Department of Basic Education on its 2015/16 Annual Report, with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

Opening remarks
The Chairperson welcomed the Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Mr Enver Surty. The meeting is one that is very important for the Department and the Committee as it looks at what the Department has been doing over a financial year, not just the quarterly. The Committee is looking forward to hearing how far the Department has gone in clearing up the 2014/15 audit findings such as accruals, 30-day payments and internal controls. This is the national annual report and remember not bring up provincial matters. Due to scheduling issues, the DBE will present its annual report first before the Auditor General presents the audit outcomes.

Deputy Minister’s comments
The Deputy Minister commended the Committee for its hard work and contributions it makes to the system of education. Basic Education is a concurrent competency where more than 90% of resources are handed over to provinces, and only about 5% remains with the national office to function in its oversight role. What happens in the school, district and province is not only the responsibility of the provincial department or district officials, but education is seen as a system and that is why the Ministry, Director General and senior management have met on a quarterly basis with District Directors across the country. The Ministry’s commitment is that there is cooperation between senior management and districts. The provinces do work extremely well together and should be commended on that. The Director General will deal with the presentation, but as the Deputy Minister he wanted to lay the foundation for the presentation and reflect very briefly on what confronts the country as a whole and the system as a whole. Education is a human right and that cannot be ignored and it raises the issue of fees. Fees Must Fall is a reality and there have been some commentators on the issue within schools. The Department has made real progress in ensuring that quality education is experienced by all learners. The Department has ensured that 9.7 million learners benefit from the feeding scheme on a daily basis. The reality is that 82% of the learner population goes to no-fee paying schools; meaning that 82% of learners do not have to pay for their stationery or text books. The 18% of learners that go to fee paying schools, the Quintile 4 and 5 schools, the law provides an exemption so where parents cannot afford to pay fees, they are legally exempted from paying, so free education has become a reality at school level. The Department’s commitment to enhance literacy and numeracy is fundamental to the provision of quality education; it therefore distributed workbooks from Grade R up to Grade 9. More than 55 million workbooks are distributed in the year across the system.

The National Development Plan (NDP) has noted the importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD), the recommendation is to look at 2 years of pre-school. The Household Survey last year indicated that in South Africa, 92% of the population has had at least 1 year of pre-schooling. The Department recognises that Grade R is very different from an ordinary classroom as learning is by playing; classes have to be different, sanitation has to be different and practitioners have to be adequately trained. Today there are over 825 000 children in Grade R and by next year the Department could reach universal access. Every child in Grade R receives 4 workbooks for the year free of charge to assist with learning. The NDP also emphasises the importance of professional development, where it will not wait for the debate on whether to re-open the teaching colleges, but will provide educators with accessible opportunities for their development. The Department has established 144 teacher resource centres country-wide. All managers of the centres are trained, 90 of them have highly sophisticated connectivity and by the end of this financial year, all will be connected. An educator visiting a centre will get all resources they may need within the DBE through the Information Communication Technology (ICT) facilities available. There is a red flag in the target of training 200 000 educators. The reality is that the Department has developed 9 self-assessment instruments where educators will be able to match their subjects with level of expertise and then be better trained on those subject areas. The Department has taken those systems and placed them in the teacher resource centres. What needs to be done now is the monitoring of those tools and what kind of impact they are making on the professional development of educators.

The Department is determined to make the sector as inclusive as possible; through the promotion of multi-lingual usage in schools and tolerance and respect for different religious groups. What is important is that that particular tolerance is widespread amongst all learners and the code of conduct is reviewed to ensure that all feel welcomed in the sector as a whole. On infrastructure, especially with the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI) grant the Department needs to be honest in saying that there were major issues and two years ago, the Department committed to delivering a school per week. There are now 170 state-of-the-art schools across the country, with the bulk in the Eastern Cape where more than 130 schools have been delivered, in the Western Cape 22 schools have been delivered, with 3 more schools planned for completion. In the delivery mandate, it is to ensure that those who were previously denied these resources have access and are able to participate in the education sector holistically.

Director General presentation of Department of Basic Education (DBE) 2015/16 Annual Report
Mr Hubert Mweli, DBE Director General, reported on the performance of the department against the Annual Performance Plan:

Overview of the Service Delivery Environment
The Department’s Strategic Outcome Oriented goals per programme are linked to the six priority areas of the 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework, and they exist under the following priorities:
- Improved quality of teaching and learning through development, supply and effective utilisation of teachers;
- 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 levels; and
Partnerships for education reform and improved quality.

Achievements of DBE in 2015/16
The following were amongst the major achievements in 2015/16:
- Conducted mentoring programme aimed at supporting Districts and Circuit Managers in identified districts
10 216 newly qualified educators entered the schools in South Africa.
- The 2015 National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate was 70.7% with 455 825 candidates passing the NSC examinations. This represents an increase of 51 952 candidate from those who passed in 2014.
- Implemented the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) in 1000 schools nationally, in all official languages in Grade 1-3.
- Implemented the National Curriculum Framework for Children from Birth to Four Years.
- Technical Vocational and Technical Occupational Streams were introduced in this financial year to cater for learners who have aptitude for technical and vocational education or who could benefit from applied knowledge beyond what is offered in the National Curriculum Statement.
- Undertaken to strengthen ICT in education, including creating a content repository for free, offline, static and interactive digital educational resources to support teaching and learning.
- School enrichment programmes gained traction with the Moot Court win in The Hague.
- The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) reaching an average of 9 630 590 learners.

Programme Performance in 2015/16
Programme 1: Administration
Human Resource Management and Development
A total of 22 training programmes training 214 officials was arranged by DBE in 2015/16. DBE recruited 66 interns of whom 43 were funded from the budget vote, while the other 23 were funded through ETDP SETA. DBE had 49 bursary holders of whom 18 were registered in 2015/16 and 31 were existing bursary holders.

Labour Relations
DBE reports to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) on the management of grievances and disputes as well as on issues regarding the bargaining council. Grievance meetings in 2015/16 numbered 164. Two disciplinary hearings were held. These hearings involved an SMS member as well as a Chief Education Specialist (CES). Both cases were finalised within the 60-day prescribed period. A final written warning was imposed as a sanction in each case.

Legal Services:
The Minister received 44 correspondences. DBE processed 20 litigation cases against the Department,
two of which have been finalised and 18 are still ongoing. Legal opinions on three matters were provided. 

Legislative Services:
Legislative Services processed ten pieces of legislation.

Media Liaison:
A total of 72 interviews were conducted. There are currently 18 024 followers on Facebook; 37 000 followers on Twitter and approximately 3 000 messages were received through the information e-mail system.

Internal Audit:
The Internal Audit, Risk Management and Forensics Investigations Directorate completed two approved audit reports and one audit verification report as per DPME requirement.

International Relations:
The Department continues to have relations with other countries through Co-operation Agreements and Memoranda of Agreement. He noted agreements with China, Cuba, France, Japan and what had been achieved during that year. DBE hosted delegations from Nigeria, Norway and Swaziland.

Planning and Reporting:
The revised Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan were tabled in Parliament on 11 March 2016. The Department analysed and provided feedback on the draft Annual Performance Plans of all Provincial Education Departments and Public Entities (Umalusi and SACE) to ensure compliance with the planning frameworks and alignment to the sector plan in their quarterly reports. The reports were compiled, consolidated, edited and submitted to the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) and National Treasury, Parliament, Cabinet and other Government Departments on their outcomes.

Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring
Reading Promotion and Library Information Services
The Sector Plan for Reading Promotion and Library and Information Services was launched in May 2015 and the 1000 Schools Library Project in July 2015. The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) was implemented successful in 1000 schools nationally in all the official languages in Grades 1 to 3.

Multi-Grade and Rural Education
The implementation of the toolkit started with the training of both subject advisors and teachers. The Minister has approved the establishment of a Research Team that will focus on the development of the Rural Education Policy. A Concept Document has been developed, which outlines how to develop the policy, as well as the roles and responsibilities of all the role players. Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL): In 2015, the Sector implemented the Incremental Introduction of African Languages (IIAL) pilot in Grade 1 classes in 264 schools across all nine provinces. Training was conducted for 156 officials from all 9 provinces, on Curriculum Differentiation and Policy on Screening, identification, Assessment and Support (SIAIS). 198 intermediate phase and Grade 9 and 10 teachers and Deaf teaching assistants were trained in CAPS for SASL. A policy framework and learning programmes to support learners with severe and profound intellectual disability was developed and consulted on at the Ministerial round table in November 2015.

Early Childhood Development (ECD)
A total of 150 phase 1 centres were provided with EDC Lego Resources to support curriculum implementation. Implementation of NCF for Children from Birth to 4 years is underway and DBE has developed a monitoring tool which was tested in two ECD sites in Limpopo. A total of 100 000 copies of the NCF for children was printed and distributed to registered ECD sites. A total of 5 898 practitioners at level four, five and six were trained. A total of 3 558 job opportunities were created in 2015/16

Learning and Teaching Support materials (LTSM)
The Grade R workbooks, Grades 1-6 Home Languages, Grades 1-6 English First Additional Language, Grades 1-3 Life Skills and Grades 1-9 Mathematics workbooks were printed and delivered to all public schools. DBE has completed delivery of Volume 2 of Grades 1 to 9 workbooks, delivery is at 100%. In addition to these, the printing and delivery of Grades R-9 volume one (1) Braille workbooks to twenty two (22) Special Schools has also been completed.

Maths Science and Technology (MST)
A total of 595 schools were supplied with information, communication and Technology (ICT) resources such as laptops, tablets and software for Maths, Science and Technology to support curriculum and teaching methodology at FET level.

CAPS for Technical Schools
A Guideline for Technical Schools was developed and distributed to schools to strengthen implementation of the CAPS for Technical subjects in Grade 10 in 2016. A total of 228 and 203 subject advisors and 563 and 467 teachers were trained on Technical Maths and Science respectively; and Training of 1660 teachers and subject advisors on technical specialisation in 5 different skills training centres was offered.

Focus Schools
The establishment of Focus Schools augurs well for the sector in its quest to introduce the Three Stream Model of Basic Education. The Three Stream Model calls for the introduction of educational programmes that enforce and encourage the acquisition of skills in selected subjects. The Focus Schools are all geared towards the application of skills. The call to publish the Norms and Standards was signed by the Minister on 02 April 2016 and will be published as a Gazette for public comments.

Kha Ri Gude
The Campaign registered 329, 641 learners for the 2015 Kha Ri Gude Campaign. The Learning and Teaching Support materials (LTSM) in the form of workbooks, Learner Assessment Portfolios (LAPs) and stationery, as well as the administrative documents (attendance registers) and reporting formats were distributed to learners and volunteers at the learning sites across provinces. Kha Ri Gude classes took place from 1 September 2015 to 29 February 2016 for sighted learners and from 1 September to 30 April 2015 for the disability sector. Of the learners that registered, 298 317 completed the classes and submitted their LAPs. To date 4 217 373 of the 4.7 million learners have completed the programme.

Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development
Human Resource Planning, Provisioning and Monitoring
During this financial year, 10 216 young and qualified educators were recorded in the PERSAL system as at end of March 2016, 1616 above the annual target of 8 600. The final figure increased to 12 976 after taking into account delayed appointments or appointments that actually occurred before the end the financial year but were captured after the end of the financial year. DBE experienced a loss of 1 381 young and qualified educators who left the system. A total number of 82% of those had been appointed in temporary posts (52%) and substitute posts (30%). In 2015, 4 723 Funza Lushaka bursary recipient graduates were eligible for placement. A total of 4 110 (87%) graduates were placed within six months of graduation. The overall placement rate of Funza Lushaka teachers, including those appointed after graduation in all provinces, ranged between 81% and 100%, with a national average of 94%.

Labour Relations
The investigation into the selling of posts has been completed and a report has been sent to the Minister with a request for the extension of time for the forensic investigations.

Human Resource Development
Developed draft training materials for the training of Circuit Managers and school principals on financial management in collaboration with the Suid Afrikaanse-Onderwysers Unie (SAOU) were developed. The amended guidelines aimed at improving the participation of parents in educational matters titled Practical Guidelines.

Integrated Quality Management System
During 2015/16, Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) provided the DBE with progress reports on the functionality of the IQMS. The reports produced show that a total of 341 326 educators were evaluated nationally in terms of the IQMS. The DBE monitored the quality of performance management of school- based educators by visiting six (6) provinces (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Free State and North West). Good practices were shared with provinces; challenges in the provinces were noted. In order to strengthen IQMS implementation in KwaZulu-Natal, the DBE conducted a training programme with 88 Provincial Training Team (PTT) members to enable cascading of training in schools in all districts in the province.

Whole School Evaluation (WSE)
During 2015/16, WSE focussed on the implementation of External Evaluations and School Self-Evaluations (SSE) in the sector, using standard evaluating criteria. Data received from Provincial Education Departments indicated 493 schools were externally evaluated, which constitutes 303 primary; 155 secondary; 29 combined and 9 special schools.

Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD)
The Department’s collaboration with SACE has continued to make progress in the registration of all categories of educators and ensuring that those that have signed up participate in continuing professional teacher development activities and programmes. The total number of educators that were registered and signed on the database were a total of 129 014 as at the end of the 2015/16 financial year.

Education Management and Governance Development (EMGD)
The Policy on the South African Standard for Principalship was promulgated on 18 March 2016. The National Core Training Team (NCTT) coordinators, which included the Education Management and Governance Development (EMGD), Teacher Development, financial managers and Circuit Managers, were trained in financial management from 2 to 4 February 2016. This was followed by the training of 1 130 Circuit Managers in March 2016 by the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU) to prepare them to cascade the training to school principals during the July holidays. 1 018 principals were trained in Limpopo and Northern Cape. The training was endorsed by SACE. The Sector is expected to improve monitoring of school effectiveness and accountability through individual performance and school governance.

Teacher Development Implementation
For the year under review, DBE embarked on the training of Mathematics, Science and Technology HODs and teachers with the focus on content and pedagogy. A total of 10 530 classroom-based educators received three to four full days’ training. The Mathematics 1+4 Model benefitted greatly through this training. In preparation for the Grade 10 Technical subjects implementation in 2016, 451 Mathematics and Science Subject Advisors, 525 Technical Mathematics teachers and 516 Technical Science teachers were trained using the CAPS documents as well as the NTT-developed manuals. A total of 200, Grades 11 and 12 Mathematics and Physical Science teachers were trained in ICT integration skills as well as matric revision techniques. Further training of through collaboration with the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) 410 Grade 11 and 12 Mathematics and Physical Science teachers was conducted in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.

Programme 4: Planning, Information and Assessment
National Senior Certificate (NSC)
DBE has agreed with teacher unions that there is a need to reform the current model of assessments and DBE is confident that together with the Unions a model for National Assessment will be developed that is acceptable to all parties. The 2015 NSC examination was written by 644 536 full-time candidates and 91 063 part-time candidates across 6 767 examination centres. Supplementary Examinations were written by 114 690 full candidates and 816 part time candidates. This has now taken the 2015 NSC results from 70.7% pass to 72% pass rate.

Annual National Assessment (ANA)
The task team set up to undertake the remodelling of ANA held monthly meetings from September to December 2015 to finalise the preliminary ground work on the re-design process. Of schools that wrote in 2015, only 200 have submitted their learner schedules. This is an insignificant number to analyse. A total of 57 participants comprising Departmental officials, union officials, provincial officials, and academic experts attended the first working group session that took place on 25-29 January 2016. Participants reviewed the gaps, inadequacies and deficiencies in the current ANAs, and also took note of the benefits that may have accrued.

International Assessments
The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) IV study was collected from a random sample of 298 schools with 7 046 learners participating across all nine provinces. The SACMEQ IV analysis and learner achievement results are in the final stages of verification by the SACMEQ co-ordinating Centre (SCC). The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and TIMSS-Numeracy (TIMSS-N) studies have been completed and final data sets were submitted to the International Association for Educational Assessment (IEA). The TIMSS study will report on learner achievement trends in Grade 9 and the TIMSS-N will report on Grade 5. These will be released on 29 November 2016.

Educational Management Information Systems (EMIS)
EMIS has the responsibility to develop and maintain an integrated education information system for the management of education. The integrated information system is accomplished through acquisition, processing, dissemination and reporting of quality education data. 98.2 % of ordinary schools comprising 92.57% learners were uploaded to Learner Unit Record Information and Tracking System (LURITS)

Physical Planning
School furniture: By end of February 2016 only 570 026 units were delivered which is 52% of the total units to be delivered. This was due to delay in procurement in provinces such as Limpopo and Mpumalanga. By end of February 2016, 386 448 learners were transported by the learner transport programme, which translates to 104% against the target. In 2015/16, 163 schools had been completed in the replacement of inappropriate structures initiative. However, 211 schools in the Eastern Cape with low learner enrolment are under rationalisation process by the Eastern Cape Provincial Education Department and have not been awarded to Implementing Agents (IAs).
Sanitation: 412 schools have been provided with sanitation facilities.
Water: 605 schools have been have been provided with water.
Electricity: 294 schools have been provided with electricity.

Financial Planning, Economic Analysis and Provincial Budget Monitoring
The Minister published the no-fee schools lists for 2015 to ensure adherence to the National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF) policy. A telephonic survey was conducted with selected schools to monitor progress by Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) on the transfer and utilisation of school funding. During the 2015/16 financial year, the following analyses were done:
- PEDs’ Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budgets - to provide a snapshot of the budgetary situation in the current MTEF against the previous MTEF cycle.
- Provincial Annual Performance Plans - to ensure planning for the service delivery outcomes against allocated budgets for an MTEF, and more specifically a financial year, were realistic.
- Quarterly Performance Reports of the PEDs - to gauge the progress of selected indicators towards the achievement of the annual targets. This showed the link between the financial and non-financial data.

Working with the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs)
The provincial support strategies implemented during the year yielded results. Three provincial education departments (PEDs) – Eastern Cape (EC), KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and North West (NW) – whose performance had been below the required 90% benchmark set by the Presidency, improved. The resolution rate for EC improved from 57.55% in February 2015 to 74.51% in February 2016. KZN and NW improved from 66.17% to 74.87% and 71.14% to 77.14% respectively. The remaining six PEDs have been consistent in achieving the required 90% benchmark.

School Readiness Assessments for 2016
In general schools were ready for the start of the 2016 academic year. However, a total number of 788 schools were identified as having challenges in one of the areas, admissions and learner registration, planning, availability of teachers, LTSM including workbooks and infrastructure particularly school furniture and ablution facilities.

Programme 5: Educational Enrichment Services
National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP)
For the 2015/16 financial year, the programme provided daily nutritious meals to 21 177 Quintile 1 – 3 primary, secondary and special schools nationally, reaching an average of 9 630 590 learners. There were challenges common to most schools visited, such as the issue of gas storage, cylinders were supposed to be placed outside in a locked cage and lack of storage. Deworming was further rolled out in the nine provinces. The deworming implementation in 101 schools was closely monitored by the Department.

Health Promotion
The World Health Organisation (WHO) implemented the Post Introduction Evaluation (PIE) in provinces on the Human Papillomavirus vaccination on 10-17 October. A total of 229 554 Grade 4 girls received the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Altogether, a total of 1 111 705 learners received health services.

Enrichment and sport in Education
South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod (SASCE)
All provincial SASCE championships were successfully held in May – June 2015. The national championship was successfully held from 30 June to 02 July 2015 at the Rhema Ministries, Randburg under the theme “Celebrating 60 Years of the Freedom Charter through Music”. A total of 6 722 learners participated.

Moot Court
The programme started with an estimated number of 1 069 learners participated in the Fifth National Schools Moot Court Competition, which featured essay writing for workshops, provincial rounds and national rounds. On 22 January 2016, the South African team scooped 1st Place at the 3rd International Moot Court Award at The Hague City, Netherlands.

The iNkosi Albert Luthuli Oral History Programme
A total number of 64 learners and 13 educators took part in the 2015 national finals.

National Flags
99 schools in North West and 77 schools in Northern Cape have been identified as provinces that need the National Flags and flag poles. 322 National flags were installed in schools in the Eastern Cape. This is a programme implemented in schools through the Department of Arts and Culture.

Part C: Annual Financial Statements
Ms Ntsetsa Molalekoa, DBE CFO, presented on the financial statements for 2015/16. She indicated that two of the five programmes underspent on their allocation;

Programme 1: Administration
There were no material variances on this programme, but a reported underspending of R170 thousand.

Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring
The under-spending of R40.225 million on this programme was mainly on the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) Grant due to the delays in capturing the required data into the EPWP electronic system. The major problem was EPWP changed the reporting system, capturing in the new electronic system was a challenge as this system was not included in the original plan and the agreement signed by both the Directors General of DBE and Public Works.

Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human Resources Development and Institutional Development
There were no material variances on this programme, but there was underspending of R469 000.

Programme 4: Planning, Information and Assessment
The under-spending of R447.858 million on this programme is mainly on the ASIDI programme. The process of consultation on rationalisation of schools took longer than anticipated and it impacted on the spending trends for the ASIDI project.

Programme 5: Educational Enrichment Services
There were no material variances on this programme, but a reported underspending of R1.579 million.

Challenges and Mitigation Measures
Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring
DBE held meetings with EPWP unit of the Department of Public Works. Both Departments agreed on amendment of the application form for volunteers to meet the categories required by the EPWP electronic system and the Department to assign a dedicated Deputy Director to work fulltime on data submission into the EPWP electronic system.

Programme 4: Planning, Information and Assessment
The consultation on rationalisation of schools has been completed in some areas.

Deviations and Mitigation Measures
Goods and Services
The over spending on this item is due to the procurement and provision of school furniture for non ASIDI schools that was not budgeted for under the ASIDI allocation. DBE will ensure that during the adjustment, budget funds are shifted from the capital budget to cover the remaining commitments on this item.

Transfer and subsidies
The over expenditure on this item is due to the transfers to foreign/international organisations which are made in Dollars and Euros. At the time of the transfer the exchange rate was higher than projected. DBE will in future estimate the exchange rate based on the value of the rand at the time of receipt of these invoices and request National Treasury approval to increase the amounts to be transferred to these organisations.

Payments for Capital Assets
The under-spending on this item is mainly in respect of the ASIDI project. The under-spending was due to the rationalisation of schools. The process of consultation for the mergers of schools took longer than anticipated. The consultation on rationalisation of schools has been completed in some areas.

Auditor-General report
Unqualified audit opinion with matter of emphasis
National text books cataloguing process
The audit revealed deficiencies in the process of establishing national catalogues of text books to be procured by provincial education departments for distribution to schools. DBE did not comply with certain aspects of the supply chain requirements as prescribed by in the Treasury Regulations. This was due to lack of tracking and monitoring of compliance with Treasury Regulations during this process.

Additional Matters
Expenditure management          
The accounting officer did not take effective steps to prevent irregular expenditure of R599 million, unauthorised expenditure of R153 million, fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R44 million, in contravention of section 38(1)(c)(ii) of the PFMA and Treasury Regulation 9.1.1.

Consequence management
Effective and appropriate disciplinary steps were not taken against officials who made and permitted irregular and unauthorised expenditure at the time, as required by section 38(1)(h)(iii) of the PFMA and Treasury Regulation 9.1.3, as it was not investigated .

Procurement and contract management
Fourteen contracts were awarded to bidders where preferential points were not allocated and/or calculated according to the requirements of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and its regulations. Memorandums of agreements with implementing agents were not amended or extended through approval by a delegated official, in contravention of section 44 of the PFMA. The total value of the payments made in the current financial year to the implementing agents after expiry of their memorandums of agreements amounted to R219 834 000 and it has been disclosed as irregular expenditure.

Annual Financial Statements
Material misstatements of immovable tangible capital assets, accruals and commitments identified by the auditors in the submitted financial statements were subsequently corrected and the supporting records provided, resulting in the financial statements receiving an unqualified audit opinion.

Discussion
Ms J Basson (ANC) thanked the Deputy Minister and Director General on their input and the comprehensive presentation. She appreciated the input and focus that DBE has directed towards Inclusive Education. She noted the improvement in this area as seen during their oversight visit to Limpopo. She asked that DBE improve the Special Schools and the resources available to them. On African languages; she asked how far the department is in implementing these in former Model C schools. On the ECD admissions policy, a parent had a child who is not yet 6, but no centre would admit the child; how should she advise the parent on the matter? The presentation highlighted rural areas as unattractive for educators, how can these be treated equally? On Kha Ri Gude; there has been job creation and the programme is about to end; how will the participants be accommodated? The South African School Administration and Management System (SA-SAMS) and LURITS are important for administrative purposes, how many schools are not benefiting from this service due to them not being connected?

M H Khosa (ANC) thanked the delegation for the presentation. On Inclusive Education, he is happy that DBE is focusing on this, but there are challenges with regards to learners with special needs. DBE was very focused around ASIDI, so the same vigor should be applied to learners with special needs. Also, with learners on waiting lists, there needs to be a speedy response to them. With learner transport, special needs learners also need to be prioritised. On free education, DBE is doing very well, but they cannot claim that they do not see what is happening in Higher Education regarding Fees Must Fall. While DBE is focusing on the NSC and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) is on hold, learners will experience this once they enter higher education. On wasteful expenditure, he understands that there is an internal audit, but how effective is the unit, how fast are they in responding to such expenditure? On the ANA task team, are there timeframes for certain targets to be met? Will the assessments go ahead in 2017?

Prof T Msimang (IFP) said that it was pleasing to learn how much DBE is doing to promote sports as the National teams are not performing well and the general discussion has been we are starting too late to train or develop sporting in SA. However, in Black schools, there are no facilities for sports, and there is a big outcry that Black learners are not represented in Rugby and Cricket, as the facilities are not there. DBE spoke about the focus on the three provinces that did not perform well in the NSC last year; there is a consensus that the rural nature of the province has influence on performance, with the exception of Western Cape and Gauteng. There seems to be vast difference between all rural provinces, what have those findings been? What distinguishes rural education from education in general? Is it in the training offered? Are learners in those areas receiving the same quality in education? On benchmarks for the system, some of the best students came from Zimbabwe especially in certain subjects, has DBE looked at benchmarking with Zimbabwe?

Mr G Davis (DA) thanked DBE and asked the Deputy Minister questions that arose from his opening remarks. Everyone is concerned about the effect the Fees Must Fall action may have on the whole education system. What plans does DBE have if universities do not resume their academic activities this year? How will that affect the sector regarding teachers who do not graduate and therefore do not enter the profession come next year? How many teaching graduates will be affected by this and are there plans in place to ensure that if there is a shortfall in teachers, learners are not affected? On the re-opening of teacher training colleges, there have been a number of alarming reports on teacher performance and the uneven teaching in classrooms between poor and more affluent learners? What steps are being taken to improve the quality of teacher training and what are the specific plans with reopening colleges? Nic Spaull, a well-known analyst who was an advisor for the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ), released a report that stated that the SACMEQ data that was released cannot be compared year on year. He raised this with DBE but those concerns fell on deaf ears. The reality is that the data does not give a correct picture on the improvement on learner performance it released. Is it true that the data is not comparable year-on-year as Nic Spaull alleges and, if not, how can DBE then say there has been in improvement since the last SACMEQ sitting?

With Kha Ri Gude, the adult literacy programme, everyone was very proud when the programme won the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prize for literacy in September. However, the annual report stated that 298 000 out of 430 000 adult learners did not complete the course, in addition there was evidence of large scale corruption in the programme, which is why there was a report of R44 million wasteful expenditure, an increase from last year’s R28 000, which is a massive increase. There were also issues with procurement with the auditing firm, the R23 million that went to the auditing firm SAB&T. It is concerning that this same company was found by the High Court in June to have been involved in corruption in the Department of Social Development. Can DBE outline what happened with the paying of ‘ghost learners’ for the programme and what steps will be taken against teachers and officials involved?

With regards to teaching posts, the Director General said that there was a need for resources which were in fact decreasing. Can DBE elaborate what the shortage for teachers post will be next year? What steps was DBE taking to address this potential shortage?

During the CFO’s presentation on the financial statements, she said that the Auditor General found the accounting officer did not take the necessary steps to deal with R599 million of irregular expenditure; R153 million of unauthorised expenditure and R44 million of fruitless and wasteful expenditure. What steps are being taken against that accounting officer for not taking the necessary steps to avoid these expenditures?

Ms N Mokoto (ANC) said that despite the number of challenges, DBE continues to obtain unqualified audit opinions. It is very commendable to see how seriously DBE has attended to matters identified by the Auditor General. What action is DBE taking to strengthen the internal auditing unit? This is in light of the reassurance the Minister of Basic Education gave the Committee on how important they view this. Also with the monitoring unit, what steps have been taken to strengthen that unit? There has been regular reporting on unauthorized, irregular and wasteful expenditure, why is DBE not planning in advance for the unforeseen, is the issue in improper implementation of plans? There needs to be a general understanding and definition of what infrastructure is when speaking about the DBE because the word means something else in another department. So when there is no library in a school, this falls under infrastructure, furniture could also be seen as part of infrastructure. School sports and other extra curricula activities should come under scrutiny as well, as these programmes contribute to social cohesion. The reality is that on the ground, participation is still much racialised. Learners from Black schools do not participate in the same activities as those from White schools. With improper leave management and absenteeism in schools by educators, there is a negative impact on curriculum delivery as teachers miss school without any consequence. What is DBE doing to address this trend? How far is DBE assisting Districts in monitoring leave and absenteeism? The report indicates that the infrastructure grant was cut by National Treasury and there are situations like Vuwani, where schools are being destroyed, this is an added burden. How far is DBE in reaching the infrastructure target? Rationalisation is also mentioned in the report which is a contributor to the underspending of ASIDI, particularly in the Eastern Cape. How far has DBE engaged the Ministry for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in this regard to try and resolve any issues? Has DBE set new timeframes to ensure the finalisation of this matter of rationalisation?

Deputy Minister responses
The Deputy Minister thanked all the Members for their questions and indicated that he will answer a few of them now as he has to leave to join the National Council of Provinces. With Ms Basson’s question on inclusive education he agrees that there needs to be more attention given to the sector and DBE is concerned. It has held a conference dealing particularly with mentally disabled learners which rises from the challenge brought against the Western Cape Education Department in the High Court. This is however not a Western Cape issue, but a country wide concern. Early monitoring and testing of learner abilities will allow the system to detect learning problems early and ensure that learners are placed in appropriate streams and schools. DBE is working very closely with the Department on Health to ensure screening processes are conducted effectively. Gauteng and the Western Cape have taken up the challenge of ensuring psycho-analysis examinations are conducted on learners. This is not to say that other provinces are not performing in this matter, but the listed two are the front-runners.

With regards to languages being introduced to schools, there is an issue where provinces prefer specific language usage, for example learners in places like Pietermaritzburg and Durban would not necessarily take up Afrikaans, but the Western Cape would. It is a matter of looking at the relevant needs of the community and meeting those. This does contribute to social cohesion and the introduction of African languages would further contribute to that. There are around 4 800 schools country-wide that are affected by this language debate. The pilot has indicated that schools are able to manage the process, DBE did indicate to schools that incremental introduction of African languages would work better. This would ensure that DBE is able to develop capacity over time and ensure that the facilities of learning and teaching take place. Early Childhood Development (ECD) is an important issue, but there is separation of responsibility; the Department of Social Development is responsible for children aged 0-4, the DBE is then responsible for children aged 5 years, which is Grade R, and upwards.

DBE held a dedicated conference on rural education and has established a unit that is entrusted with the responsibility of rural education, which coordinates and manages the focus. The realities are the issues around retaining key personnel in rural areas and in certain areas there is the phenomenon of hard to teach schools and more so hard to reach schools. This then brings about the provision of educator quarters to enable teachers to stay on the premises and then travel home over the weekend if they wish to. There needs to be a uniform programme on incentivizing educators who teach in these areas as there are discrepancies between provinces and there should be a set figure. The level of professional qualification for ECD practitioners is being raised to level 6. In order to develop a norm for rural education in terms of incentives and benefits, DBE needs to look at what factors contribute to making a place rural. On the issue of the Kha Ri Gude there needs to be celebration over the fact the programme has provided employment for more than 40 000 young people. Those practitioners have been encouraged to study further and DBE has invited them to apply to the Funza Lushaka teacher programme.

In order to address absenteeism, DBE has done reasonably well in capturing data of the learner and the teacher. This monitoring tool has to be web-based where more information can be collected and represented. DBE has done well in ensuring connectivity in schools, where even in the Eastern Cape, there is a high percentage of schools connected to the internet; four years ago this was at 27%, now it is at 97%. DBE is encouraged by the level of involvement and advocacy from political parties around Inclusive Education, which is vital in ensuring that those learners with disabilities are not left behind.

There is conversation between Basic Education and Higher Education as DBE looks at education as continuous from pre-school level all the way to higher education. There needs to be a continued discussion between DBE and DHET; discussions around curriculum content have taken place to ensure that the facilitation of learning and teaching in linked. There were also issues of diversity, language inclusion and social cohesion that were raised and the question is always how to ensure that the system answers all those while adequately preparing learners for higher education. There has been the introduction of the vocational stream in Grade 10 which will continue to Grade 11, then next year the introduction of the occupational stream. Higher Education’s work in the TVET sector is admirable as numbers have increased by close to 300 000. The introduction of the new three stream model will also develop further interaction between these systems/levels of education. DBE also engaged DHET on the level of academics that are needed to ensure that learners are able to participate fully in higher education, conversations around cognitive demands and how the DBE can better prepare learners. There have been conversations with universities where they have come out and told the DBE that the sector is not responding adequately, so that allowed to DBE sector to ask universities for guidance in outlining areas DBE should be improving on.

The appointment of principals is managed through the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) which will be replaced by the QMS, but has not been finalised. The QMS will speak on the competency of principals and deputy principals. There is also legislation in draft phase which has been submitted to the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) meeting which will be promulgated after approval; this speaks on a range of issues, amongst which is the qualification of principals. Principals require the appropriate degree, experience, and the possession of financial, communication and management skills. The Director General indicated that at the last CEM meeting there were three proposals submitted to ensure that the Annual National Assessments take place; this was done with consultation with the unions and other stakeholders in education. DBE is responsible for school, regional, district and provincial sports, national lies with the Department of Sport and Recreation. Funds for sporting activities lies primarily with sponsorship. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant has funds for sporting facilities in municipalities and the Department of Sport and Recreation in collaboration with the DBE has asked for a fraction of the funds to be able to provide for sporting amenities in schools.

What DBE has learned from Zimbabwe is that without the fundamentals of literacy and numeracy, if a learner cannot read with understanding or write well at an early stage in their schooling career, they will have difficulties as they progress in the system. It has been evident at university level where Black learners are on par with their White counterparts when it comes to technical subjects, but issues arise in language where they are then tested in a language that is not theirs. That is why the DBE has integrated a first additional language from Grade 1 to counter the language barrier, this is a systemic change and the effect of it will be seen over time, but benchmarking is something in the works.

Fees Must Fall does not only affect the production of teachers, but other professions as well. If there is a loss of an academic year, it is a loss that is country spread. The humanities has a bit of leeway in terms of time, but with the health and built environments professions, it becomes it bit tougher. DBE cannot afford the loss of an academic year and has tried to persuade and engage with DHET and university students to steer the debate forward.

Nic Spaull’s report and findings on SAQMEC were taken up by DBE and when he raised issues with the results, the DBE sent them back to the people responsible for SAQMEC and asked them to check if the concern was valid, and to then check and verify it. On the irregular spending of funds under the Kha Ri Gude programme, there will be prosecution of those guilty and all funds will be collected. It is an abuse of public funds. Unauthorized expenditure is a bit different. Amongst the challenges in the Eastern Cape was that there were schools that were not identified as ASIDI schools, but they had 50% of the learners without chairs. DBE then provided the Eastern Cape with more than 87 000 units of furniture from the grant. Limpopo and the North West were also provided with furniture. The spending was unauthorized as it was meant for a particular purpose and function; DBE had to get permission for the deviation of funds from the Treasury. There is a clear distinction between unauthorized spending and irregular spending.

In the Eastern Cape have more than 1000 schools with a learner enrolment of less than 135; making them not viable and there are therefore going under rationalisation. Western Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng are all going through the process of rationalisation. Learning from the experience of when the WCED was taken to court over merging schools, the DBE has produced a guideline to assist provinces in their rationalization/merging process.

There will always be a shortage of teachers as not long ago subjects like Mathematics were not fundamentals, learners could pass Matric without Mathematics or Mathematics Literacy. This then leads to the question of does the system have sufficient mathematics and science teachers? DBE is looking at the issue and will address it.

The Chairperson thanked the Deputy Minister for responding to the questions and the level of detail he gave. The Committee has reviewed the SAQMEC results and will be having more discussion and engagements as what was reported was preliminary. So when the final report is ready to be tabled, she will ensure that all Members have an opportunity to ask questions and engage on the report. She noted that DBE has relocated funds from provinces that had not spent their education infrastructure grant to other provinces, this was done under the allowance given by the Division of Revenue Act which authorises the Minister to do so.

Afternoon session
The Chairperson allowed Members who had not received an opportunity to ask questions to be given that chance now and for the Director General to respond.

Ms N Mashabela (EFF) asked which provinces have started with the teacher training on multi-grade teaching. Also, is there a timeframe for the teaching of educators and subject advisors and how many have been trained to date?

Mr D Mnguni (ANC) said the Deputy Minister has touched on a number of issues, but with regards to the selling of posts report, could DBE present the final report so that it can be put to bed? With the placing of Funza Lushaka teachers, there was a report of 94% of them being placed, what happened to the 4%? On fruitless expenditure, there were issues with supply chain management with the Implementing Agents. Did the manner of dealing with underperforming contractors affect those that are currently working for the sector, or is it for future reference and usage?

Ms D Van der Walt (DA) said the CFO referred to one of the provinces that requested assistance, which province? What is the need? She requested that the MECs and the HODs come to the meeting to help account for reporting from the provinces as they might be better versed than the national office. She asked for the management reports to come to the Committee from each province.

Under the ASIDI underspending which is linked to the rationalization of schools; there are still schools without electricity, water and sanitation and still 70% of schools with no libraries and 81.7% without laboratories yet DBE still only focuses on mathematics and reading.

Ms H Boshoff (DA) said with regard to the NSNP there was an underspending of R1.579 million. It is great to hear that over 9 million learners are being fed every day at schools across the country, but with the underspent money the storage facilities and kitchens can be upgraded as these are still problematic at some schools. School safety is still an issue and last year the Committee was told that 15 000 plus schools had been linked to SAPS stations, but no mention was made of the number of school committees set up with regard to safety. The delivery of furniture was reported as 52% but the other 48% is evident when conducting oversight visits. There were instances where there were 3 to 4 learners sharing a desk; this cannot continue as no child can effectively learn under those circumstances, why was the 48% not delivered? Scholar transport reported that 104% of target was met, but in Limpopo there was no transport for learners, parents have to make use of public and private transport that is costly and at times dangerous. There has been a great deal done to address Special Schools. However, full-service schools are still lacking in the basic resources and a lack of appropriately trained teachers. What is being done to assist learners with disabilities that attend full service schools?

Mr T Khoza (ANC) spoke about the issues with kitchens and resources in schools that need to be closely monitored. There are schools that do not have utensils for learners to use. He was encouraged by the level of performance from schools in rural areas that do not have access to even libraries, but were performing at a high standard. It is not that all schools in rural areas were not performing; there are schools that outperform those in urban areas. On the Fees Must Fall issue, if the higher education sector cannot save this academic year, there is an challenge of where the current Grade 12s will go. When will DBE ensure that the internal audit unit is of competent standard?

The Chairperson added that her concern was with the slow delivery of textbooks, as opposed to the swiftness of the delivery of workbooks across the country. The end of November is fast approaching for the first deadline of Norms and Standards for infrastructure, what is the update on that? What should the country expect come the end of November?

DBE response
The Director General thanked the Committee for their questions and asked the branch heads to respond to questions relevant to them

Mr Themba Kojana, DBE Acting Deputy Director-General: Teachers, HR and Institutional Development, responded to the questions on teacher training and performance. He said that DBE presented research done by JET Education Services on the teacher programmes at university and how there was no uniformity. DBE worked very closely with the DHET in developing a programme which would ensure uniformity across all higher education institutions, that programme was called Teaching and Learning Development Capacity Improvement Programme. The programme has four main areas of focus: ECD, primary teacher education, inclusive and special needs teacher education and TVET college lecturer education. There has been an investment of around R183 million over five years to improve teacher training.

The placement of Funza Lushaka graduates into teaching posts has been reported at 94% that is the figure that was captured in this cycle of reporting. The remaining 6% will be included in the next cycle of reporting. On the strengthening around ASIDI and how DBE works with implementing agents, it has developed a plan to look into all the audit queries especially around contracts and other related activities. There has been a move to continually engage with agents so there can be regular and comprehensive reporting.

Dr Granville Whittle, DDG: Social Mobilisation and Support Service, DBE, replied that on school nutrition and facilities for the NSNP, the system has tried to prioritise these across provinces. It is however difficult to budget for infrastructure improvements, where there are also issues of food inflation and increases. In speaking to the Treasury, DBE had noted that there needs to be an increase for food as well. The programme will now receive an additional R52 million at the tabling of the adjusted budget on 26 October. On corporal punishment, DBE held a summit to address this and has therefore worked with stakeholders to produce and adopted a memorandum of understanding. There is now the need to produce a protocol on how to deal with cases of abuse and punishment in schools. School safety is everyone’s responsibility and DBE is engaging further with SAPS to outline responsibilities for both stakeholders.

Ms Molalekoa replied that the R1.5million that was not spent under Programme 5 was for operational items. In order to divert funds to attend to other needs within the programme, DBE would need permission from Treasury to utilize funds that are earmarked.

Mr Mweli, responded firstly to the Chairperson’s opening remarks noting that there are some minor audit matters, but those can broaden and become big issues. Ensuring that basic things like monthly reporting and reconciliations are done are things that need looking into. DBE has ensured the Auditor General’s management letter was taken to a forum where all Senior Management Service (SMS) members charted a way forward, covering all levels of management. In relation to the 260 odd piloted schools under the Incremental Introduction of Africa Languages (IAOL) programme, there were 873 schools that are implementing the programme this year. Learner transport for learners with disabilities was not covered or represented properly. The internal audit unit has specific issues as after the quality assurance audit, it was found that not everyone hired in the unit had competencies to deal with the work and this is a major risk to the Department. DBE is therefore reconstituting the unit and by December the unit will be fully fledged.

There has been work with Zimbabwe and there is a bilateral cooperation agreement set in place with the country. Zimbabwe has one of the best education systems on the continent and one of the things learned from there is that our curriculum package is too wide, but lacks depth; where in Zimbabwe geometry is a standalone subject. There will be further discussions and visits between the two countries to further develop the agreement. He wanted to reiterate the separation of responsibilities between the National Department and Provincial Departments; national has the responsibility to establish policy and norms and standards and ensure uniformity across the system. He agreed that DBE is not where it should be when it comes to full service schools and there needs to be plans and timelines in place to direct its action towards this.

Fees Must Fall is a huge conundrum, as there are implications for current Grade 12s if the action persists. DBE does not have a plan if there are no steps to address this. There is no major crisis with teacher supply, but if there is an issue produced by Fees Must Fall, then perhaps there could be an extension of contracts for retired teachers. The province is responsible for the delivery of goods and services to schools, meaning they are responsible for the delivery of text books. The Rural Education unit is to try and bring these schools at the centre of the system, which was done for Inclusive Education. On the shortfall on Kha Ri Gude raised by Mr Davis, at no stage did the Auditor General see any corruption in the payment of teachers, but they did note instances where educators were paid for class sizes that were not true reflections. There were instances where deceased learners were counted as being part of the classroom, thus inflating the numbers.

The Chairperson asked if there is an investigation on the matter. The Director General said there was one as DBE has started recovering the funds.

With SAQMEC, the report was preliminary which only had data on South Africa; there will be a final report presented after the relevant office in Botswana has finalised them.

Ms van der Walt (DA) asked about the separation of powers between the three spheres of government and  norms and standards which the DG pointed out, when will these be published in the Gazette? She wanted to reiterate that when it comes to funds being misappropriated, the Committee has the right to summon anybody including MECs, to appear before them and account. There needs to be better ways of monitoring how funds are spent. If provinces are to be put under administration, where is the administration report over the intervention in Limpopo?

Mr Davis said on Kha Ri Gude, the DG said there was no corruption, but fraudulent activity, how does the DG differentiate between the two? On SAQMEC, it is a preliminary report and data from other countries has not been shared, so they are not able to do cross country comparison. However, is the data comparable year on year and from one study to the next?

Ms Basson (ANC) said that in the report there is a notation on a number of young educators leaving the system, has DBE followed up on the reasons behind this trend? Also, on the ASIDI deviation due to furniture purchases, who is responsible for the function? Why is furniture not budgeted for before there is a need to tap into other funds to purchase furniture? Lastly, is the One Plus Four programme still in operation, if so, what has been the progress?

Mr Mweli replied that there was a meeting with all implementing agents where DBE reported on the Auditor General’s audit report and said that if in  future there are supply chain negligence cases, agents would be terminated. The CFO also indicated that there needs to be internal capacitation of reporting so that DBE does not rely on agents to provide reports. DBE is working with the Ministerial Task Team in the selling of posts and that will be presented to the Committee as soon as it is finalised. A report was received on the 1 plus 4 programme, but in some provinces it was 1 plus 8 or 9, but the principal was the same which was to provide extra capacity building the mathematics and science teachers to deal with challenges at the senior phase. In future, DBE will not use ASIDI funds on non-ASIDI schools to buy furniture. The students who are leaving the teaching profession were those occupying temporary posts and those who left the system were unfortunately not deployed. The SAQMEC test instruments are comparable year to year, in terms of improvements; it is a subject for debate.

The Chairperson rounded off noting just how much DBE delegation had said and reported on, however where there were issues, DBE needs to ensure that these issues will not be repeated come next financial year especially areas that have been problematic for the past three years. With the improvements in the system that are evident, they beef up internal audits and other monitoring systems. She asked that the BRRR report be circulated by Friday, 14 October 2016, so Members can make submissions on it and can then try to finalise it in the next meeting after the Auditor General presents the audit report.

Meeting was adjourned.