Education Laws Amendment Bill; Adult Basic Education & Training Bill; Higher Education Laws Amendment Bill: voting

Meeting report

EDUCATION AND RECREATION MINUTES OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE
10 October 2000
EDUCATION LAWS AMENDMENT BILL [B 48B-2000]; ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING [B 42B-2000]; HIGHER EDUCATION AMENDMENT BILL [B 55B-2000]: VOTING

Documents handed out:
Education Laws Amendment Bill [B 48b-2000]
Adult Basic Education And Training [B 42b-2000]
Higher Education Amendment Bill [B 55b-2000]

These minutes have been compiled by Ms H Salie, Committee Secretary of the Select Committee on Education and Recreation

MINUTES
The Chairperson welcomed all members, the special delegates from the provinces as well as the representatives from the Department of Education.

Education Laws Amendment Bill [B 48b-2000]
Objectives of the Bill
To increase the representation of organised labour; to make provision for public schools on private property; to provide for safety measures at public schools; to make provision for the appointment of educators to new public schools, public further education and training institutions and public adult learning centers; to amend the provisions dealing with incapacity, misconduct and appeals; to make provision for an incapacity code and procedure and a disciplinary code and procedure; to provide additional functions for the council of a public further education and training institution and to amend provisions relating to exemptions of existing private institutions.

Deliberation
The Committee then proceeded to consider final mandates on [B 48B-2000].

Northern Cape: Bill agreed to but suggested that Sec 18 (o) should be deleted.
Mr Boshoff explained that sec 18 (o) was included to provide consistency with the public service.
Northern Province: supported the Bill without amendments
KwaZulu-Natal: supported the Bill without amendments.
Mpumalanga: supported the Bill without amendments.
Gauteng: supported the Bill without amendments.
Eastern Cape: supported the Bill without amendments.
North-West: Mr Thlagale noted that the relevant committee in his province is at the present moment busy deliberating on final mandates on this Bill.
Free State: supported the Bill without amendments.
Western Cape: supported the Bill without amendments.

The Chairperson read out the motion of desirability and then considered the Bill clause by clause. This was agreed to.

The chairperson then put the following report to the Committee: "The Select Committee on Education and Recreation (NCOP), having considered the subject of the Education Laws Amendment Bill [B 48B-2000] (sec 76), referred to it, begs to report the bill without amendments. ". This was also agreed to.

Adult Basic Education and Training (Abet) [B 42b-2000]
Objectives of the Bill
To regulate adult basic education and training, to provide for the establishment, governance and funding of public adult learning centers; to provide for registration of private adult learning centers; to provide for quality assurance and quality promotion in adult basic education and training and to provide for transitional arrangements.

Deliberation
The Committee then proceeded to consider final mandates on the Bill.

Northern Cape: Bill agreed to but needed clarity on the financial implications to the Department. Mr Boshoff stated that this concern was dealt with at the negotiation process and re-iterated that there are no new cost implications to the Department as payment of salaries etc. have already been dealt with and is included in the budget of the province. Hidden costs may exist for the building capacity of a government body structure, but this will not be a huge cost.

Northern Province: supported the Bill but needed clarity on section 8(5) dealing with co-opted members. Mr Boshoff stated that it is up to the provinces to influence this result and due to the fact that situations differ in each province, it is left to each province in their own regulations to determine the number of co-opted members.

KwaZulu-Natal: supported the Bill subject to clarity on section 34 (b) dealing with the protocol issue. Mr Boshoff noted that this is a political decision.

The Committee however, decided to amend this section. It should omit "Head of Department" and substitute it with "Member of the Executive Council"

Mpumalanga: supported the Bill without amendments.

Gauteng: supported the Bill subject to clarity on section 21(1)(d)(a) dealing with governance of public centers. Mr Boshoff noted that based on the Tirisano announcement by the Minister, public schools are now the centre of the communities. This section deals with allocated funds to a public school.

Thus, in order to use school funds to service the community, this amendment was brought to list it as an allocated function.

Eastern Cape: supported the Bill without amendments.

North-West: Mr Thlagale noted that the relevant committee in his province is at the present moment busy deliberating on final mandates on this Bill.

Free State: supported the Bill without amendments.

Western Cape: supported the Bill without amendments.

The Chairperson read the motion of desirability, which was agreed to. The Committee then proceeded to consider the Bill clause by clause. The Committee agreed to the Bill.

The chairperson then put the following report to the Committee: "The Select Committee on Education and Recreation (NCOP), having considered the subject of the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill (ABET) [B 42 B-2000] (sec 76), referred to it, begs to report the bill with an amendment. "

Higher Education Amendment Bill [B 55b-2000]
Objectives of the Bill
To amend the Higher Education Act, 1997 so as to extend the power of the Minister of Education with regard to the determination of higher education policy, to provide that vacancies in the Council on Higher education are filled, to provide for the nominations to fill vacancies in the council, to provide that higher education institutions may not without the approval of it's full council or under certain circumstances, without the concurrence of the Minister, enter into a loan or overdraft agreement or develop infrastructure; to make further provision for information a council has to furnish to the Minister and to make provision for registration.

Deliberation
Mr Boshoff gave a brief overview of the Bill. The Committee then formally considered it.

The chairperson read out the motion of desirability to the Committee as follows. This was agreed to. However Mrs Witbooi stated that the NNP rejected the motion.

The Committee then proceeded to consider the Bill clause by clause, which was agreed to.

The chairperson then put the following report to the Committee: "The Select Committee on Education and Recreation (NCOP), having considered the subject of the Higher Education Amendment Bill [B 55B-2000] (sec 75), referred to it, begs to report that it agreed to the bill. "

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting.

PRESENT
Chairperson: Mr D M Kgware

EASTERN CAPE
Mr L Suka

FREE STATE
Rev M Chabaku
Ms S N Ntlabati

GAUTENG
Ms L Jacobus

KWAZULU-NATAL
Mr K Panday (special delegate)
Mr M Mthimkhulu (special delegate)

NORTHERN CAPE
Mr D M Kgware
Mr van Niekerk

NORTH - WEST
Mr J O Tlhagale

WESTERN CAPE
Mrs J Witbooi

The following apologies were received:
Ms C Nkuna

The following persons were in attendance:
Adv Boshoff, Director of Legal Services: Department of Education;
Mr E Segabutla, Parliamentary Officer; Department of Education;
Mr T Kulati, Department of Education;
Mr M E Mthimkhulu, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Education, KwaZulu-Natal;
Mr K Panday, member of the Standing Committee on Education, KwaZulu-Natal;
Ms M Abrahams, NEHAWU Parliamentary Officer.