27. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Budget Vote 15: Basic Education, dated10 July 2014.

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education having considered Budget Vote 15: Basic Education,together with the Annual Performance Plan and Strategic Plan of the Department of Basic Education and its Statutory Bodies,reports as follows:

1. Introduction

1.1The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education considered the Strategic Plan, Annual Performance Plan and Budget 2014/15 of the Department of Basic Education and its three Statutory Bodies, namely, the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi) and the South African Council for Educators (SACE). The budget review process was undertaken on the following dates:

  • The Department of Basic Education (DBE)–1 July 2014;and
  • The South African Council for Educators (SACE), the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)and the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi) – 8 July 2014.

1.2The budget briefings served to acquaint the Fifth Parliament Portfolio Committee with the mandates and programmes of the Department and the named statutory bodies.

1.3Those that appeared before the Portfolio Committee during the Budget Review sessions included the following:

1.3.1Department of Basic Education (DBE):Hon A Motshekga: Minister for Basic Education, Hon E Surty: Deputy Minister for Basic Education, Mr SG Padayachee: Acting Director-General, Mr A Schoeman: Deputy Director-General, Mr H M Mweli: Acting Deputy Director-General, Ms V Carelse: Deputy Director-General, Mr Kojana: Deputy Director-General, Ms N Molalekoa: Chief Finance Officer, Mr S Govender: Chief Director, Dr F Kumalo: Chief Director, Dr R Poliah: Chief Director, Ms C Nuga: Chief Director, Mr N Maluleka: Director, Ms S Mosimege: Director, Mr A W Kutumela: Director, Ms T Martins: Ministerial Liaison Officer, Ms E Mbatha: Personal Assistant, Ms C Van Wyk: Parliamentary Liaison Officer, Mr L Mahada: Parliamentary Liaison Officer (Office of the Director-General) and Mr R Van Den Heever: Parliamentary Liaison Officer (Office of the Minister).

1.3.2South African Council for Educators (SACE):Mr R Brijraj: Chief Executive Officer, Mr M Mapindani: Chief Finance Officer and Mr E Rabotapi: Councillor.

1.3.3Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC):Ms C Foca: General Secretary, Mr M Mahlangu: Senior Manager and Mr J Galorale: Executive Member.

1.3.4Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi):Dr M S Rakometsi: Chief Executive Officer, Mr J Thomas: Chief Financial Officer, Mrs E Rabe: Chief Operating Officer and Prof J Volmink: Chairperson of the Council.

1.4The fourth Parliament Portfolio Committee engaged with the Department and its Statutory Bodies on their performance for the previous financial year and the funding needs for the current financial year, in October 2013, as part of the Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report (BRRR) process.The observations made in this report should be read in conjunction with those made in the BRRR report.

1.5 Copies of all presentations on the Budget Review of DBE, SACE, Umalusi and ELRC are available from the Committee Secretary.

2. Overview of Strategic Priorities

2.1Address by the Minister for Basic Education, Hon A Motshekga and Deputy Minister for Basic Education, Hon E Surty

Hon A Motshekga, in her address to the Portfolio Committee gave a brief political input in respect of the Budget Vote 15: Basic Education. The Minister thanked the Portfolio Committee for the valuable inputs during the last term and looked forward to increased productive engagements with the newly formed Portfolio Committee. She indicated that they had extensive discussions at a Ministerial level after re-appointment to their positions. With the knowledge of the past five-years, the Department was well aware of areas that worked well and those that needed urgent attention and improvement. It was important that the Department translated identified challenges into positive action. The Department had a wealth of information on schools through the extensive assessment processes of the past which needed to be unpacked into action plans. The Minister alluded to interventions that improved quality education efficiently and speedily which the Department would focus its attention on as a means to moving forward. It was important that the Department structured itself to deliver on the commitments made by the President. Key focus areas for the Department, amongst others, would include dealing with the high drop-out rate; the repetition rate of learners; the recruitment of qualified principals and improving systems of matching teacher supply and demand. The Minister was keen to arrange a follow-up engagement with the Portfolio Committee on many aspects of the Department’s plan of action for the future.

Hon E Surty echoed the sentiments of the Minister in recognising the support from the Portfolio Committee in the past five-year term. He further recognised the challenges faced by the Department in creating stability in the sector. He indicated that the Department relied on the provinces for the necessary support in creating symbiotic relations between the Department and provincial departments. A good indication of this was the ongoing interaction between the Minister and District Directors in all nine provinces to share information and best-practices. The Deputy Minister touched on a few priorities which were receiving special focussed attention by the Department. These included:

  • The provision of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM)
  • School infrastructure development
  • District Performance
  • Collaboration with the private sector to improve education
  • Professional Development
  • The provision of ICT
  • Rural Focus
  • The implementation of the curriculum
  • Education as a social issue
  • The implementation of the Norms and Standards for school infrastructure
  • Expansion of Early Childhood Development (ECD)
  • The need for the rationalisation of schools.

2.2Overview by the Department of Basic Education

The Department reported that the Strategic Plan 2011 – 2014 addressed key issues contained in the Action Plan to 2014 and the Delivery Agreement. The Strategic Plan was anchored on the Action Plan to 2014 which spelled out the long term basic education sector plan. The Department touched on some of the key challenges outlined in the Strategic Plan and summarised the previous Delivery Agreement. The Department was developing the new five-year Strategic Plan to be tabled in March 2015 which would include priorities highlighted in the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014 - 2019 and the new Delivery Agreement. The education long term sector plan had been revised to ensure further alignment with the National Development Plan (NDP). The Department reported that the Action Plan to 2019 had been finalised and would inform all Department’s medium and short term plans.

2.2.1Overview of the Department’s Draft Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and 2014/15 Strategic Priorities

Following the National Development Plan and building on key sector plans, critical activities were focussed on the following outputs for the next five years:

•Improved quality of teaching and learning through development, supply and effective utilisation of teachers;

•Improved quality of teaching and learning through provision of adequate, quality infrastructure and Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM);

•Improving assessment for learning to ensure quality and efficiency in academic achievement;

•Expanded access to Early Childhood Development and improvement of the quality of Grade R, with support for pre-Grade R provision;

•Strengthening, accountability and improving management at the school, community and district level; and

•Partnerships for education reform and improved quality.

Key Strategic Priorities for 2014 included the following:

2.2.1.1Curriculum

  • The 2014 school year was the final year of the phasing in of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) into the system, in the Senior Phase and Grade 12;
  • Focusing on monitoring the maximum utilisation of teaching time;
  • Curriculum planning, management, oversight ,coverage and delivery by teachers;
  • Responding to content gaps;
  • Continuing with teacher development initiatives based on identified gaps in the Annual National Assessment(ANA) and National Senior Certificate (NSC); and
  • Monitoring training on curriculum differentiation to ensure inclusivity.

2.2.1.2Assessments

  • Further consolidation of the assessment systems;
  • Strengthening quality assurance processes of the NSC through Umalusi;and
  • International benchmarking of critical question papers in order to improve their credibility.

2.2.1.3Learning and Teacher Support Materials

  • The Department would monitor access to textbooks and workbooks by learners;
  • Working with districts to monitor the extent to which resources were utilised at classroom level; and
  • Continuing the provision of high quality workbooks and other supplementary resources.

2.2.1.4Infrastructure

  • Continuing to monitor provincial spending on infrastructure;
  • Replacing of mud and unsafe school structures through the Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI) was still on course; and
  • Ensuring that targets for provision of water, electricity and sanitation facilities were metas per the National Norms and Standards.

2.2.1.5Accountability

  • The emphasis was still on teacher time-on-task, teachers’ attendance and content knowledge;
  • Improving the frequency and quality of monitoring and support services provided by district offices;
  • Analysing District Improvement Plans (DIPs) and providing feedback as part of the Department monitoring and oversight function;
  • Developing and mediating the South African Standards for the appointment of principals, circuit managers and subject advisors;
  • A comprehensive plan to improve conditions of services for Grade R practitioners; and
  • Preparing for the 2015 SGB elections.

2.2.2Annual Performance Plan 2014/15 – Performance Indicators and Targets

The 2014/15Annual Performance Plan summarises the priorities of the Department as aligned to the Delivery Agreement of Outcome 1: Improving the quality of Basic Educationand the sector-wide Action Planto 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025. The activities of the Department remain structuredinto five programmes, namely, Administration;Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring;Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development;Planning, Information and Assessment; and Educational Enrichment Services.

2.2.2.1Programme 1: Administration

The purpose of this programme is to manage the Department and provide strategic and administrative support services. The strategic objectives of the Programme areas follows:

  • To ensure the provision of suitable human resource capacity to support a high performing organisation;
  • To ensure that the basic education sector and the country benefit from targeted support to the education department; and
  • To improve inter-governmental planning, communication, education policy and legislative development.

The following targets were set for the Annual Performance Plan for 2014/15:

  • Staff Development: The number of officials participating in staff development activities for 2014/15is 315, an increase from a target of 300 in 2013/14;
  • Internships: The number of internships implemented for unemployed graduates in the Department stands at 65 against a baseline of 60 (2013/14);
  • Financial Disclosures: All Senior Management Services (SMS) members to submit signed financial disclosure forms by 31 May 2014;
  • PerformanceAgreements:AllSMSmembers to sign Performance Agreements by 31 May 2014;
  • The Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) process results should be available and self-assessment scores submitted to the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) on time, and
  • The number of audit reports to be signed off is 29.

2.2.2.2 Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring

The purpose of Programme two isto develop curriculum and assessment policies and monitor and support their implementation. The strategic objectives of the Programme include:

  • To increase the availability of e-Education of learning and teaching resources amongst teachers;
  • To bring about stability and coherence with respect to the national school curriculum;
  • To pay special attention to improvements in mathematics, physical science and technical subjects;
  • To promote adequate access to quality learning materials by means of better national specifications on what every learner requires and a more proactive approach towards the cost-effective development, reproduction and distribution of materials such as workbooks and textbooks;
  • To establish national norms for school libraries;
  • To create a sound basis for quality pre-Grade 1 education through the promotion of quality learning and teaching materials at this level; and
  • To finalise and promote national screening guidelines that provide for an equitable system of access to special needs support amongst learners.

The indicators in this programme aredirected towards improving learner performance as captured in the sector-wide Action Plan: Towards the realization of schooling 2025. The Programme contributes to the following sector goals on learner performance:

  • Goals 1; 2 & 3: Increase the number of learners in Grade 3; 6 & 9 who, by the end of the year, have mastered the minimum language and Numeracy/Mathematics competencies for Grade 3;
  • Goal 4: Increase the number of Grade 12 learners who become eligible for a Bachelors programme at a university;
  • Goals 5 & 6: Increase the number of Grade 12 learners who pass Mathematics & Physical Science;
  • Goals 7 & 8: Improve the average performance of Grade 6 learners in Languages & Mathematics;
  • Goal 9: Improve the average performance of Grade 8 learners in Mathematics; and
  • Goal 12: Improve the grade promotion of learners through Grades 1 to 9.

The following targets are set for the Annual Performance Plan for 2014/15:

  • The Department targets the developmentof 10 interactive workbooks;
  • The target for the percentage of learners who obtain a National Senior Certificate is 75 percent;
  • The percentage of Grade R workbooks developed, printed and delivered to learners in public primary schools is 97 – 100 percent as per data sets form provinces;
  • The percentage of Grade 9 Mathematics workbooks developed, printed and delivered to learners in public schools was 97 – 100 percent as per data sets from provinces; and
  • The target for the number of learners completing the Kha Ri Gude programme per year is 545386.

2.2.2.3Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development

The purpose of Programme Three is to promote quality teaching and institutional performance through the effective supply, development and utilisation of human resources. The overall strategic objectives for this Branch include:

  • To ensure the new teacher development plan is translated into a wide range of teacher training materials, collaborative professional development activities within the schooling system and agreements with the relevant service providers;
  • To establish the National Institute for Curriculum and Professional Development (NICPD) in order to promote best practices in classroom teaching and teacher development;
  • To establish an ongoing national campaign for choosing teaching as a career, based on research into who became a good teacher and focusing on giving the necessary information and bursaries to interested youths;
  • To bring about a set of planning, management and accountability tools at the school level that catered for South African needs and made quality education more realisable;
  • To develop training strategies and materials aimed at parents that could bring parents more integrally into the new accountability mechanisms being established for schools; and
  • To establish better and evidence-based practices and procedures for the country’s 82 education district offices, including models for school interventions designed to tackle specific school shortcomings.

Programme Three outputs and targets for 2014/15 include the following:

  • The number of qualified teachers aged 30 and below entering the profession for the first time during the financial yearis 8000;
  • A report on the number of qualified teachers aged 30 and below exiting the system during the past year – a report on termination of qualified educators aged 30 and below; and
  • The number of Funza Lushaka bursaries awarded to students enrolled for initial teacher education during the past yearis 13500.

2.2.2.4Programme 4: Planning, Information and Assessment

The purpose of Programme Four is to promote quality and effective service delivery in the basic education system through planning, implementation and assessment. The overall strategic objectives for the Programme areto:

  • Establish a quality system of standardised and benchmarked learner assessments;
  • Ensure that all children completed a quality readiness programme in Grade R before they entered formal education in Grade 1;
  • Put into place support systems for provinces and schools to improve the physical environs of the school and create enabling conditions for successful teaching and learning;
  • Ensure that districts could use quality information and data regarding the level and quality of learning in schools to plan and implement school-based improvement programmes.

The Programme also contributes to the following sector goals:

  • Goal 23: Ensuring that all schools arefunded at least at the minimum per learner levels determined nationally and that funds areutilised transparently and effectively; and
  • Goal 24: Ensuring that the physical infrastructure and environment of every school inspire learners to be motivated to come to school and learn, and for teachers to come and teach.

The main performance targets for Programme 4 in 2014/15include amongst others:

  • The provision of valid and reliable data on learner performance in Mathematics and languages in Grade 1 to 9;
  • The number of schools to complete through ASIDI is 150;
  • The percentage of Grade 1 learners who have received formal Grade R is 94 percent;
  • The percentage of 7 to 15-year-olds attending education institutions is 99 percent;
  • The percentage of children who turn 9 in the previous year who are currently enrolled in Grade 4 is 65 percent; and
  • The number of officials from districts that achieve less than 65 percent in the NSC participating in a mentoring programme is 30.

2.2.2.5Programme 5: Educational Enrichment Services

The purpose of Programme Five isto develop policies and programmes to improve the quality of learning in schools. The strategic objectivesare:

  • To enhance the current basket of education support services to learners from poor communities; and
  • To ensure the involvement of stakeholders in exercising involvement in schools in a manner that added value to the attainment of the core outcomes.

The Programme contributes to the following sector goal on learner well-being: