much
persuasion, the SA Council for Educators has launched the
Continuous Professional Teacher Development programme. We can
take heart from the fact that 27 000 principals and deputy
principals have enrolled for the course on leadership and
management. We agree that if you want radical transformation,
there has to be systemic and comprehensive capacity-building
exercise amongst all principals, deputy principals and heads of
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department, because they are the implementers of the curriculum
and that particular recourse must be strengthened in order that
it could permeate the learning environment. This is positive
change; this is huge, positive transformation.
We tend to forget that in 1995 more than 15 000 schools were
without water and sanitation. Today, we have less than 1 000.
That means that there has been significant progress, yet we
cannot defend the lack of water, sanitation or any such service
in any single school.
An hon colleague referred to a mud school in the Eastern Cape.
It is something that we have spoken about and that we should
replace, and we are subsequently going to do that. However, what
about the schools that are being delivered week after week,
after week? Why do we not celebrate our achievements, as we
ought to in our democratic South Africa? [Applause.]
South Africa has grown, and I think there is confidence and
trust in what we are doing as a Department of Basic Education.
We would certainly want to thank the hon Minister for her
audaciousness, boldness and honesty in recognising that we do
have challenges. The result is that we have been able to
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confront the realities and improve year after year. To achieve
78,7% is not a mean task. It improved from 60% to 78,7%.
In thinking of the deep, rural schools in KwaZulu-Natal and
Limpopo, who are the members teaching in those schools? Many of
them, if not most of them, are members of the SA Democratic
Teachers Union, Sadtu. There may be rogue elements within the
union, and these rogue elements must be dealt with. It means
that we must be firm in our commitment to provide quality
education, but certainly, we are not going to come here to the
podium and rubbish all unions, because unions form part of the
landscape of our education system. What about the SA
Onderwysersunie, Saou, the National Professional Teachers’
Organisation of SA, Naptosa, and the other unions? We cannot
rubbish one union at the expense of the others. That does not,
in any way, suggest that where unions are counterproductive and
where they tend to work against the better interests of our
learners, we should not be bold and assertive in demanding that
they comply. That is the view that we take and that is how we
are going to move forward with regard to this.
Quite significant in South Africa’s history is a collaboration
education trust framework, where the Department of Basic
Education, through the Minister, has entered into an agreement
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with the private sector in the provision of services throughout
the country. Already we are beginning to see changes. We have a
comprehensive data analysis of 8 districts, and the private
sector is working with the department to ensure that we deal
with issues of textbooks, infrastructure, governance and various
other elements. This is a wonderful sign of confidence that the
private sector places in the Department of Basic Education in
ensuring that it is able to enhance the quality of education.
In reflecting, I want to make reference to 2010, when 23,6% of
learners attained bachelors passes. In 2011, it was 24,3%. In
2012, the figure was 26,6% and in 2013 it was 30,6%. In other
words, one in every three children who passes matric can now go
to university. That was not the case in the past. Thank you.
[Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr D H KHOSA: Hon Chairperson, Mrs Didiza, hon Minister, Deputy
Minister, the chairperson of the committee on which I serve,
colleagues ...
... na vamaseve eka voko ra mina ra ku dya masi, ndza mi xeweta,
ri perile. [... and my in-laws on my left hand, I greet you,
good evening.]
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Allow me to focus my speech or my contribution to the debate on
a pro-poor programme because ...
... nhlangano lowu wu ndzi rhumeke ku ta vulavula haleno i
nhlangano lowu wu tekelaka ngopfu enhlokweni vanhu lava va
xanisekaka. Kutani ndzi lava ku vulavula ngopfu hi swisiwana.
Ndzi ta tirhisa ngopfu swisiwana eka leswi ndzi nga ta vulavula
hi swona. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraph follows.)
[... the organisation which sent me to come and speak here is
the organisation which takes into consideration people who are
suffering. Then I want to talk more about the poor. I will use
particularly the poor on what I am going to talk about.]
In 2008, the Southern African Development Community, SADC,
Ministers of Education adopted the Care and Support for Teaching
and Learning Programme. This was to respond to the challenges
faced by children in the region. These include poverty, HIV and
Aids, crime, violence and substance abuse. This programme was
initiated so that quality education could be achieved in the
region. The goal of this programme is to realise the education
rights of the children, including the most vulnerable, through
schools becoming inclusive centres of learning, care and
support. This programme, Care and Support for Teaching and
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Learning, CSTL, situates the Department of Basic Education as a
lead agency in addressing school-level barriers to education
within a long-collaborated response that addresses the multiple
barriers to education that vulnerable children are facing. South
Africa is one of the five SADC countries that have been
implementing this programme since 2008.
There are nine priorities that I want to talk about, which have
been identified in South Africa to deliver on an integrated
package of services with the aim of improving access, retention
and achievement in schools. They are nutritional support, health
promotion, infrastructure, social welfare services, safety and
protection, psychological support, curriculum support, cocurricular support activities and material support.
I will start by looking at the Nutritional School Support
Programme. This programme is one of the government programmes
that have been successful in meeting the nutritional needs of
learners from the poorest communities to help them to perform
optimally. It is the government’s plan, introduced in 1994,
during President Nelson Mandela’s government, for poverty
alleviation, which was initiated to uphold the rights of the
children to basic food and to contribute to learning in school
by providing them with quality nutritious meals. Initially this
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programme was called the Primary School Nutrition Programme and
was transferred from the Department of Health to the Department
of Education since it was seen as an intervention aimed at
addressing the children’s ability to learn.
Whilst we have made significant gains in improving the lives of
South Africans since 1994, the level of poverty still remains
high. Many children grow up lacking food and proper nutrition.
The general household survey of 2009 revealed that an estimated
20% of South African households have inadequate access to food.
The National Development Plan, NDP, highlights the need to
eradicate child hunger through nutrition and food security. The
micronutrient affects nearly two billion people worldwide and
South Africa is no exception, hence the need for supporting this
type of budget that we are talking about.
The National School Nutrition Programme’s primary objective is
to provide daily balanced meals to learners from the poorest
communities to enhance teaching and learning. With the success
of this NSNP in the last 20 years, it has been observed that
there are improvements in enrolment, school attendance,
participation in class and also reduced absenteeism. Therefore,
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there is still a need to further demonstrate improvement in
learning outcomes.
On achievements, as at June 2014, over 9 million learners in
approximately 21 013 quintile 1 to 3 primary and secondary
schools benefitted from this programme, which is up from about
4 million learners in the 2004-05 financial year. This has
attributed to the extension of the programme to public secondary
schools. Schools are required to provide meals by 10:00 on all
school days.
This programme also contributes to economic activity. It
contributes to the local economy by creating work opportunities
through contracting small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs,
and local co-operatives. It contracts 3 078 local SMMEs, up from
2 977 in 2012; 534 local community-based co-operatives, up from
312; and 170 big companies, which brings the total number of
service providers contracted to 3 782. The 534 local cooperatives include women’s co-operatives. This programme engages
54 125 volunteer food handlers, largely women responsible for
preparing and serving meals to our learners, and they receive a
stipend of about R900 per month in the nine provinces.
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I would not have done the debate justice if I did not talk about
substance abuse that is affecting our children. The drug problem
in South Africa has been on a continual rise, especially in the
last few years. Alcohol and drug abuse in particular are slowly
eating into the social fibre of our communities. Substance abuse
has taken a dramatic turn, including at primary level. This has
a huge psychological and health effect and on the learning
patterns of our children. All institutions in society should
join hands in the fight against substance abuse. The government
institutions, Department of Health, Basic Education, and Social
Development should take the lead in this regard.
I must also talk about scholar transport as I am one of the
victims who used to travel 30 km to and from school when I was
seven years old. Hon members, the provision of transport has
remained one of the key challenges that have confronted
government in the postapartheid era. Many scholars travel long
distances to access their schools and this is not conducive to
learning. There is generally a lack of integration between
communities and services and this results in an environment that
is unsustainable for proper socioeconomic development.
The historical demographic characteristics of the country pose a
massive challenge in the provision of basic services to rural
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communities. The rural communities are severely impacted by lack
of access to services such as transport. Therefore, scholar
transport is critical in providing mobility to scholars to
access their educational institutions of learning. The provision
of scholar transport ensures that scholars are able to reach
their educational institutions in a healthy and a safe
environment which enables an effective learning environment.
Many scholars have been excluded from attending school and
thereby from receiving an education because of a lack of
transport.
Loko ndza ha gimeta, ndzi tsakela ku pfala ndzi karhi ndzi
khensa ku hoxa xandla ka Holobye, Manana Angie Motshekga, loyi a
hi tiselaka dyondzo ya kahle eAfrika-Dzonga. Ndza swi tiva
leswaku na vamaseve evokweni ra mina ro dya masi va swi tiva,
kambe ko va ntsena leswaku ntirho wa vona i wa ku kaneta. Kutani
ha va pfumelela leswaku va kaneta ... (Translation of Xitsonga
paragraph follows.)
[As I conclude, I wish to close whilst commending the
contribution of the Minister, Mrs Angie Motshekga, who provides
us with quality education in South Africa. I know that my inlaws on my left hand also know it, but it is only that their
role is that of opposition. Then we allow them to oppose ...]
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... only if it is progressive. I thank you very much.
[Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): The next speaker is the
hon Carter. Hon member, can you go through the proper way,
please? Do you want to cross the floor? [Laughter.] The hon
Carter.
Ms D CARTER: Hon Chairperson, at the end of each year we
congratulate and celebrate, and it is all misperceptions of the
true reality of our pass rate. The hon Gina today agreed that
out of the 1,000,286 pupils who went to Grade 1 in 2002, only
34% of them actually passed. Now, it is really devastating and
it is heartbreaking. What are we doing to correct that?
Claiming a 78% pass rate at the beginning of the year is
claiming a false sense of achievement, which is not helping us
to fix the problems that are there. The researchers show that
students are pushed through with condone passes until they reach
Grade 10. This brings me to the question whether there is any
truth in this new beast that’s on the block that is called
culling, where weak pupils, when they reach Grade 11, are
prevented from going on to matric to boost the pass rate. We
must face the reality that there are schools out there to which
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when you apply, and you are from that area, you are not admitted
to that school; this is especially the case with hostel schools.
Children are taken in from outside and that is only to boost
that school’s pass rate. What is the government going to do
about that?
The ruling party has been quoted as saying that our education
system must ensure that no child is left behind. Now, it is
pretty sad. If I have to quote the Deputy Minister, saying that
Nelson Mandela would have been very proud today, I think he
would have been heartbroken to know that, as we stand here
today, halfway through the year, there is a model C school in
Thabazimbi, where the Grade 9 learners have not yet received
handbooks for mathematics, social sciences, technology, life
orientation and Afrikaans. That is really sad - it is halfway
through the year.
For far too long the government has allowed the South African
Democratic Teachers Union, Sadtu, to reign supreme with impunity
within our education sector. It is widely spoken in the
corridors that Sadtu was behind the removal of a former
Director-General of Basic Education, despite him being
exonerated following an investigation. More shocking is the
report of Sadtu’s involvement in the selling of positions. The
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fact remains that it is the Department of Basic Education that
ultimately makes the appointments. It would, therefore, at face
value appear that the department itself is complicit in the
matter. The Minister needs to commit to a full and transparent
investigation with regard to the rot in the department being
influenced by Sadtu and possibly other unions as well.
Reading through the Estimates of National Expenditure, it is
clear that it lacks clear ideas about how to bring the school
system into the 21st century. Firstly, I need to say that it
talks about the 21st century, but we are already in the 21st
century. I am skipping some days. Thank you, Chair. [Time
expired.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Order, Hon members!
Before I recognise the next speaker, may I just remind all
members of the House to use the waiting benches on both sides
and to refrain from crossing the floor when you approach the
podium. In political, parliamentary terms, it has a terrible
meaning, Deputy Minister, when you touch the centre of this
floor. It means that you have plans. The next speaker is the hon
Alberts.
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Adv A D ALBERTS: Hon Minister, your department’s vision is quite
clear, “Develop, maintain and support a South African school
education system for the 21st century.” Now, if one honestly
compares the output of your department with the stated vision,
one finds a shocking disconnect. The 21st century requires
highly skilled people to participate in the modern economy. Yet,
what we find is a basic education system that is designed to
allow pupils to pass when they cannot read, write or count
properly. The bar for passing cannot possibly be lower than the
present 35%, but perhaps this department will surprise us in
future. The high pass rate also masks the low standards.
The result of 20 years of ANC education can be summarised as
follows: 50% of employable persons under 25 are unemployed; the
under 25s constitute 30% of the total unemployed; 60% of those
that left school did so without matric; the average time spent
looking for a job equals 806 days and young people are competing
in a pool of 6,5 million job seekers.
Basiese onderwys is so swak dat diegene wat uit daardie stelsel
kom, veral arm swart jongmense, beskou word as onaanstelbaar,
behalwe vir ongeskoolde arbeid. Dit is ’n nasionale skande.
(Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
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[Basic education is so poor that those who come from that
system, especially poor black young people, are regarded as
unemployable, except for unskilled labour. It is a national
disgrace.]
Mr B A RADEBE: Chairperson, on a point of order: Could we have
interpreters to interpret for us what the hon Alberts is saying.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Yes, hon member. I have
been informed that the technicians are working on the problem.
There seems to be a problem in terms of the direct
interpretation as the members switch over from one language to
another. They are attending to the problem; I just beg your
indulgence. You may continue, hon member.
Adv A D ALBERTS: Thank you, Chair. The rest of my speech is in
English.
Dit lyk of die regering opsetlik die massas ongeskool wil hou
ten einde hulle makliker te beheer. Die eerste stap in die
regstel hiervan moet die verskerpte implementering van
moedertaalonderrig wees; tweedens, meer klem op wiskunde en
wetenskap; en derdens, die daarstel van hoër slaagstandaarde.
(Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
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[It seems as if the government deliberately wants the masses to
remain unskilled in order to have more control over them. The
first step in rectifying this should be the stringent
implementation of mother-tongue instruction; secondly, more
emphasis on mathematics and science; and, thirdly, to set higher
standards in respect of pass rates.]
We support the Minister’s accelerated delivery and improvement
of school infrastructure projects. We also urge the Minister to
execute this with more mother tongue instruction in mind. If the
Minister can execute her budget as planned, then we also hope
that the Minister will advise the provincial MECs of education
not to solve their school space problems by targeting Afrikaans
mother-tongue schools and forcing them to take in learners who
need education in English. It is clear that your programme to
build new schools should actually solve this crisis.
Afrikaans schools have dwindled to almost 300 at last count and
we think it is even less now. This is nonsensical in light of
government’s own pronouncements that demographic reality be the
guiding light of spatial planning. Afrikaans is the third
largest language in the country after isiZulu and isiXhosa with
English a distant sixth place.
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Mr G S RADEBE: Chairperson, on a point of order: Is it
parliamentary to say in this House that something is
nonsensical?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): It is a debate, hon
member. It is an opinion that he is expressing and the other
speakers can deal with the comments of the hon member when they
take to the podium. Continue, hon member.
Adv A D ALBERTS: Therefore, should Afrikaans schools not
actually increase in line with the demographic reality ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): What is your point of
order, hon member?
Mr G S RADEBE: Hon Chairperson, could hon Alberts take a
question in relation to his estimate of these three languages
that are dominating South Africa ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Wait, I have not given
you the opportunity to ask the question. Hon Alberts, are you
prepared to take a question from that hon member?
Adv A D ALBERTS: Yes, Chair, I am.
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): You may ask the
question, hon member, but keep it brief.
Mr G S RADEBE: How true is the fact that these three languages –
I mean Afrikaans is one of the three dominating languages – what
about other Sotho languages, because Sotho is very vast, and
isiZulu is very vast, and isiXhosa?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Thank you, hon member.
Hon Alberts, you can reply.
Adv A D ALBERTS: Hon member, the national census has shown this.
It has been shown by previous censuses and these censuses
confirmed that Afrikaans is the third largest language in the
country, with isiZulu the largest and isiXhosa the second
largest and this is a fact and it is done by your departments.
... yet only Afrikaans schools are forced to accommodate nonAfrikaans-speaking learners. Minister, no mother tongue school
should be forced to change its character in the end. This is
unconstitutional and must stop.
Minister, u het beheer oor die belangrikste departement in die
land. U weet self, sonder ’n onderwysstelsel wat goed
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funksioneer, het ons geen toekoms nie. Die stelsel sal drasties
moet verbeter ten opsigte van standaarde en moedertaalonderrig
ten einde ’n katastrofe in die toekoms af te weer. Dankie.
(Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Minister, you have control over the most important department
in the country. You yourself know that without an education
system that functions well, we have no future. The system will
have to improve drastically with regard to standards and mothertongue instruction in order to prevent a catastrophe in the
future. Thank you.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon members, may I once
again remind you to take your seats in the waiting benches so
the debate can proceed. Thank you.
Mr L M NTSHAYISA: Chairperson, hon Minister, all protocol
observed, as the AIC, we are of the opinion that the quality of
teaching and learning at schools should really be improved. This
will only be successful if we begin to be serious about
infrastructure, learning and teaching support material or LTSM,
and improving educators’ salaries because they are the people
doing the real spadework in the schools.
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With regard to the curriculum, we have been doing a lot of
assessment policy statements over the years. We believe that we
should make thorough use of Caps, or the Curriculum and
Assessment Policy Statement, and that it should be the last one,
as there has been a lot of confusion for many of our learners
and educators.
We always say that we have to supply water, electricity and
sanitation facilities to our schools. We should mean exactly
that. We shouldn’t always make promises that are never
fulfilled, because these are some of the issues that our
learners and teachers are faced with at our schools.
Again, as the AIC, we believe that the assessment that is being
done at schools now should be done continually. But due support
should be given in time to educators so that they know exactly
what they have done wrong and what they have to correct. This is
because by doing so, we will be preparing our citizens that are
learners to be responsible citizens.
There is the issue of the centralisation of textbooks and
stationery. The distribution of textbooks and stationery has
been centralised, but that does not mean an end to the
corruption. This means that corruption will be more pronounced,
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because it will be done by senior officials and management of
the department. Unless this tender system comes to an end,
corruption will never end. So, we believe this is not a solution
to the problem. We believe, as the AIC, that communities should
be involved and encouraged to take part as people should be part
of the government; they should take centre stage in governance.
We believe that there should be a follow-up of the monies that
are always transferred to the provinces, because if we keep
transferring these monies and there is no monitoring, then
corruption becomes prevalent. [Time expired.]
Mrs J V BASSON: Hon Chairperson, Minister of the Department of
Basic Education, Deputy Minister of Basic Education, chairperson
of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, Members of
Parliament, board chairpersons of entities, members of the
public in the gallery up there and my people in the Northern
Cape, especially of Z F Mgcawu, where I come from, I greet you
all, molweni!
Hon Chairperson, allow me to quote from a legend, an icon and a
hero in all respects, the late Tata Rolihlahla Mandela, who once
said:
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Education is the great engine of personal development. It is
through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a
doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of
the mine, that the child of a farmer can become the president
of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not
what we are given that separates one person from another.
[Applause.]
It is because of education that the child of an ordinary
domestic worker and a railway worker, like myself, can today be
called the hon Basson.
Inene sisuka kude kwaye isende le ndlela. [We have come a long
way and we still have a long road ahead.]
I would also like to thank my organisation, the ANC, for giving
me the opportunity to be part of this progressive and democratic
ANC-led government. Indeed, I am honoured today to come and
share with this House the developments on the budget and
infrastructure of Basic Education as it is indeed one of the
non-negotiables, and thus one of the key strategic priorities
for 2014.
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Albert Einstein once said that the world would not be destroyed
by those who do evil, but by those who watch them doing evil and
not doing anything about it. Since the ANC-led government took
over in 1994, it has committed itself to the task of social
transformation, nation-building and promoting the notion that
South Africa belongs to all who live in it and that all shall
have the right to share equally the opportunities that are
plentiful in the country.
In doing so, the democratic government sought to redress the
injustices of the past, which were deliberately set to plant and
promote the negative culture of divide and rule within the South
African nation. We congratulate the Department of Basic
Education on work well done in turning the tide against poor
education in schools across South Africa. The work is
particularly more commendable regarding the African schools in
far-flung rural areas, where young Africans had to attend school
under a tree, to use dongas and bushes to relieve themselves, to
walk long distances, to cross rivers to reach school. I am also
the victim of that, lest we forget.
Today, our good story extends beyond replacing the glass of a
broken window and eradicating a mud school. Our good story tells
of the building of new, modern, state-of-the-art school
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buildings embellished with science laboratories, multimedia
centres, ablution facilities, sportsgrounds, well-ventilated
classrooms, water infrastructure - all these things.
It is worth mentioning that in 2013, in the Eastern Cape alone,
49 inappropriate schools were replaced with new schools; 190
schools were provided with electricity; 237 schools were
provided with sanitation; 173 schools were provided with water;
and 49 sites located in Libode, Lusikisiki and in the Mthatha
District, where more than 12 000 learners are expected to
benefit from Asidi, the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure
Delivery Initiative, were handed to 16 contractors in January
2014, to the value of R675 million. Those schools will be handed
over to the communities very soon. [Applause.]
Furthermore, let me tell you that we have good stories to tell.
On Friday, 29 November 2013, something truly positive and
historic happened in South Africa. The Minister of Basic
Education, the hon Angie Motshekga, published legally binding
norms and standards for school infrastructure, Comrade
Mashabane. For the first time ever, it is now law that every
school must have water, electricity, Internet connectivity,
ablution facilities - the list is long. [Applause.] It is long,
indeed.
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This is of great significance because it means that all learners
in South Africa, regardless of race and class, will be able to
learn in environments that have adequate and conducive
infrastructure. Is this not a radical step or a radical move?
The ANC-led government deserves a pat on the back, comrades,
because it is one of the few governments in the world to boast
such a huge budget allocation for the provision of education
services and infrastructure development. As ANC representatives
in this portfolio, we view this large chunk of the budget as a
very important milestone towards redressing the traumatic issues
of the past and, as such, promoting general access to and equity
in the provision of education.
Let me give a few examples of the MTEF 2014 allocation for the
infrastructure backlog grant. It is as follows: R231 million is
allocated for infrastructure for 2014-15; R479 million is
allocated for infrastructure for 2015-16; and R556 million for
2016-17. This is over and above the transfer from the education
infrastructure grant to provinces, which amounts to R231 million
for 2014-15, R589,9 million for 2015-16, and R555 million.
Through this budget allocation, our government continues its
efforts to implement its electoral promise and mandate of
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serving the nation. Our government has placed education centre
stage of the development and as a strategic tool for both human
and socioeconomic development. We are confident that
irrespective of the numerous inherited structural weaknesses and
challenges, our government remains resilient. It is on track and
can never be derailed in its mission to educate the nation.
Today, the ANC-led government prides itself on pushing forward
its set targets to provide adequate quality infrastructure with
the education infrastructure roll-out plan of Asidi. We
congratulate the Department of Basic Education on setting
targets in its programme to deliver at least one completed,
fully equipped, modern, state-of-the-art school in different
provinces per week throughout this term.
As the ANC, we wish to concur that in this new era of democracy
the right to education can never be overemphasised or
compromised. Furthermore, we are encouraged that the Department
of Basic Education has been working tirelessly to give a
suitable response to the school furniture shortage, as was
announced by the hon President in his state-of-the-nation
speech, in which he committed the government to supplying and
delivering new furniture to all newly built schools across the
country by August 2014. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
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Ms H S BOSHOFF: Hon Chair, hon Minister, Deputy Minister,
distinguished guests, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, the
right to basic education is a central, facilitative right. By
realising this right, we invariably open doors to other rights
and a brighter future. The state has the duty to respect,
promote, protect and fulfil these rights.
We believe that a safe and secure teaching and learning
environment is central to the right to basic education, and we
expect the Minister to do all she can to ensure this
achievement. In 2009, the ANC declared education as its apex
priority. Bold statements outlined the various interventions
that would assist in providing a safe and secure learning
environment for our children.
Hon Minister, despite assurances, the DA is not convinced that
the learning environment has received the attention it deserves.
When a child dies in a pit toilet or when in excess of 100 cases
of sexual abuse of learners by teachers are received annually by
the SA Council for Educators then alarm bells ring.
When the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention finds that most
violence in schools takes place in the classrooms, and that
weapons, alcohol and drugs are readily available in many
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schools, again alarm bells ring. Learners spend more time in the
care of educators in some form of educational setting than with
any other role-player outside their home environment. It is
therefore essential to ensure that this environment is safe.
The SA Council for Educators informed our committee last week
that teachers are not vetted for previous involvement in sexual
offences, and that teachers who are deregistered for such
offences escape the sanction by transferring to a different
province. How is that possible?
The law holds every principal accountable for the safety of
every learner on his or her school premises. The Occupational
Health and Safety Act also prescribes a range of steps to be
taken to ensure safety. Are principals aware of this? Do they
implement it? Hon Minister, we doubt it. If they did, the pit
toilet incident would never have happened.
We are grateful to every public and independent school which has
taken it upon itself to try and create a crime-, drug- and
alcohol-free environment, where learners are able to concentrate
on furthering their personal ambitions. It is essential that
every education circuit throughout the nine provinces is
assigned social workers and psychologists who are properly
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trained and equipped to assist learners who are experiencing
difficult circumstances or who have been subjected to traumatic
incidents. Who is there to speak to pregnant teenagers, learners
from HIV/Aids-affected homes or young people exposed to gang
violence?
Valuable lessons can be learnt from the Western Cape’s Safe
Schools Call Centre, where immediate advice and assistance is
given to callers by trained counsellors. Hon Minister, I appeal
to you to encourage the other eight provinces to introduce such
a system.
Failure to provide trauma debriefing as soon as possible after a
traumatic event could have negative consequences, including a
greater risk of a learner dropping out of the system. Currently,
only 40% of our learners who start Grade 1 ever finish Grade 12.
Chances of obtaining employment are slim with a National Senior
Certificate, but they are close to zero without one. Therefore,
we must support our children to stay in school.
The Western Cape Education Department has a Youth at Risk
programme to ensure early identification of learners who show
signs of aggressive behaviour and their subsequent incorporation
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into a developmental programme, designed to assist them in
addressing their behavioural problems.
Coupled with this are the 181 Mass participation, Opportunity
and access Development, MOD, centres, spread across the
province. The centres provide sport and recreational activities
to over 40 000 registered participants from disadvantaged
communities and underserved schools, with most MOD centre
activities taking place after school, usually between 14:00 and
18:00 in the afternoon. Excellent, constructive diversion for
all youth, but particularly for those at risk, is needed.
Many educators and other role-players must be commended for
their courageous efforts in endeavouring to create, wherever
possible, a stable environment for learners, sometimes under
very difficult circumstances, because of the areas in which they
work. These educators attend school, not only having to face
their own fears, but also to be confronted with frightened and
traumatised young learners affected by violent events. The
educators also need help and support. They receive it in the
Western Cape. Minister, there is no reason why you could not use
your influence to spread this best practice countrywide.
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If we focus on supporting our learners, on providing a safe and
secure environment, coupled with discipline and respect, we
stand a much greater chance of growing young adults who are
tolerant, patient, courteous and responsible - just the sort of
young adult any employer would welcome. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr D MNGUNI: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister,
hon members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the
ANC, the organisation to be reckoned with, applauds the
practical development and training of teachers done by the
Department of Basic Education.
As we speak now, the implementation of the Integrated Strategic
Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development will
reach its first phase of implementation in 2014. A progress
report detailing achievement goals, challenges and targets for
the fifth administration is ready and will be communicated to
the system from the end of July onwards. A key feature of this
will be to strengthen the delivery of professional development
programmes at school level through the increased support and
monitoring of provincial education department programmes and
qualitative support for the Curriculum and Assessment Policy
Statement, Caps, and the Annual National Assessment, ANA,
considering the diagnostic reports on the previous years.
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Comrade Lovemore ... honourable ... friend ... [Laughter.]
...you have spoken about the meeting of the Department of Higher
Education and Training. Indeed, we moved forward with the issue
of the meeting, saying the department has made strides in
partnering with the Department of Higher Education and Training
and other stakeholders in education. In August this year, we
shall see the completion of the training of 100 further
education and training, FET, curriculum advisers, higher
education specialists and union representatives on the
collaboration project with the British Council on English as a
first additional language. Wait and see. This project includes
training in the foundation phase, intermediate phase and senior
phase for officials.
We know that the department will intensify its monitoring of the
delivery of these programmes. We also know that this department
is working closely with the provincial education departments in
the provinces. Indeed, the department has plans. For this
financial year, it will provide training support to the
provincial education departments for inclusive education. This
includes sign language, Braille, the introduction of African
languages, multigrade teaching, unqualified and underqualified
teachers, including Grade R. If you were listening, you would
have heard the Minister say something about that. This includes
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support for the provincial education departments in the
establishment of subject committees and professional and
learning committees. We are in the same portfolio committee, and
we are going to monitor that closely - with you.
[Interjections.]
There have been bilateral talks and initiatives between the
Departments of Basic Education and of Higher Education and
Training. Why? It is because they want to strengthen the initial
teacher supply. The strategies that have been implemented so far
include - hon Lovemore - the strengthening of the Funza Lushaka
Bursary Programme, which provides full-cost, merit-based
bursaries to students to become teachers in scarce-skills
subjects. The spending on these bursary schemes, if you look at
the figures, has increased from R424 million in 2010-11 for
10 074 students to R893,9 million in 2013-14 for 14 500 students
- you see, skills are being uplifted. That is the beginning; we
are coming. The projections indicate that more than 43 200
bursaries will be awarded over the medium term at a cost of
R2,982 billion.
The other strategy that the department has is providing
earmarked grants to universities to develop new infrastructure
for teacher education. In the 2012-15 medium-term cycle,
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approximately R600 million was allocated to universities for
teacher education infrastructure development. The other strategy
that the department has is engaging with the universities
through the enrolment training process to ensure that initial
teacher education is prioritised as one of the priority areas
for continued growth.
Hon Mahlabela from the EFF, perhaps you walk with your eyes
closed. If you are talking about colleges, there has been
expansion of teacher education to new campuses of existing
universities. Where possible and feasible, former teacher
college sites are being used for this purpose, for example, the
former Ndebele College of Education site, now known as the
Siyabuswa Campus for teacher education, the University of
Mpumalanga and the establishment of the B.Ed Foundation Phase
Programme at the Missionvale Campus of the Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University, which has been enabled to be a teacher
education site as well.
The Limpopo province has indicated that the Sekhukhune College
of Education site and the Giyani College of Education site can
be reutilised for teacher education. These strategies - Lovemore
... [Interjections.] ...hon ... I was coming to “hon” ... I just
spoke too quickly... - are bearing fruit. In 2009, 6 855 new
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teachers graduated. In 2012, the figure stood at 13 702, which
translates into a 99,8% increase.
The enrolment planning preparation indicates that by 2019, the
public higher education system will be producing in excess of
22 000 new teachers per year. But, Comrade Alberts, or hon
Alberts, the attrition rate facing us as a country as such
currently stands at 3,2% to 5%, which translates into 12 000 or
15 000 educators exiting the system annually, although these
figures are relatively low compared to other countries that are
on the same level of development.
The more experienced educators have resigned, which are those
figures. Something has to be done to address these figures. What
is encouraging for us or the department or the ANC going forward
has been the percentage of young educators showing interest in
the past five years. The number of young people between the ages
of 20 and 29 showing interest has been increasing from 3% to 6%,
which shows the impact of Funza Lushaka, the ANC-introduced
projects through the Department of Education and Training, with
underqualified educators declining from about 5,5% to 3% over
the same period.
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The figures from the Department of Higher Education and Training
show that the number of initial education graduates is
increasing rapidly. Between 2009 and 2011, the number of
graduates increased from 7 000 to 10 500. Look at the Funza
Lushaka graduates: the number has increased from about 800 in
2008 to approximately 3 200 in 2013.
The ANC prides itself on what the department is doing. If one
looks at underperformance, there is an improvement in literacy
and numeracy in the lower levels of schooling, namely the
foundation phase and the intermediate phase. We are looking
forward to gradual improvement in the higher classes, which is
beginning to be noticeable indeed. We also pride ourselves, as
the ANC, on the Dinaledi schools and the Department of Science
and Technology-adopted schools that show much improvement in the
subjects of science and technology.
On the issue of discipline, the ANC and the department commend
the large majority of teachers in our schools on the discipline
shown. Their contribution is much appreciated, although it is
not seen by the hon Boshoff, who says that teachers do not do
much in their schools to control drugs. They are trying, by all
means, to control drugs. However, one ill-disciplined teacher is
one too many as this affects the integrity of the profession as
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a whole. We have provincial education departments that have
exclusive jurisdiction to discipline teachers. We are confident
that everything will be done to deal with all forms of
misconduct, which includes fraud, excessive absenteeism and so
forth.
The teachers must adhere to the non-negotiables, as clearly
articulated by the hon President, the official South African
Commander-in-Chief. I repeat: the voted-for South African
Commander-in-Chief, President Jacob Zuma, who said, in his state
of the nation address that there would be assistance to impact
positively for qualitative and effective service delivery in
class. However, to regulate discipline, the Employment of
Educators Act of 1998, specifically sections 17 and 19, has been
enacted. We urge provinces to implement this Act effectively.
Comrade Mpontshane, whom I don’t see here now ... hon Mpontshane
... [Interjections.] He is here. We have said much to the hon
Matsheke from the EFF about the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union,
Sadtu. The SA Democratic Teachers’ Union is not the only union
that exists. [Interjections.] Sadtu helped in the development of
this Employment of Educators Act. So, we should applaud Sadtu
for the good that it does regarding teacher development. Do not
single out Sadtu.
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Districts have a pivotal role in understanding and addressing
the country’s educational institutions to achieve a qualitative
and efficient national learning outcome. As the ANC, we are
happy that the department has therefore initiated the following
processes to ensure that districts provide the much-needed
support for schools, which we appreciate. The first process is
the promulgation of the guidelines on organisational roles and
responsibilities of the education district. These guidelines
provide a framework within which the provincial education
departments can provide district provinces with the necessary
roles, delegated authority and skills to enable them to perform
their core functions. Thank you very much. [Time expired.]
[Applause.]
Mr G S RADEBE: Hon Chair, is it parliamentary for the hon Yusuf
Cassim to keep on chewing there?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Radebe, take your
seat, please.
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Chair, let me thank hon members
for the debate and the contributions and we say those that are
not responded to, we have noted them with respect and we will
follow up on them. Let me just start by assuring the EFF member
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that I actually do not have the time or energy for people who
behave like anarchists and bandits that are against everything
and offer no solutions. She can go and count and not tell me
about two schools or three mud schools. The mere fact that we
are asking for a budget of R10 billion and say that we want to
eradicate mud and inappropriate structures mean that they are
there. So why are you telling me about one or two schools you
have heard about? I can give you the figures and the names; they
exceed 300. So, don’t worry, the two you are talking about are
too few; there are a lot of them. That is why we have budgeted
for them, but let me say, really, I hope that now that the
overalls are gone, perhaps sanity will start prevailing.
To the FF Plus member, I have to say, hon member, that there is
no intention by this government to show disrespect to any
language and any culture. There are more dynamics in addition to
what you are saying that makes more learners not to take
Afrikaans, including the parental choices. So you do begin to
see Afrikaans-speaking parents taking their kids to Englishspeaking schools. It is one of the factors; and I am not saying
it is the only factor. But, I must assure you that there is
nothing like a deliberate undermining of any language by this
government.
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Hon Lovemore, with due respect, education is not only about
jobs. That view is very reductionist, economical with the truth
and it is not true. Education is much more than that. It is
about releasing the full potential of our children, which is
going beyond jobs. We are not educating our kids to be job
machines. Otherwise we would not have Kha Ri Gude. Jobs are part
of it, but they must be holistic, responsible adults who can
hold their own in the world socially, economically and
politically. We are not producing machines, we agree. Really, I
think it is only on the last point where I agree with you, about
quality. I think you must liberate yourself from this very
limiting and reductionist definition of education.
Our kids are God’s image and their potential is beyond being job
machines. So this noise about jobs is right, but it is too
limiting. Our work is much bigger than that, including getting
our kids to know their history. So you cannot criticise history
and talk about jobs. They have to know where they come from; it
is part of this full potential. I didn’t say that it should be
compulsory, but I said we are investigating along with other
countries. I agree with you, you can’t just overload the
curriculum and get all the kids to do everything; all of the
subjects. I said in my speech here, we are investigating the
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calls, but we can’t undermine the fact that our people are not
job machines; they have to know more than that.
The other factor on which I want to give you clarity is the
different systems. Every educationist internationally knows that
there is unfortunately a strong link between socioeconomic
background and academic performance. We do not have poor
performance in poor communities because we do not care. It is
because there is always a correlation. That is why, as this
government, we consciously and deliberately have a pro-poor
package to support kids from poor families because indeed they
will always stay behind because there is no motivation at home;
there is no support at home. There are a lot of things that
militate against their success. That is why we have additional
classes; we give them school uniforms; and we have remedial
classes. There is always that challenge and that is why we have
those pro-poor packages. These packages are not only resources,
but they represent our entire support.
I forgot also to mention that, as a department - and where I
agree with most members – we are quite concerned about the rot
in the system. That is why the team that will investigate these
posts for sale under Professor Volmne is ready to start doing
its work because - I agree with members - if you are to maintain
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the status, the integrity and the respect of the profession, we
have to assist it at all times to behave professionally, without
necessarily saying which union is responsible. You can’t say we
have an 80% pass rate and then say a union that has more than
80% members did not contribute to that pass. It can’t be like
that, because it will be just dishonest to say that. Indeed
there are rotten potatoes in most unions, but there are also
very good, dedicated and hard-working teachers in all the
unions.
Baba uMpotshane, it is just that the debate is quite short.
Le nto iradical is true. [The fact that the sector is radical is
the truth.]
... and this means everything, lots of things, which you cannot
define in one sentence, because the sector itself is
complicated; it has many facets. Therefore, that radicalism has
to deal with many facets. We can say what we will do in the
senior phase, where we are experiencing poor progression, poor
retention and poor pass rates. We are saying what we are going
to be doing. We really yet again wish to tell the committee to
deal decisively with what is causing those problems.
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Let me just go quickly through what – I’m chasing time again,
Chair - what we are working on with partners in education. If
you recall, in July last year, we set what we call the Education
Collaboration Framework and we can say it is starting to bear
fruit. Through it we have co-ordinated and profiled schools in
the targeted districts, school by school, detail by detail, and
district by district to make sure we have what we call “fresh
schools”. That is what we call radical. We are dealing with
issues systematically. We want to deal with the system, but we
think we really have to begin to focus on issues school by
school and phase by phase.
From next year onwards, we are going to start with the senior
phase because indeed the senior phase is a death trap. We are
getting no more than a 20% pass in terms of our Annual National
Assessment, ANA. We have high drop-out rates and failure rates
and so we are going to deal with that phase decisively. In that
phase we have to identify all the things that are supposed to be
done. We will focus on the teacher training, resourcing, and
teaching aids. Those are the things that we are talking about.
In this collaboration, for instance, we are working with more
than 120 community members. There are trade unions, traditional
leaders, and businesspeople who formed district steering
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committees that are working with us to improve schools. Already
more than 291 schools that we are working on require urgent and
focused attention. That is what we are talking about and these
schools are, for instance, being provided with differentiated
responsive attention, enabling them to have the opportunity to
make a fresh start. That is what we are working on with the
education collaboration task team. We can elaborate on this.
The last thing I want to talk about is to share with you that,
as a department, a sector, we are overjoyed that corporate South
Africa is coming on board big time. We have the Shuttleworth
Foundation and Sasol Inzalo that are readily providing the
support needed to get the sector moving. It is a pity that I
can’t list all of them and I have left some out. But what is
also very exciting is that even our institutions of higher
education are coming to the party.
What we see in other countries is that when universities start
working very closely with schools, they both learn. They learn
what they need to teach their kids and how to support a sector.
On the hand, the sector benefits from the high skills that are
located in those institutions and almost all our institutions in
the country are coming to the party.
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Also, our own employees in the sector are giving their best. I
have invited Dora Moloi from Gauteng, who was the best district
director in Gauteng, and I have also invited the director from
the Free State who produced the best results in all the
districts. Our employees have gone into the stream of making
sure that things happen and are providing the necessary support.
I also want to say that this year we will be having the
elections of school governing bodies and we will want different
parties to encourage their members to participate in these
elections.
In conclusion, I really want to say, what the Secretary- General
always says: “thina siyaqhuba apha kumbutho olawulayo.” [We are
moving forward in the ruling party.] We are continuing
undeterred, because we know we have to do it. Our country needs
all of us. Sometimes it is a pity when you hear the DA making
noises about the Western Cape. South African kids belong to all
of us, even to the DA. Please celebrate other good things that
are happening elsewhere and stop saying Western Cape, Western
Cape as if those are the only kids you value; value all of them.
They all belong to you too, just as we celebrate kids in the
Western Cape because they belong to us.
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Despite the fact that you could not get your 30% in the
elections, console yourselves that you are the official
opposition party and the national one. So, take a national stand
and have a national view. Just grow beyond the 30% that you were
aspiring to. Say, despite the fact that we did not get 30%, we
have managed to be the official ruling party and then grow big,
big, big and celebrate all our kids, and not only the Western
Cape kids as you are really closing yourselves off.
To hon Boshoff, I am really sorry. I can hear what we are going
to hear for the next five years. I know the DA always picks up
on negative, petty subjects, and I can hear that we are going to
stay in the latrines with you. Good luck, I am not going there.
So don’t pick toilets; you are going to stay there alone. [Time
expired.] [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Thank you, hon Minister.
That concludes the debate. Members are reminded that the
extended public committees will continue from 19:10 this evening
in the following venues: Vote 24 - Justice and Constitutional
Development - will take place in the NA Chamber; Vote 37 Transport - will take place in the Old Assembly Chamber and the
debate on Vote 9 - Government Communication and Information
System - will take place in Committee Room E249.
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That concludes the debate and the business of this extended
public committee. The committee will now rise.
Debate concluded.
The committee rose at 18:52.