ANNOUNCEMENTS · Web view2021. 6. 28. · The education infrastructure grant is allocated R36,7...
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UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES TUESDAY, 8 JUNE 2021 Watch video here: NCOP Plenary (Vitual ) PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES The Council met at 10:03. The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation. ANNOUNCEMENTS The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Just to remind delegates that the rules apply and the processes are equally applicable for the virtual sitting. Before we proceed, hon members, I would like to remind you of the following: Firstly, that the virtual sitting of the NCOP constitutes a sitting of the NCOP. Secondly, that delegates in the virtual sitting enjoy the same powers and privileges that apply in the sitting of the NCOP.
ANNOUNCEMENTS · Web view2021. 6. 28. · The education infrastructure grant is allocated R36,7 billion over the Medium-Term Expenditure ... the available budget, the department
TUESDAY, 8 JUNE 2021 Watch video here: NCOP Plenary (Vitual )
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
The Council met at 10:03.
The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a
moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Just to remind delegates that the
rules apply and the processes are equally applicable for the
virtual sitting.
Before we proceed, hon members, I would like to remind you of the
following: Firstly, that the virtual sitting of the NCOP
constitutes a sitting of the NCOP.
Secondly, that delegates in the virtual sitting enjoy the same
powers and privileges that apply in the sitting of the NCOP.
Thirdly, that for the purpose of the quorum, all delegates in the
virtual platform shall be considered present in the House.
Fourthly, that delegates must always switch on their videos.
Fifthly, that delegates should ensure that the microphones on their
gadgets are muted and must always remain muted unless you have
permission to speak.
Sixthly, the interpretation facility is active.
Lastly, that any delegate who wishes to speak must use the
‘raise your hand’ function.
Having done all of this, I’ve been informed, hon members and
delegates, there will be no Notices of Motion or Motions Without
Notice.
The hon delegates, before we continue with the policy debates I
would like to welcome the Minister of Basic Education, the Minister
of Higher Education and their Deputies to the House.
We will now proceed to the First Order of the day.
APPROPRIATION BILL
(Policy debate)
Vote No 16 – Basic Education
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Chair, let me acknowledge you,
Cabinet colleagues present, members of the NCOP, MECs present,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the entire
Basic Education Sector, we wish to thank the NCOP for inviting us
to table our 2021-22 budget at this debate of 2021-22 Budget Vote
16 – Basic Education.
Chairperson and hon members, as much as the Basic Education sector,
working with its partners, including teacher unions, national
governance associations, our civic associations, the public and
private sectors, ... [no sound] ... tried to save the academic year
of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating ... [no sound]
...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: We are losing you, Minister. just to
speak on the mic and be a bit slower.
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Chair!
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Please proceed and don’t change
your position.
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: ... ok, thank you, Chair. I am
saying as much ourselves, the teacher unions, parents, governing
associations, the private and public sectors, tried to save the
2020 academic year, but indeed the coronavirus pandemic had a
devastating ... [no sound] ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: We are losing you, Minister.
Definitely there is something that is not right. You on
breaking.
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: ... I keep on breaking? I am
sorry, don’t know what is happening. Am I clear now?
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Yes, if you can just keep it at
that.
The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: ... thank you very much, Chair.
It’s making me tense. As I have said, we lost a lot of valuable
time but also lost a number of our people. We lost the head of
department, HOD, of the Eastern Cape, we lost the President of
National Teachers’ Union, NATU, and also lost an
MEC because of the pandemic. We continue to say, may their souls
rest in peace.
Chair, we have lost lots of teaching time but we can’t be
complaining because we tried ... [Inaudible.] ... to make sure that
we can salvage whatever was left of the year. The adjustments that
happened last year did affect our allocations that we are going to
be reading now. And that the allocations we are reading now are
allocations of a reduced budget from 2020.
For instance, our overall budget for this year comes to
R27, billion, which is an increase of 15,5%, but it is a 15,5% of
what would have been reduced last year. On Conditional Grants, we
have been given R20,7 billion, which is an increase of 20,2%. We
have also been allocated R16,2 million for systematic improvement
of language and numeracy in the foundation phase. We have also been
allocated R19,9 million to make sure that we can start allocating
money to technology for Grade 7-9. We are very grateful of this
allocation because indeed they help us to roll in some of these new
initiatives that we had started in the current financial
year.
We also have an allocation of R3,7 billion, as transfers to school
and it is an increase of 5,7%. And we have also been allocated R1,6
billion, which is a transfer that comes through Department of Basic
Education, DBE, and again, is an increase of 1,4%.
The presentation that we are making to the Medium-Term Budget
Policy Statement, MTBPS, in October 2020, the Minister of Finance
did give to us as a department R7 billion last year, which was used
for the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative. That money was
divided as follows. The national department got R1,2 million which
was used for project management, support and monitoring. We
allocated more than R6,9 billion to provinces which was used by
provincial departments to pay stipends of teacher assistants, and
Unemployment Insurance Fund, UIF and R2,4 billion of that money was
used to save posts, because some of the schools especially the
independent schools – because of the covid challenges were unable
to pay salaries posts, so the state gave them R2,4 billion to save
posts. And from that process we saved quite a number of
posts.
From the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, we can report
that we created more than 320 000 employment
opportunities for the youth, and the money that was given to us in
the saving of posts, we have managed to save 27 662 posts.
Chairperson, I will also read through the allocations that have
been given to different provinces. For instance, the Eastern Cape
Department of Education has been allocated R35,1 billion, which is
a reduction of 3%, the Free State Department of Education has been
allocated R15,5 billion, which is a reduction of 0,1%, Gauteng
Department of Education has been allocated R53,5 billion, which is
an increase of 1,1%, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has been
allocated R53,2 billion, which is a reduction of 5,3%, Limpopo
Department of Education has allocated R32,6 billion, a reduction of
3,5%, Mpumalanga Department of Education has been allocated R22,3
billion, which is an increase of 0,4%, the Northern Cape Department
of Education has been allocated R7,1 billion, which is an increase
of 0,6%, the North West Department of Education
is allocated R18 billion, an increase of 1,8%, and the Western Cape
Department of Education has been allocated R24,5 billion, which is
a reduction of 0,4%.
Therefore, the total adjusted budget allocation for Provincial
Education Departments combined, is R288,7 billion, which is a
total reduction of 2,4% for all the provinces combined.
Specifically, the total provincial 2021-22 budget allocations, were
reduced by 8,4%, as five of the provincial Departments of Education
saw reductions in their baseline allocations. As I have indicated
before that the reductions of this year’s budget is based on the
reductions that we experienced last year.
With regards to the strategic realignment of the Basic Education
Sector priorities, we want to remind the members of the NCOP we had
prioritised a number of areas. That the basic education sector
priorities, we had committed ourselves amongst others, to build a
very solid foundation for a quality and efficient education system,
as well as contribute in providing permanent solutions to the
architecture of our education system.
We therefore, wish to remind the House of our Action Plan for 2024.
“Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2030”, giving expression to
the following areas which are informed by the declaration in the
Constitution, the National Development Plan, NDP and also by our
international and continental commitments. Therefore, the
Constitution, the NDP, and all other commitments and conventions
they do provide us with the
moral imperative and a mandate as government both at the national
and provincial levels, to make the social justice principles of
access, redress, equity, efficiency, inclusivity and quality
educational opportunities, to be available to all citizens. Our
collective role, as the basic education executive and
administrative authorities, is to ensure that the social justice
principles, provide a uniform foundation for our work.
At the outset, we advise the hon members of this House and the
public to visit our DBE website, where we have posted more details
on our programmes.
We want to remind members that our first priority in this term has
been to priority the strategic relocation of Early Childhood
Development, ECD, from the Department of Social Development, DSD,
and the Department of Basic Education.
Chairperson, we must concede that the complexities of this process
were major but were not overwhelming, can report that great
progress has been made. I am happy to report that, as the two
Ministries, we have managed to crack the codes and many processes
have begun. A systematic process for the relocation of ECD from the
DSD to the DBE is at an advanced stage and proclamations are going
to be signed. We are going
to cater in the first phase the two years of ECD before Grade One,
on section of compulsory education. We are also realigning the
process to our amendments to the Bill.
The second priority which we also have to remind members was around
the realignment of our curriculum so that we have a strategic
implementation of a curriculum with skills and competencies of a
changing world in our public schools.
Amongst others, I did report that we were introducing robotics and
coding in our schools. I can report that on 19 March 2021, we
gazetted our coding and robotics curriculum for comments, in
preparation for training of officials and the appointment of
service providers that are going to help us in this sector. I can
report that the Education, Training and Development Practices
Sector Education and Training Authority ETDP-SETA, has assisted us
with amount of about R7 million towards this process. I am happy to
also report that the private sector like Sasol has really worked
hard very hard with us to make sure that we finalise the curriculum
and are benchmarking it.
Chairperson, last year, I did also report that we are expanding our
programmes and can report that for instance, the Maritime Studies
have become part of the bouquet of subjects we already offer and
particularly as part of the ocean-based
economy which contributes about $6 billion towards our
country’s Gross Domestic Product.
We are also excited to say at the end of this year there is going
to be a cohort of learners which are going to write Marine
Sciences.
We also have to say in partnership with the Gauteng province and
the Department of Transport, we have introduced Aviation
Curriculum. we are proud that the country will introduce another
unique South African subject offering, that includes all the
occupational work-areas within the aviation milieu.
I want to report to this House that we are also excited that we
have established the guidelines and management of Focus schools
which are going to help us to enrich our curriculum by providing
additional skills which are skills of the future. We have a total
of 103 schools in all nine provinces, have been audited, to pilot
the occupational subjects.
Chairperson, I also want to say, we reported last year that we will
up our game around the Information Communications Technologies,
ICTs in our sector. Fortunately, with the advent of coronavirus, we
were forced to leapfrog and can say that
since then, we have provided 191 special schools with the ICT
devices, assistive technologies, as well as appropriate software
for teaching and learning. We were supported by Vodacom, MTN,
Liquid Telkom, and Cell C. They made a number of devices available
to our schools.
Again, Last year, I had reported to this House that the Ministerial
Task Team on the Development of History for Grades 4-12 had
developed the History content framework for Grades 4- 12, including
a review of topics including historiography, material culture and
archaeology, African history, heritage and local history, including
labour history, language, gender and culture history, inland
history, and world history.
Currently, the Ministerial Task Team, its packaging dedicated in in
writing sessions, to sequence and packaging the identified content,
to ensure that there is alignment in terms of articulation,
sequencing, progression, and conceptual development.
We can report that the next area we are focusing on is the
Incremental Introduction of African Languages. Even in that respect
we have made lots of progress. We also can say that in the list of
subjects that we have brought into the milieu we have looked at
Khoi, Nama, San languages, as well as the South
African Sign Language. We had thought that by last year we would
have brought in Kiswahili, but because of covid challenges and the
pressure that we had we were not able to start with Kiswahili
programme.
The other exciting programme that we want to report on is the
introduction a General Education Certificate, which has been
provisionally approved by Umalusi and the standardisation process
has happened. And we do plan that we will roll out the programme of
the General Education Certificate in 2023.
We have again drafted the National Assessment Framework, which will
serve to co-ordinate assessments conducted in the General Education
and Training Bands. It’s a basket of purpose-driven assessment from
entry levels to Grade 9. We also have finalised our work around
systemic evaluation.
Chairperson and hon members, we have repeatedly presented national
and international evidence that learning outcomes in our entire
education system have been on an upward trajectory. However, we are
mindful that the gains we have made, are currently threatened by
the COVID-19 pandemic.
We feel that despite the gains in learning outcomes we have
realised, we are currently faced with mounting evidence from our
researchers of significant and continuing learning losses. Hence as
the sector have agreed that in the third terms, depending what the
infections are we will start inviting all our primary learners back
to school so that we can have some normality in the sector. Because
it is affecting us badly.
On 19 May 2021, the Council of Education Ministers, CEM,
unanimously supported full attendance of primary school learners at
the beginning of the third term. CEM also unanimously agreed to
suspend contact sport, and all events related to the 2021 South
African Schools Music Competitions. We were doing that in view of
the reported incidents of infections that came from our
schools.
Chairperson, I can report that as the basic education centre we
will continue to intensify compliance with the non- pharmaceutical
COVID-19 protocols, and ensure that our educators and support staff
are also prioritised for vaccination.
In conclusion, Chair, I wish to report that we recently conducted
School Governing Bodies, SGB, elections which were
very successful. We have in total more than 250 000 SGB members. We
are in the process of training and inducting them in the
sector.
We also want to thank our international partners, sister
departments which have helped us a lot. I want to take this
opportunity to single out the South African Council for Educators,
SACE, Umalusi, National Education Collaboration Trust, NECT, our
teacher unions, the national SGB associations, the principals’
associations, for assisting us and continue assisting us through
counsel and advise and giving us impeccable support that we
need.
I wish to thank the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, the NCOP
Whippery, and the hon member in the select committees. We cannot
forget to acknowledge the members of CEM and the heads of education
departments that have also assisted us to be this far. Finally, I
really want to thank my colleague, the Deputy Minister, Dr Reginah
Mhaule, the director-general and officials, from both national and
provincial departments, for the ongoing support and co-operation
they have been given to the sector. I thank you, Chair.
Mr M E NCHABELENG: Good morning and thank you.
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members and
the people of South Africa. I would also like to take this
opportunity to congratulate the MEC for Education in Limpopo, Mme
[Ms] Boshielo, for having performed very well, particularly with
the procurement of personal protection equipment, PPEs. They’ve
done the right things and done them the right way. We thank you and
we are proud of you.
The ANC supports Budget Vote 16: Basic Education. In order to
create a national democratic society, we need to educate our
society to build such a democratic egalitarian society which does
not discriminate others on the basis of race and class.
The Department of Basic Education is entrusted with a critical
mandate for our nation. Educating children and the youth is a
foundation and cornerstone of developing a country and to improve
the socioeconomic wellbeing of its people.
The cognitive development of children is honed by their education;
hence the quality of education contributes in the learning
outcomes. This is why the ANC has placed Education as an apex
priority of government to address the inequalities in education and
to improve the quality of education for all.
This is important due to the centrality of quality education for
human capability development.
The inequalities in our education system due to its history of the
two education systems during apartheid one been privileged for
white people and the other underprivileged for black people.
Closing this inequality gap has been a key priority of the ANC
government in order to enable all South Africans equal
opportunities through opening the doors of learning and culture, as
the Freedom Charter says.
In this month of the youth let me also remember the 1976 generation
who fought against bantu education. Their struggles where not in
vain as we today have schools across the class divide becoming top
performing.
The Basic Education budget vote responds to the various challenges
facing our society and the education sector. The fact that we have
made progress in many areas does not mean that we have realised the
education system we want for the country. This is because the
inequality in the sector
continues to exist and those who are impacted are the poor and
black in the main.
The coronavirus pandemic laid bare the backlog in closing the gap
of basic services such as water and sanitation. The pandemic also
exposed how the sector requires more infrastructure development in
dimensions as many schools have less and/or poor infrastructure
capacities.
The learner/teacher ration target should be the standard we attain
in order to enable quality teaching and learning.
Access to digital devices is also skewed amongst provinces and
schools. During the hard lockdown learners from privileged back
grounds had digital devices to continue learning while the poor did
not have any. The Department of Basic Education had to develop a
multi modal approach in order for learning to continue, through
radio, tv and workbooks delivered to learners. This was a real show
of love and commitment by the Minister and her team.
This is an are the department should focus in expanding access to
digital devices and connectivity in our schools.
The changing world of the Fourth Industrial Revolution requires
digital skills.
Despite the difficulties of the pandemic we must commend the
department for supporting schools to continue learning under the
pandemic during a period of a lot of unknowns and during the
current conjuncture. It requires leadership and commitment from all
public sector workers and we salute the department for this.
The impact of learning loss due to closure of schools has a severe
impact on the learner in the long term. This impact is estimated at
74% for the year 2020. This is the impact of school closures for
learning. Recovering the loss time is as good as not possible as
the period of schooling has not been extended and not even under
consideration due to its ripple effect on higher education and
market skills demands.
We also welcome the matriculants outcomes of 2020, hon Minister,
because they demonstrate the correctness of the decisions taken by
the Cabinet in ensuring that schools are reopened. And you were the
champion of this campaign, hon Minister, we celebrate you.
The department is still continuing with the Accelerated School
Infrastructure Development Initiative, ASIDI, to eradicate the mud
schools and schools with inappropriate infrastructure. The ASIDI
programme also addresses issues of water and sanitation.
For the financial year 2021-22, the ASIDI programme will
build
21 new schools and provide 1 000 schools with sanitation facilities
at the tune of R2,3 billion. This is not the only infrastructure
programme in basic education as our provincial department also
spent significantly on infrastructure from their provincial
allocations and the Infrastructure Grant managed by the national
department. So, together with the provincial departments we will
definitely win this war, much towards winning it.
The education infrastructure grant is allocated R36,7 billion over
the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF. This is to realise the
Medium-Term Strategic Framework to eradicate learning under the
trees, eradicate mud schools through, eradicate the sanitation
backlog in schools; and all this will be done by the Department of
Basic Education.
One of the issues which have led to a great financial loss for the
department is the vandalism which we saw during the year
2020, this, during the hard lockdown. This is an issue all social
partners working with law enforcement state agencies to speed up
this process and ensure that those involved get arrested and it
happens in due course, and that some of the things, if they can be
retrieved, we should also retrieve those stolen properties from the
schools. These school infrastructures are properties of the
community and should be protected for generations to come.
Another impediment in the sector is the disruption of construction
works by groups of business forums which do not follow procurement
processes to provide services but yet they want to provide the
services. This causes delays in the projects that are under
implementation.
Local economic development is an important imperative of
distribution of income across the country but local contractors
should follow due processes, for them to participate. National and
provincial departments should ensure that procurement processes
take local economic development into consideration, this will avoid
the disruptions which are negatively impacting delivery of
infrastructure resulting in funds been returned due to lack of
spending. This delays economic development. But again, we need to
intensify our
public education in the form of public participation meetings to
explain to our developers and our immediate business people what
processes to follow when you want to participate in the
construction of schools or participate in the business within the
education system.
One of the recent social ills which affects learners is bullying in
our schools. This was placed in the public domain through the
incident of Lufuno Mavhunga who ended up taking her life due to the
humiliation she endured; may her soul rest in peace. There are many
other learners who are bullied in our schools. It is important, hon
members, that we make sure the department continues to address this
issue systematically.
Incidents of sexual harassment and rape in our schools should
disturb all of us in this House and society as a whole.
Perpetrators of such acts should not be allowed nowhere near the
education system even at an administrative level, they must be far
away from schools. If we are to build a society which embraces
values of human dignity such persons should not be allowed in the
public service.
Gender-based violence and femicide, GBVF, is the second pandemic,
as described by the President. We should unite
against these social ills which are a manifestation of
patriarchy.
Our basic education curriculum should focus on these aspects to
ensure we embed the values enshrined in our constitution.
Our education system should not only respond to the current
material conditions but it needs to adapt to the changing world of
production. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is going to
significantly change production and economic activities.
The future will surely be more technological and digitally
based.
The President, in his state of the nation address, spoke of the
introduction of coding and robotics in our education system to
prepare our learners for the current emerging skills need and a
future of technology, robotics, artificial intelligence, internet
of things, block chain technologies and other inventions.
The only constant thing in society is change itself. The conditions
in which I grew up as a child and the conditions the youth of the
80’s and 90’s grew up in is are also different. Our children today,
unlike us, grow up in a period
wherein the flow of information is rapid. The advent of internet
and the expanded access to digital technologies have meant that our
children are highly able to use these instruments like cell phones
and play games in the internet.
This means that we need to expand access to connectivity and
digital devices. The department has to adapt its educational
content to respond to this changing conditions and to teach
learners on how to use the internet as different cyberbullying and
adult content is easily accessible in the internet; also the
parents must play an important role in ensuring that their children
do not go beyond what they are allowed to peruse in their phones
and laptops.
The department’s entities such as the South African Council of
Educators, SACE, and Umalusi have been allocated budgets which
support their mandates. These entities are critical in supporting
the education sector and the department to ensure the quality of
teachers and their conduct and the quality of the education
standards.
The South African Council of Educators should be supported to
ensure that all teachers reported for sexual harassment and other
abuses are processed in an efficient manner as this acts
impact learning and psychosocial stability of students in our
schools.
The teacher development programme by the department is commendable
through the Funza Lusaka bursary scheme which provides support for
many students who are absorbed in the department with an 86%
absorption rate. The department will be awarding 11 500 bursaries.
This is a welcomed intervention for the current and future needs of
our education system.
The ANC supports Budget Vote 16 of Basic Education Department and I
thank you. [Applause.]
Ms D C CHRISTIANS: Hon Minister and hon Chairperson, the COVID-19
pandemic has left deep and indelible effects on the lives and
learning of children in South Africa. A recent study has found
that, although children have not been friend and face of the
pandemic, they are in fact amongst its biggest victims. It is no
secret that because of decades of inequality, later further
exacerbated by a failing government, that many vulnerable children
were further deprived from their only hot meal or reprieve from
abuse, because of the extended periods they are unable to attend
school.
These inequalities, have further highlighted the challenges such as
the disparities in digital literacy, access to the internet and
internet enabled devices, which are of course, are key
considerations in remote learning. The impact on educational staff
also needs to be acknowledged. At the start of 2021, it was
estimated that more than 2000 teachers have lost their lives.
Teachers were placed under additional strain, when they were
required to provide remote learning, even though most teachers and
learners, do not have the required technology, or pedagogic
understanding, to undertake effective remote and online
learning.
This has placed an added moral and emotional burden, on teachers
around the country. Chairperson, quality education is a
constitutional and international human right. It includes access to
safe, clean and adequate school facilities. However, this
undisputable right, is clearly being denied to too many learners
across this country. This downward spiral of education continues,
despite the fact that the department receives one of the largest
budgets, specifically the increase to R27 billion for the 2021-22
financial year.
However, Chairperson, the department is also seeing cuts to its
salary budget, while funding for consultants is one of the
biggest increases in its budget. This means, less money for
internal capacity in government, while more money flows to private
parties. Minister, while the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant
that funds the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery
Initiative receives R2 billion in 2021-22, it is discouraging that
over R400 million, will be taken from the grant over the next three
years. The enduring question is, when will this department commit
and allocate sufficient funds, to address longstanding, and ongoing
infrastructure failings at our schools.
By March 2020, just before COVID-19 struck, it was reported that
only 266 out of 3,988 schools that needed it, had benefitted from
the President’s own 2018 Sanitation Appropriate for Education
Campaign to address inadequate sanitation. Only 30 schools were
built from the Sanitation Appropriate for Education, SAFE, budget,
and only 21 earmarked in this 2021-22 financial year. Minister, I
would like to invite you to the Northern Cape to show you exactly
which schools should urgently be allocated funding for
infrastructure.
In Kimberley, for example, Homevale High School, which serves an
impoverished community, is on the verge of collapse. All
the classroom windows are shattered, the desks and chairs are in an
advanced state of decay. There’s also a broken pipe that has been
leaking water for the past year. They need seven additional
teachers, and even more concerning, Minister, is the fact that a
section of the school building has been held up by scaffolding for
the past five years. The provincial department visited the school
after I wrote to them, however, nothing has been done to date. What
are they waiting for?
Another tragedy like the collapsed bridge at Driehoek High School
in Vanderbijlpark?
Additionally, this very same school had a matric pass rate of only
37%, and the school next to them, Emmanuel High school had a 7%
matric pass rate. It is no secret, Minister, that the Northern Cape
also had the lowest matric pass rate last year. Additionally,
Minister, in Barkly West, also in the Northern Cape, community
members have embarked on a strike action in Mataleng, because of a
half built school which has been left undeveloped for the last five
years. In Kimberley alone, Chairperson, there are at least a dozen
dilapidated school structures, many of these deficiencies, are in
breach of the government’s own minimum norms and standards for
educational facilities.
Furthermore, across the country, there are still more than
3 100 pit toilets, yet, only 1000 have been targeted in the budget.
This, leaves thousands of learners vulnerable to accidents and
possible death. There are still mud school structures, asbestos
structures, vandalized schools and thousands of schools deemed
unsafe due to no fencing. Chairperson, the budget shows
approximately R8 billion been allocated to the National School
Nutrition Programme for 2021-
22. This is the same amount that the government originally said it
would spend on the program, when it published the previous budget
in February 2020.
How is this humane, considering that so many parents have lost
their livelihoods during this past year, and more children than
ever before go to school hungry every day? Chairperson, the scholar
transport system remains an additional concern for thousands of
children. Recently, we saw more than 37 000 Eastern Cape pupils
have been left stranded without transport to schools, because of
the transport department’s budget cuts. It remains a concern for
thousands of children who are exposed to danger and hazardous
terrain as they walk to and from school every day.
Underspending on basic education is a further concern, as the
budget shows a concerning trend of underspending. Recently,
published data shows that government spending per learner on basic
education, decreased by an average of 2,3% between 2009 and 2018.
The February 2020 budget showed a further downward trend by cutting
the total basic education budget in real terms, possibly, the first
time this has happened in the democratic era, a trend that is now
continuing in the current budget. Since 2016-17, funding for
education as a percentage of the total budget has decreased from
almost 19% to around 15%.
Minister, education departments must be held accountable for how
allocated money is spent. Last year, the Department of Basic
Education spent R818 million irregularly which is up from R210
million in the previous year. A further concern, Minister is that,
our learners and the effect the long-term effect the cancellation
of school sports is having on the youth. Studies show that while
all COVID-19 protocols should be observed when participating in
sport, sport and other physical activities offers a lot of benefits
for children and young people.
It improves cardiovascular health, strength, body composition, and
overall fitness. Exercise even has immune system benefits. The
youth in our country need a positive outlet to express their
energies and frustrations, and sport has always been a healthy
alternative. Minister, lastly, it is policy implementation on
provincial level that is failing our country as well as our young
people. The poor implementation of policies and the funds been
stolen by cadres, will see the complete destruction of basic
education and further drive already vulnerable communities further
into poverty and inequality. I thank you.
Ms M N GILLION: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister,
MECs, hon members, the people of South Africa, our country is
officially in the third wave of the global corona virus pandemic.
The third wave poses a lot of risks, socially and economically. It
also poses a risk to the education sector and how the department
should approach this time of turbulence and uncertainty. More
losses of time for teaching and learning in our schools will be
tragic and will require significant efforts to cover the lost
ground due to closure of schools last year.
One of the key policy priorities of the ANC in the Sixth
Administration is the early childhood development (ECD) migration
from the Department of Social Development to Basic Education. This
is to ensure that the provision of education for the cognitive
development of the children is done through Basic Education. This
will support efforts of the department in ensuring that Grade R and
Grade RR are compulsory for all children to make sure that they are
ready for Grade 1.
When children are taught correctly at an early stage, the prospects
of academic excellence and progress is greatly enhanced. Reading
with meaning is one of the priorities of the department and in
order to improve such learning outcomes, the foundation of every
child I s important.
The President, in his Sona, emphasised the ECD migration as a
priority of this Sixth Administration because when our ECD sector
is effective and lays a good foundation, our children will perform
better when they get in the schooling system.
This is a long-term strategic importance for the sector.
The ECD migration will be concluded in April 2022. The committee
urges the two departments to speedily confront he complexities of
this migration and Basic Education should be
prepared to take our ECD sector to a high level of learning
outcomes for all, particularly the poor.
The department’s target of increasing the number of five-year- olds
in Grade RR of 95% by 2024 is important to improve the preparedness
of children before they start schooling. The complexities in the
sector will create a lot of challenges in transitioning to a
comprehensive ECD sector, which provides quality childcare and
teaching for all.
Mathematics and Science remain a key area of priority of the
department, as these subjects support the urgent demands of our
economy, in order to increase industrial production and innovation.
In order to be competitive amongst other nations, we need to
continue to improve our Science and Mathematics learning
outcomes.
The 2019 trend in international Mathematics and Science study
indicated that there is progress that is being made in our
education system. This is a positive indicator that the opposition
will never acknowledge.
Poverty, unemployment and inequality are endemic in our society. It
is for this reason that the Department of Basic
Education allocates significant resources to support two
programmes, which focus on alleviating poverty and supporting the
poor. This is the National School Nutrition Programme, which
provides healthy food for learners, addressing the problems of food
hunger in our schools which impacts negatively on the learners’
performance. The department also provides meals during this
pandemic to spike the low uptake.
This demonstrates how the department prioritises the wellbeing and
success of learners. This Budget Vote supports 19 950 schools,
which will be provided with nutritious meals on each school
day.
Another aspect, which mainly affect the poor and those living in
rural areas is the fact that other learners stay in far- flung
areas from school. Other students would have to walk tens of
kilometres to go to school, which exposes children and the girl
child to various safety risks and abuses. The National Scholar
Transport Programme is an important intervention by the department
to address the problem facing many learners across our
country.
One of the key policy areas we should begin to access and evaluate
is the impact of the scholar transport, as it relates
to learners who travel to far-flung areas, whilst passing a number
of schools next to their homes. This is also enabled by the right
of parent to place the learners in the school of their choice,
subject to availability of space.
It is also very unfortunate, Minister, that the so-called best-run
province in this country is currently being taken to court by the
parents because of unplacement of learners in the Western Cape.
Shame on you, MEC Debbie Schafer.
Afrikaans:
English:
Learners drop out of schools due to various reasons and the
department’s policies provides support for the wellbeing of
learners so that they become focussed on the education. Though the
he drop-out is not extremely high, any learner who leaves the
education system should always be of great concern. We urge our
communities and all political parties to continuously campaign and
encourage our children and our youth to be committed to their
education.
The overall programme of the department of school improvement is
important to ensure that all our schools should be able to provide
quality education with good performance outcomes. The fact that
good performing schools are not just reserved ... [Inaudible.] ...
urban areas or schools with ... [Inaudible.]
... but our schools in rural areas and the townships also have
high-performance outcomes and matric results.
Issues of governance and management of schools are important to
provide support for the functionality of all schools.
Schools’ institutional cultures are important. leadership provided
by principles should earn a high level of discipline and commitment
of learners to perform to thebest of their ability.
We welcome the smooth running of school governing bodies across the
country. Our SGBs should strengthen the efforts in developing and
supporting our schools to improve the learning outcomes and to also
ensure that schools’ safety is on top of the agenda. The ANC
supports this Budget Vote because in this Vote lies a better future
for our country and its children. I thank you.
Mr F GADE: Thanks hon Chair of the NCOP, Deputy Chairperson of the
NCOP, hon members of the House, Minister of Basic Education and
Deputy Minister of Basic Education, participants through virtual
platforms and media houses. Chair allow me to reflect just on the
policy priorities of the sector. Chair, the COVID-19 pandemic has
taught us that the teaching and learning should take place
anywhere, anytime. This means that the parents have indelible
responsibility and the role to play in the teaching and learning of
our own children.
Thus, Eastern Cape Reading Plan comprises of providing readers
every year for all young children from grade Reception Year, R to
grade three, to take home and meet with the families. The
department will also make an available some guidelines on how
parents can assist their children to read for minute. We remain,
hon Chair committed to the country’s vision of providing children
with to access to quality, holistic childhood development, so that
the children reach their full potential.
The Department of Basic Education and the sector in general, is
preparing its own system for the early childhood development, ECD,
function from the Department of Social Development to Basic
Education.
It is crucial, Chair to note that at the centre of this function is
still the process to improve the development of the children and
the quality of the ECD education and providing the best support to
the children from the early age and onwards.
The sector has established relevant governing structures, hon
Chair, to support the migration phase, namely, the human resource,
finance, budget, legislation and contracts, immovable and movable
assets, communication and stakeholders’ engagement, monitoring and
evaluation, data information and as well as the ECD programme
implementation.
These work streams are to ensure simplest transfer of the function
and are providing regular feedback to relevant ministries.
Key, in the ECD function hon Chair and members, the shift to
migration will be to ensure there is no interruption on the service
delivery. As the department we are really thankful and appreciate
the support of the Member of the Executive Council, MEC for the
Social Development, the support of the Minister for Basic Education
and the support of the Minister for Department for Social
Development.
Chair, as a province currently, we are having 228 projects in
various stages of construction. The department construction
programme and the build environment economy has been severely
affected by the pandemic of COVID-19. It is worth noting that these
construction programmes will be resuscitated in current financial
year and as well the next financial year in 2022.
With all project under construction resuming phase in manner of
approach. Chair, I wish to reiterate that the importance of
partnership in the execution of our own school infrastructure
programme. As submitted at this august House, the
private-public partnership can be a leverage and the important
mechanism for addressing our school infrastructure backlog,
Chair.
We will continue to engage with Treasury and other relevant
government structures including private sector and civil society
partners, in exploring all options to resourcing and supporting our
role out of our school infrastructure programme.
The Department of Basic Education has put a circuit school
landscape plan to ensure that the rationalisation process is
implemented orderly to make sure that learners have access to
quality education within the schools in the same circuit. Where a
school is closed resourced like learner support material, furniture
and finances are going to be transferred and relocated to other
schools nearby.
Chair, our basic education sector plan states that the
COVID-19 pandemic and associated closures have brought to the fore
the weakness of information and communication technologies in many
schools in the province in particular and gaps with the regard to
digital content for the learners and teachers in the country in
general.
It is for that reason Chair, that the pandemic undoubtedly
presented a new challenge but it can also be served as a catalyst
for innovations in areas of e-learning and
e-governance and as well as e-administration for the province and
generally for the country entirely.
The Eastern Cape Department of Education services is in excess of
5000 schools, the bulk of which are situated in the rural areas,
hon Chair. To facilitate bridging of the gab and considering the
difficulty in rolling out the infrastructure in deep rural areas of
the province.
The department is exploring a project targeting a minimum of 1000
schools, in the poorest ... [Inaudible.] ... using satellite
technologies so as to bridge the digital divide. All learners no
matter their social economic circumstances, must be afforded the
best opportunities to participate fully in the Fourth Industrial
Revolution, hon Chair and members.
The Department of Education has approved the piloting of coding and
robotics programme in primary schools, these include Grade R, Grade
1, Grade 2, Grade 3 and Grade 7. This is response to the rapid
technological advancement brought about by the Fourth Industrial
Revolution in education.
Learners will be provided with the foundation for future work and
careers in computerised base programmes solving in line with
emerging trends and how to live and work. This contributes to one
of our four pillars which is based on education transformation
plan, hon Chair.
Chair, sited here in this august House, we should always be
reminded that we are here on behalf on behalf of the people that
had voted us and mandated us to lead the society in general.
Formulate relevant policies, coordinating resources so that goods
and services can be distributed to the public. Hon members, through
you, hon Chair, this calls for a certain calibre of leadership,
because for any task or project to be achieved in a meaningful
manner to fulfil the public desire and the responsibility. We are
not only required to have a budget, relevant resources and strong
systems for a particular or the project to be catered out and
successful.
We are required to have an element of trade of ethics, this is an
element that is necessary for any leader of any nation to
institutionalised an organization to ensure that tasks are
accomplished in the interest of the people that all of us we seek
to lead, Chair.
Hon Chair, it is in the absence of ethical leadership, that in
times of this turmoil we have people benefiting unlawful in the
personal protective equipment, ppe, contracts which are currently a
subject of investigation by the Special Investigative Unit, SIU. It
is also in the absence of ethical leadership that are constantly
receiving reports of unlawful activities or irregular spending on
our institution and organisation that deprived the poor, the
marginalised communities in the entire country in general.
Hon Chair, we also want to ... [Interjection.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Your time is up, hon member.
Mr F GADE: Thank you Chair, thank you so much, thanks for the
opportunity you have given to us [Time expired.]
Ms S B LEHIHI: Chairperson, 74% of South African youth are
unemployed. This is directly related to the broken-down education
system we have in this country.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Try to speak louder and closer to the
microphone.
Ms S BLEHIHI: It is young black people ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: You are loud and clear. Please
proceed.
Setswana:
MODULASETULO WA KHANSELE YA BOSETŠHABA YA DIPOROFENSE: Ee, ke
a go utlwa.
English:
Ms S B LEHIHI: Chairperson, 74% of South African youth are
unemployed. This is directly related to the broken-down education
system we have in this country. It is young black people who have
to endure a lifetime of suffering, because they are failed by the
government. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated for all to see that
well-resourced schools, with properly trained teachers, and social
support services for both learners and teachers, can withstand
almost any challenge.
While schools were closed during level 5 lockdown, many well to do
schools managed to keep learning going, while millions of poor
black students in townships and villages had nowhere to go. At the
end of each year, we see the exclusive Independent Examination
Board schools prospering, because they are able to put the basic
structures needed for a prospering education system in place.
Many public schools continue to operate under the logic of
colonialism and apartheid, so many years after democracy, with
schools serving white communities properly resourced and schools
serving black communities being no different to dumping sites. As a
consequence, today a child’s experience of
education still very much depends on where they are born, how
wealthy they are, and the colour of their skin. We still have two
education systems in one. One is white, well-resourced and
prosperous, and the other is black, under-resourced, and forever in
crisis.
Lack of school infrastructure, non-delivery of textbooks,
unqualified teachers and shortage of qualified teachers, poor
mathematics and physics teaching, violence inside classrooms. All
these are problems exclusively faced by schools that cater for
black children. Schools in rural areas, in townships and in farms,
which cater primarily for black and poor leaners, are littered with
problems of underperformance, of poorly trained teachers.
And as we have argued before, the department has done very little
to stem the tide of dropouts in these poor schools. Every year for
the past seven years, we have noted that only half of those who
enter Grade 1 are able to finish their Grade
12. Almost half a million learners get lost to the system every
single year. They will grow up to be unskilled, unemployed and
unemployable. All of them are black. A black government makes it
difficult for these half a million black learners to get an
education. Apartheid may have fallen from
statute books, but it is very much alive in the manner we provide
education to our children.
There are many causes for this, which are solvable if the
department can get its house in order. These are: Pervasive poverty
which makes it difficult even for the most capable of learners to
focus productively on their school work. Undue influence of South
African Democratic Teachers Union, SADTU, over the functioning of
schools, to an extent that they have practically taken over powers
to even appoint teachers. Poor planning and execution of existing
plans. This leads to such terrible deeds such as non-delivery of
text books, poor school infrastructure, and no interventions at
chronically poor performing schools. Deeply embedded corruption and
ineptitude within the department, leading to employment of
unqualified teachers to teach leaners in rural provinces. Lack of
content knowledge by the teachers of the very subjects they are
meant to teach.
These problems require comprehensive solutions, one that won’t be
implemented by the department of education alone, but which must be
led by it. This is what needs to happen to solve basic education
problems in this country: The department must lead a process to
restore back the dignity of teaching. This must
entail reviewing the salaries of teachers, to ensure that they are
properly paid. There must be universal standards for quality basic
education for all. This must mean that there must be the same norms
and standards for school infrastructure, for learning and teacher
support materials, for provisioning for pupils with disabilities
across all schools, be they rural or urban.
There must be a comprehensive review of the funding model for
schools. The current funding model promotes inequality. Well to do
public schools are allowed to charge school fees to make up for the
inadequacy of government funding, while poor schools are made to be
no-fee schools, with very little government support. Quality of
education must never be directly proportional to wealth; it must be
universal. We reject this Budget Vote. Thank you, Chair. [Time
expired.]
Mr X NGWEZI: Thank you very much, hon Chairperson, and greetings to
the hon Minister, colleagues in the NCOP, please bear with me with
the background, hon Chairperson, its work, work and everywhere
work.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: No, I understand. [Laughter.]
Mr X NGWEZI: Both our education departments continue to suffer due
to the pandemic and the uncertainties in these departments. For
basic education, the situation is worse. The uncertainty in the
Department of Basic Education and the choices made by this
department makes things harder for our children and our teachers.
For instance, how is it possible to go ahead and open schools when
the COVID-19 infections are rising each day? And we are in the 3rd
Wave.
Where is the considerations of the health and wellbeing of the
learners? While acknowledging the importance of educating our
children at a young age, and while we are aware that it will be
difficult to recover the lost ground, the IFP does not believe that
education must come at the expense of human lives. We certainly
don’t want to place our teachers in a position in which they have
to worry about their lives and learners.
The Department of Basic Education must also adopt urgent matters to
create a conducive environment for children in the schools. The
bullying of learners must be addressed so that no learner finds
themselves in a position in which they fear going to school because
of bullies.
Concerning the Department of Higher Education and Training, the IFP
is very concerned about the abuse of funds at the National Student
Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS. This wastage occurs at a time when
NSFAS is dropping students every year for lack of funds.
Sustainable solutions must be found so that no university student
is left behind. This can only happen if we cut wasteful expenditure
and protected the funds entrusted to NSFAS.
Also, the department must ensure that NSFAS makes funds available
to students on time so that they don’t have to suffer indignity
while waiting for their funds to be processed. Hon Chairperson, the
IFP will support this Budget Vote No 16 and Budget Vote No 17, so
that the challenges that our teachers and learners are facing in
schools can be addressed and also in the higher education sector.
Thank you very much, Chairperson.
Ms P BOSHIELO (Limpopo): Hon Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson,
the Minister of Basic Education and Deputy Minister, hon members,
colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, I greet you all.
Hon Chairperson, I thought we were debating the budget on higher
education when I heard the previous speaker speaking. I thought it
was Budget Vote No 16 – Basic Education.
We thank you for this opportunity as we take part in this virtual
debate of the Department of Basic Education Vote No
16. The times we are operating in are different and unprecedented
for us as a sector as we endeavour to provide quality education to
all the learners in Limpopo.
In basic education, we are continuing under these very trying and
difficult circumstances presented by COVID-19 to protect the rights
of all children in our schools. We continue to play our role with
our school communities in the global efforts to change the cause of
COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring that we comply with all the health
protocols to slow the spread of the virus.
Needless to say, we have worked with partners in the province, from
teacher unions, government associations, civic society, private
sector and our communities to save the academic year. As we speak,
Limpopo is occupying position seven in the national rankings, two
places above where we were in 2019. We applaud the resilience of
our learners who fought tooth and
nail to perform excellently despite the COVID-19 challenges. We
shall continue to work together in this academic year, to ensure
that the difficult and different circumstances are made bearable
for the sector in the interest of our children whose future we must
secure.
We understand fully well our mandate and it has been made very
clear in our Constitution that education is an alienable right for
all. The Constitution of our country serves our children’s rights
and stresses it in section 21(a) the respect and protection of the
right of the basic education for everyone.
We do not take for granted this constitutional mandate because
basic education is an essential function for our nation.
Hon Chairperson, the advent of COVID-19 had implications of what
resources are allocated to the Department of Basic Education.
Resources to deliver on this mandate are required so that learners
receive their education under the safe environment as per the
safety protocols and the health guidelines that we need to adhere
to, in our endeavour to slow down the spread of the virus.
Ultimately to flatten the curve and save lives.
In the midst of the COVID-19 and its disruptive nature, we need to
protect the right to basic education to our children. We need to
educate our people on what they must do in order to avoid COVID-19
infections. We need to actively build a bridge to a prosperous
future. However, at the same time with the understanding that the
storm is still very much with us.
COVID-19 has changed us to rapidly learn to live in the new
normal.
Hon Chairperson, the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled us to
accelerate our efforts towards embracing the Fourth Industrial
Revolution. Access to technology is no longer meant for the
privileged few, but it is a basic necessity for all.
The pandemic has compelled us to accelerate our interventions on
the use of digital means of education. For this purpose, we have in
this financial year 2021-22, allocated a total budget of R228
million, to roll out our e-learning. A two pronged approach will be
followed in the roll out of the e-learning strategy. The first one
is being implemented at 106 Mathematics, Science and Technology,
MST, schools which have been provided will all the smart
classrooms.
The second one will be the provisioning of tablets to learners and
laptops to educators in schools in the province.
Given the available budget, the department will be implementing
e-learning to two grades. Grade 1 and Grade 8. There are 142 123
learners in Grade 1 and 125 645 learners in Grade 8. To this
effect, we will need R355 million to cater for Grade 1 learners and
R340 million to cater for Grade 8 learners.
With the available budget of R228 million, we have decided to
stager the provision of tablets to R19 000 in Grade 1 and
R16 000 in Grade 8 in Quintile 1 to 3 schools with the goal of
covering all the schools when funding becomes available.
Laptops will be provided for educators from the R228 million budget
that we have since set aside so that our learners can be taught
accordingly.
Hon Chairperson coding and robotics are designed to provide
learners with knowledge, values and skills needed for the Fourth
Industrial Revolution. As part of rolling out this project, in the
2021-22 financial year, the province will be piloting this project
in a 133 primary schools.
As the department we will be offering in house training course to
200 targeted educators through the department’s coding club. This
club is composed of educators who are knowledgeable in this field
and will thus be used as an important resource in rolling out this
project.
We have also taken a decision to resuscitate the 16 former Dinaledi
school to increase performance of maths, science and technology in
the province. This 16 schools are now part of the MST Conditional
Grant.
Hon Chairperson, knowing that Limpopo is endowed with natural
resources, we are working very hard to collaborate with the private
sector and other key stakeholders to strengthen and support
technical high schools to equip learners with relevant skills in
the province, especially in the area of mining.
Agriculture is identified in the Limpopo Development Plan as a
strategic economic development sector. It is critical that our
agricultural schools are supported to be able to produce learners
who are ready to pursue farming as a career and also pursue
education studies in the field of agriculture to specialise. The
department is working hand-in-hand with the Department of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to provide
professionals and technical assistance in the identified eight
agricultural schools in the province.
Hon Chairperson, we also need School Governing Bodies, SGBs, to
advance the democratic transformation of the schooling system and
to provide a platform for the active participation of school
communities. As we speak, our schools have constituted their School
Governing Bodies where there are disputes in terms of eligibility,
such matters are being handled as per the available prescripts, so
that in the end, we have credible governing bodies playing a
critical role in the management of the governance function in
schools.
With regard to the basic education employment initiatives, 52 055
employment opportunities were filled by youth, between the ages of
18 and 35.
The other aspect of the Basic Education Employment Initiative,
BEEI, was the fact that we saved 2 258 jobs from Quintile 4 and 5
and independent schools. We did this in order to save the posts and
protect the curriculum delivery at schools given the hardships
imposed by the pandemic which affected the payment of salaries of
SGB appointed educators.
At the moment the teaching and learning is taking place at our
schools. Our schools are also implementing differentiated
timetabling as part of adhering to the strict requirements of the
safety and health COVID-19 protocols. We continue to emphasize the
importance of wearing masks which we have provided to our schools,
the importance of sanitizing from time-to-time and keeping the safe
social distances in order to keep each other safe in our
schools.
Chairperson, we wish to appreciate the good work that our schools
continue to do under the most trying times. Our stakeholders across
our province, are also playing their role in ensuring that our
schools are supported and learners are not interrupted from going
to school.
These are indeed difficult times and the virus has outstretched our
limited budget. Nevertheless, as a sector we are expected to fulfil
our constitutional mandate and ensure that services reach the
deserving members of the community, particularly children of this
province.
Our plea to the NCOP is to support us, so that we are able to
provide quality education to all our learners during this uncertain
and difficult times. It is important to remind all
stakeholders and the broader community that education is a societal
matter and that together we can do a lot more as we build the
future for our children. Let us grow South Africa together. Thank
you very much, hon Chairperson. [Applause.]
Mr M A P DE BRUYN: Thank you, Chairperson. It is a fact that the
coronavirus 2019, Covid-19, had a devastating and lasting impact on
our education, but it’s also important to admit that there were
devastating failures before Covid as well. As we depend on
education to provide the future leaders and the workforce of
tomorrow, we must ask ourselves, what is the quality of those
leaders and workforce going to be? With the current standards I
fear that we have a lot to be worried about in the future.
Afrikaans:
Om waarlik ons jongmense te bemagtig vir die toekoms is
gehalteonderwys en standaarde nodig. Dit kan slegs realiseer as
daar aan die nodige infrastruktuur voldoen word, ’n kwaliteit
kurrikulum en onderwysers wat bemagtig is om hul werk te kan doen.
Die verhoging in die begroting is ’n positiewe, maar soos met elke
ander departement, is die groot vraag, gaan die fondse reg en
verantwoordelik bestee word? En as ons die verlede as ’n voorbeeld
moet gebruik is dit
ongelukkig baie onwaarskynlik. Mens kan nie help om te wonder Waar
is al die miljarde rande wat vir onderwys begroot was in die laaste
26 jaar heen nie, veral nie as ons kyk na honderde skoolgeboue oor
die land, wat in ongebruik staan of waar die toestande so haglik
is, dat dit net sowel in ongebruik kon wees nie.
Waar is al die tegnologie wat voor begroot is? Waar is die basiese
hulpmiddels vir onderwysers waarsonder hulle elke dag steeds moet
klaarkom en dan steeds van verwag word dat ’n sekere slaagsyfer
gehandhaaf moet word? Soos met elke ander departement word die
Onderwys besteel en dit ten koste van ons jeug wat in die nabye
toekoms die leisels gaan moet oorneem.
English:
Instead of empowering our youth with quality education, this
department rather fall’s back on practices where grades have to be
adjusted by schools to ensure the required pass rates to ensure
funding, or systems where a student can only fail once per phase
and then passes based on age instead of merits.
Surely, this can’t be seen as empowerment, but rather as a setup
for failure in the future, and once again the youth are the ones
that will be suffering in the future. The promises and budgets of
the past two decades have amounted to very
little and only by prioritising new schools, decent curriculums,
sufficient aid and equipment for teachers and reinstating mother
tongue education and better standards will there be hope for south
Africa’s and its education. Thank you, Chair.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Thank you, Chair. I
wish I’m audible.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Yes, you are audible.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Thank you, House
Chairperson. Greetings to the Ministers present, especially
Minister Motshekga, Deputy Ministers, hon members, the Deputy
Chairperson of the House, permanent delegates, member of the
executive council, MECs, for education, ladies and gentlemen
sanibonani [greetings.] This month of June, House Chair, is always
known as a Youth Month and this year we commemorate the 45th years
anniversary of the class of 1976, under the theme “The year of
Charlotte Maxeke, growing youth employment for an inclusive and
transformed societies.” This class of brave and courageous young
men and women was not just distinguished; it was distinguishable in
its generational mission of freedom in their lifetime. This was the
rallying call for ...
[Inaudible.] ... their struggle against the brutal and unjust
regime which was declared a crime against humanity.
Our sector honours this outstanding young people in our continued
efforts and commitment towards improving the lives of South
Africans by restoring and growing the economy in the wake of
Covid-19 pandemic which was exacerbated other challenges the
country has been experiencing including the quest to provide
quality basic education to all South African children.
House Chairperson, we are pleased as a department that the
allocation of curriculum policy support and monitoring has
increased to R2,4 billion which is an increase by 10,3% from the
2020-21 baseline. This will certainly assist to boost the
department stable and progressive curriculum does not only
international benchmark, but also transformative and fully
incorporates the 21st century skills and skills for a changing
world. The department in collaboration with a provincial education
departments and teacher unions have developed the recovery annual
teaching plans for monograde and multigrades schools for the 2021,
academic year. The Annual Teaching Plans, ATP, were mediated by
teachers to teach us by the provinces. The ATP and the presentation
to meditate them are
available on the website of the department. The focus of the ATP is
on prior foundational skills.
In the Foundation Phase baseline assessment were administered in
home languages and first additional language to determine the
learning losses of the previous year. We have made inroads on all
official languages and South African Sign Language enjoys the
status of an official language in the education sector. The
department has collaborated with several stakeholders including Pan
South African Language Board to start work on the promotion and
development of the Khoekhoe Nama language. We are conducting an
audit to Khoi, Nama and San communities in the Northern Cape,
Eastern Cape, Western cape and Free State provinces in order to
plan on how these languages should be phased into the schooling
system.
The introduction of Kiswahili in the National Senior Certificate,
NSC, will go a long way towards decolonising education in the
continent. It will promote social cohesion and also assist in the
Africa continental free trade area and world’s largest free trade
that was launched in January 2021, to unify Africa as a single
market to develop the continent. Kiswahili the widely spoken
language in the continent is projected to be the business language
of Africa and will play
a significant unifying role. To get the system ready for
implementation we have collaborated with the national education
collaboration trust and develop Grades 4 to 6 South African
language toolkit to incremental introduction of African languages,
in IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, IsiNdebele, SiSwati, Tshivenda, Sepedi, plus
Nama and Kiswahili. The Grades 4 to 6 toolkit includes structured
learning programmes and have been integrated in the electronic
resource packs.
A few samples of material will be printed to the districts and
provincial officials. Provincial and district language subject
advisors and teachers who were trained on the utilisation of the
Grades 4 to 6 South African language toolkit in March to May 2021.
Hon House Chair, in response to the 2019-20 state of the nation
address mandate of ensuring that every 10-year-old can read for
meaning by 2020, the department has conceptualised the integrated
reading sector plan which has informed the development and
implementation of reading strategies in all provinces. Central to
the sector plan is primary school reading intervention program
which comprises four sub-programmes that is early grade reading
assessment, early grade reading study, read to lead campaign and
national reading coalition.
Through these partnerships we have been able to train more than 30
000 teachers on how to more effectively teach reading for
understanding, who in turn supported about 1,5 million children
since the inception of the program. We have also upskilled more
than 7 000 senior management teams to be able to support their
teachers. As part, House Chair, of the Basic Education employment
initiative, we have placed 23 000 young South Africans as reading
champions in schools in all nine provinces to be part of the
massive reading revolution drive. Furthermore, we have heeded the
President’s call for a reading movement by establishing the
President’s reading cycle through hosting virtual reading clubs. We
are doing this in collaboration with ... [Inaudible.] ... under the
banner of read to lead. All South Africans are invited to join this
exciting monthly events which happened every last Thursday of the
month and we also invite members of the NCOP to this.
House Chairperson, with the severe shortage of health
professionals, social workers, psychologists and counsellors in the
country, it’s important to find implementation modalities that can
reach as many learners and educators as possible. At the same time,
building the resilience of teachers to adapt to the challenges they
may face, the department has collaborated with the Department of
Social
Development and other partners in ensuring the provision of
psychosocial support. In addition, the provincial education
departments have received immense support including human resource
in the form of social work interns. These are in the different
provinces; additional personnel are being provided for psychosocial
support. Free State Department of Education has partnered with the
Department of Social Development for the placement of social worker
interns at district level. 54 social worker interns have been
placed in the respective district and hotspot areas within the
circuit and in addition
50 change agents have been appointed by the province.
In Gauteng, House Chair, the Department of Social Development
employed 110 social workers and attached them to education
districts before the Covid epidemic. In Limpopo 170 learner-
support agents have been appointed. In additional, 121
learner-support agents were appointed and their term ended in March
2021, and 117 social workers have been appointed to date, in
Limpopo province. The KwaZulu-Natal province has set up transversal
teams which consist of Department of Health, Social Development and
nongovernmental organisations to respond to various crisis that
arise in schools.
Hon House Chairperson, the past year was very hard on the
infrastructure programme. There was no construction in quarter one
due to the hard lockdown, even quarter two was tough as we still
experience restrictions in the number of workers ... [Inaudible.]
... and restrictions on the travelling of workers between
provinces. Despite all of these, we managed to make significant
progress in the provision of school infrastructure during 2020-21.
The Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative, Asidi,
and the safe programs are both scheduled for completion in 2022 to
2023. In Asidi there are sub-program to replace 362 inappropriate
structures, we have already completed 281, the remaining 81 will be
done in the next two years.
On water supply there were 1 228 school projects, 1 104 have been
completed and the rest will be completed in the next two years. On
electricity supply, hon House Chair, 373 schools were identified
and they were all completed. On appropriate sanitation, 984 schools
have been identified and 925 are completed, and we are just
remaining with 59 which we will complete in the next two years.
Under the same programme, House Chair, focusing on the eradication
of basic kits toilets at 2 850 schools, the department has already
completed 748 sanitation projects, the remaining 2 102 projects are
schedule
for the next two years. In this regard, we wish to express our
gratitude to our valued partnership with China, South Korea and the
United States of America for extending hand on water and
sanitation. Hon House Chair, on the safety where members are
complaining about we launched a programme of school safety
intervention initiative on the 28 of May and that program is
continuing and it will be taken to all the other provinces.
As I conclude, hon House Chairperson, I must thank and commend the
resilience and the leadership of our Minister, the MECs in all the
nine provinces, parents, teachers, learners school management
teams, community leaders, and valued partners including the Select
Committee on Education, Culture, Sports and Recreation for trusting
us with the mandate of providing access to quality basic education
for the children of South Africa. I thank you House Chair.
Mr M R BARA: Hon Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Ministers and
members of the House, I want to greet you this morning.
Chairperson, Covid-19 has proven that its impact cuts across human
beings in different ways. It has affected lives negatively whether
you are young or old. That is why it is important that we safeguard
particularly the young ones to the best of our ability. The young
ones are the future of our
country and therefore we must have them in our hearts and minds all
the time.
In these dark times the one thing we must and can give them is a
proper education so they can have a brighter future.
However, during this period students or learners spend 50% of their
time at schools. This is the time when they do five days in two
weeks at schools. This is due to the Covid-19 induced mode of
attendance. What remains of interest is whether there is an ability
to cover the normal school work in half the time and what strain
this may have on the students and teachers.
The longer the students stay out of school the higher the risk of
dropping out. Additionally, students who are out of school,
particularly girls are at an increased risk of vulnerability,
exploitation, teenage pregnancy, etc. In spite of the call to
return back to school by the department, it remains to be seen in
the light of a third wave upon us this time around. At this point,
I want to say that there are learners in Gauteng, not only in the
Western Cape who are not yet back at school but are looking for
schooling around in Florida, in Gauteng. So, I just wanted to
correct that in the light of what hon Gillion stated that it is
something that needs to be looked at and highly considered.
We need to find ways and means to make schooling more accessible to
learners without internet or rather make internet more accessible
to the learners. That would be meeting learners half way instead of
having to be at school under the current circumstances. These are
the measures we have to take as our teachers have not been
vaccinated. In Zambia, there is a district like Chikuni where
children stay far from school. The distance from would be about 50
kilometres and therefore they cannot travel to school because of
poverty. These boys and girls also have to assist at home in
farming due to lack of income. These children access education
through radio broadcasting and they are doing well.
The Zambian modern partners partnered with big business getting
them to sponsor radio broadcast as part of their corporate social
investment span. It is very successful and noting the low levels of
literacy in Zambia parents are tuning in too. This calls upon the
private sector to play its role in the future of our children.
There must be a rethinking of how to make a success out of
different circumstances.
Public-private partnership is therefore essential for the success
of our learners. There is quite a number of schools that require
social development within this department. The
budgetary cuts of R1,9 billion when there are mud schools that must
be removed from the priority list, how is that possible if there
have been such budgetary cuts? How is that going to be achieved?
There are schools that were damaged by fire during the Covid-19
lockdown. These schools require budgetary increase in order to deal
with those damages.
There is R122,8 million cut from getting rid of pit toilets while
there are still 2 111 other schools with children at risk of using
pit toilets. There is R123 million cut on school nutrition while
most learners are already without meals. How does the department
expect meaningful learning when learners do not get food at
schools? A hungry child cannot learn, Minister. Gauteng senior
government officials pay R63,5 million to companies whose contracts
were deemed irregular by a Special Investigative Unit.
In a matter of weeks, the directors of seven companies were in a
shopping spree of designer watches, jewellery, luxury cars, plastic
surgery, etc. They have amassed this cash in endeavours to
decontaminate Gauteng schools during the Covid-
19 lockdown and blew more than R40 million at a go. How do you
allow acts like these to occur when we know our children are
sitting in classrooms hungry?
With the coming new wave of Covid-19 it is a concern what situation
of educators in our schools is going to be. With the number of
educators who have comorbidities, it would be interesting to know
as to how many of the teachers have chosen to take early retirement
or just resign that would leave the department in a bad situation
in trying to find placements especially with the limitation on the
budget.
It would be critical that teachers get Covid-19 vaccines as soon as
possible as they are also frontline workers. That would ensure that
education at schools continue without hindrance of Covid-19. Until
such time, it would be irresponsible to have Grade 1 to Grade 7
learners return to school particularly with the third wave of
Covid-19 upon us in South Africa.
The exposure of these learners to unvaccinated teachers poses a
risk that should have been avoided by the vaccination of teachers.
Covid-19 remains a huge setback of our Department of Basic
Education. Job losses of parents due to Covid-19 has extended to
more learners on the school nutrition programme.
It is therefore more important for the department to find creative
ways of curbing the impact of this ordeal on the young ones. I
thank you Chairperson.
IsiXhosa:
English:
English:
Mr M NHANHA: Hon House Chair, on a point of order: I do note that
the chat function is disabled. Is there a reason for that,
Chairperson?
IsiXhosa:
USIHLALO WENDLU (Nks W NGWENYA): Andazi ukuba uthetha ngantoni
sana.
Mnu M NHANHA: Mam’uNgwenya, apha kuZoom asikwazi ukubhalelana
sithumelelane apha entlanganisweni njengoko siqhele ukwenza
njalo.
English:
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms W NGWENYA): Okay!
Mr M NHANHA: So, it says chat is disabled and I wanted to check if
there is any reason for that. Thank you.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms W NGWENYA): Thank you, hon Nhanha. I will
ask the Table to assist me. Hon Phindela?
Adv. M PHINDELA: House Chairperson, the function is active. I have
just confirmed now.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms W NGWENYA): Thank you very much Adv. M
Phindela.
IsiXhosa:
English:
House Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister and hon members,
the quality of education of a country has a relationship to the
prospects of economic development. Beyond the economic aspect,
education is a right in the Bill of Rights in our Constitution. It
is a right which enables the creation of equality to opportunities
to participate in the economy socially. Education, learning and
knowing is the only way humans can self-produce.
This Budget Vote on Basic Education is a critical vote if we are to
realise the society our Constitution seeks to create. Our education
is an important component of creating a national consciousness of
the value and principle enshrined in our Constitution, and the
objectives of creating a national democratic society. Many of
social lists such as gender-based violence, abuse, racism, and
sexism requires education as contributing factor to change the
social behaviour.
National consciousness is important for the nation, as it enables
the understanding and responds to the challenges which face our
society, which is mainly the triple challenge of poverty,
unemployment and equality. House Chair, as the ANC we send our
condolences to those who have lost their lives on duty due to the
pandemic. We also salute the commitment of our
teachers and sector stakeholders. This Budget Vote responds to the
vision outlined in the Ready to Govern Document of the provision of
free and compulsory education, being based on the equalising of the
per capita expenditure between black and white education.
This will be done within a framework which ensures that, resources
are redistributed to the most disadvantaged sectors of our society,
in particular rural women and mental or children with physical
disability. The distribution of resources by the democratic
government responds to the development depth among our schools has
been on of it milestone. Addressing inequality in our society
requires the redistribution of the revenue collected by the state
to better the poor, thus addressing poverty.
The narrative of the DA and the EFF on government not closing the
infrastructure and resources gap is unfounded and not based on
evidence, contrary to the narrative by the opposition which is
oppositionist, illogical even on matter of progress of the nation.
The balance of evidence demonstrates the significant progress made.
We today have the top performing students coming from your most
rural areas, and schools in rural areas and townships have
laboratories and other
educational facilities, which only existed in schools in urban
areas or schools designed for the privileged minority.
The department will also be piloting the implementation of robotics
and coding, which should enable dynamism of our learners in the
global political economy which is based on completion. Reading is
one of the areas of learning which needs to be strengthened. The
weaknesses of reading with meaning by the age of 10 impacts
negatively on the cognitive development of the learner. The
strengthening of early childhood development, ECD will contribute
in decreasing these weaknesses. The sustainable and effective
pedagogics to improve reading is through building and reading
culture in the country, as a reading nation is more conscious and
free.
If we ensure that schools have libraries and children are taught
reading books at a young age, this will positively contribute to
improve reading with meaning. This does not only apply to learners
at lower grades, but all grades. Critical thinking skills are
developed through reading and expose to various knowledge. The
comprehensive development of children and youth is important.
The level of sickness related to obesity and other health ills can
be decreased through ensuring our schools have adequate sporting
facilities. This is good for the wellbeing of the students.
Psychosocial support is an important service our schools should be
linked to. Abuse in our society is prevalent such that, our society
do note to effectively to act of abuse when they simmer.
The ANC resolves that, working with the Department of Sport, Arts
and Culture and other social partners such as the association of
various sports, South African sports clubs and sport sponsors
should develop a special compact to ensure sport as the integral
part of the education life of all students. The fact that other
students have adequate sporting facilities and others don’t, is an
inequality which requires government to implement programmes which
will address the anomaly. Many sports players develop in their
schools and are part of schools within institutional culture to the
development of the learners.
Hon members, the lesson from the bullying incidents in Mbilwi and
many schools across the country, is a societal problem of violence
and weak social relations. The family is an important
unit which has a unique cognitive development of children and the
social behaviour they adopt.
We welcome the support the department has provided in creating
awareness and ensure that they strengthen school safety committees.
The Deputy Minister has been leading campaigns in this regard. Let
us all unite against bullying and cyberbullying. Let us protect
learners from abusing and create a culture of reporting these
incidents in our schools.
The rollout of the campaign themed, “School safety violence and
bullying prevention initiative’s” aim is to mobilise learners,
parents, teachers and key stakeholders in promoting a safety
learning environment for equality education. The influence is not
only limited to the family. but social institutions such as
religion, education and friends. This shows the importance of moral
generation at a family level and broader society.
With the digital world and the influence of social media, it is
important that our efforts in the education sector encompasses all
role-players including school governing bodies, SGBs, quality
learning and teaching committees and traditional leaders. In
essence, it is a societal
responsibility. W Leal Filho emphasises the importance of critical
engagement in society to bring about transformation.
The problems of drugs and alcohol which at all times find their way
to schools and communities requires enforcement, because this erode
the focus of learners. Enterprises which sell alcohol should be
monitored to comply with the legal requirements o