For the 2004/05 financial year the following conditional grants have been allocated to Department:

The following conditional grants have been allocated to education for the 2003/04 financial year:

Issues to be discussed by the Select Committee on Finance are as follows:

Funds allocated for FMQE, ECD and HIV/Aids were transferred to provinces as scheduled for the 2002/03 financial year. However, some transfer payments scheduled for October 2002, were delayed for 30 days or more, owing to low spending in the provinces. In these cases the Department complied with Section 21 of the Division of Revenue Act, 2002, by informing National Treasury about the delay in payments and also obtaining approval for delaying payments for more than 30 days.

The transfers were made into the provincial exchequer accounts, as prescribed, except in April 2002 when transfers were mistakenly made into the bank accounts of five of the provincial education departments. Written confirmation was received from the provincial education departments concerned that these funds had been transferred to the provincial exchequer accounts.

In the beginning of the 2002/03 financial year the Department submitted certificates of compliance to National Treasury for the three conditional grants as required. Monthly reports were submitted to National Treasury on the 20th of the following month. However, in some cases the provincial education departments did not comply with the requirement that they submit their reports to the Department on the 15th of the following month. This inefficiency was discussed during meetings with our provincial counterparts and has also been addressed in letters to the heads of education departments.

The purpose of this conditional grant is to provide children eligible for the Reception Year with access to a quality education and care programme, particularly in poor communities. This was a three-year programme and it will end on 31 March 2004.

Achievements to date:

This conditional grant was introduced in 1998/99 as a special intervention in the education system to improve financial management and the quality of education in schools. In particular, this conditional grant was aimed at:

Several aspects on the past performance of the Conditional Grants Programme need to be highlighted and this also proves the importance of the grant and the impact it has made on the education system in South Africa.

• Leadership and management training provided to district officials, school management teams and governing bodies to assist in turning around dysfunctional schools.
• Whole school evaluation, improved school record keeping, quarterly reports on school attendance and school supervision.
• Regular assessment of learner performance
• Improvement of school safety
• Improvement of the Senior Certificate examination results
• Professional development of school principals, with emphasis on the introduction of new appointees
• The capabilities of educators to develop appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes to deliver the curriculum were enhanced by capacity building sessions. These sessions ultimately filtered through to the learners and resulted in a general increase in the Grade 12 pass rate.
• Educators received training in the teaching methodologies and content of Mathematics and Science and became more confident to pass on this knowledge to learners. The learners also became more interested in these high-risk subjects and the pass rate improved.
• Community members who participated in the projects to improve the school environment have gained experience and knowledge in managing projects and benefited financially.
• Working systems and processes, including financial systems, procurement procedures and personnel matters.
• With regard to the monitoring and co-ordination of the programme, the Department succeeded in establishing a management system that ensured the timeous development and evaluation of business plans before the start of the implementation stage of the projects.
• The Department has been afforded a unique opportunity by the grant to work closely with provincial departments of education. Due to the collaborative nature of the projects funded from the grant, the Department of Education has forged close links with provincial education departments in the area of planning and the implementation of projects funded from the grant. This has made a significant contribution to the concept of national and provincial co-operative governance.
• The grant has also made a significant contribution in developing project management capacity of both national and provincial education officials. This ranges from managing large sums of funds in projects to improved planning, implementation and the monitoring of projects. On the whole, the conditional grant has created a sharp awareness of the centrality of these management functions in the creation of an efficient public education system.

The goals of this grant are to deliver a curriculum-based Life Skills and HIV/AIDS education programme in primary and secondary schools, and to ensure access to an appropriate and effective integrated system of prevention, care and support for children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. This forms part of the overall National Integrated Plan for Children and Youth affected and infected with HIV and AIDS (NIP).

Achievements to date;

The tables below illustrate some improvements in the financial performance of the grants in the national and provincial departments of education.

*Until 31 January 2004

*Until 24 February 2004

*Until 31 January 2004

*Until 24 February 2004

*Until 31 January 2004

*Until 24 February 2004

This project was implemented in the 2001/02 financial year for a three-year period from

2001/02 to 2003/04. It is a grant-in-kind to the provinces and was managed at national level.

The purpose of this special allocation was to address infrastructure needs in identified nodal

areas, job creation, skills transfer and supporting of SMMEs

During the 2003/04 financial year nine schools, one in each province have been completed at all sites other than Gauteng. Some of these schools have already been officially opened. Unfortunately, despite many measures, progress on the Gauteng site continues to be slow. In discussions between the CSIR, the site team, and Gauteng Department of Education it has been agreed that notice of cancellation of contract should be issued to the contractor. During the notice period detailed monitoring would take place of progress on site and a recommendation to continue or cancel the contract be obtained.

The low spending trend on this programme was due to the fact that the project was delayed mainly as a result of the following:

• Extensive consultation with stakeholders;
• Rainy weather conditions delayed some of the construction phases of the project;
• SMMEs could not provide contractors with building materials in time. A delay of six weeks was also experienced in Mpumalanga as a result of this.
• In the Eastern Cape there was a shortage of gravel, owing to the fact that the Department of Roads had purchased all available gravel. Contractors also experienced cash flow problems.
• The kwazulu-Natal project was delayed because a new site had to be purchased and zoned for education. Learners could reach the original site only by crossing a very busy and dangerous road. This delayed the project for at least nine months.
• Limpopo experienced a water problem.

This project is a poverty relief project, which was implemented in the 2001/02 financial year. It is also a grant-in-kind to the provinces and was managed at national level. The overall goal of the project is to provide access to skills development in General Education and Training for adult learners, to enhance their social and economic capacity.

The following progress was made on this project:

• Educators have been trained in SMME and agriculture during school holidays

The low spending trend on this programme was due to the fact that the project experienced a

delay in some of the mechanisms that had to be put into place to deliver the services in the

An under-spending of above R30 million is anticipated for the 2003/04 financial year. However, the Department is currently in the process of negotiating with National Treasury and four SETAs to utilise the funds via SETA training contracts. Depending on these negotiations, the unspent funds could either be transferred to the SETAs or will not be utilised.

No audited statements are available for 2003/04. However the audited figures for 2002/03 are provided on the attached schedules. The current year's figures are also provided on separate schedules.

The basis for monitoring of the conditional grants is the business plans, which are evaluated by the Department and approved by the Accounting Officer. The grants are monitored and coordinated by the Department by means of inter-provincial meetings, which are held once every two months. These meetings are scheduled to discuss progress on projects under the programme. Provincial visits are also carried out by national project managers in collaboration with provincial colleagues using mutually agreed upon criteria.

The monitoring and co-ordination process is further strengthened by the submission of monthly financial reports and quarterly progress reports to the Department. These reports need to be in compliance with the requirements of the annual Division of Revenue Act and the Public Finance Management Act. Monthly reporting is done in the prescribed format and must be signed by the accounting officers of the respective provincial education departments. These reports offer important information on progress made, expenditure per project, problems or constraints and other issues, which might need urgent attention in order to ensure successful implementation.

The measurable objectives for this programme are the following:

• Additional 400 master trainers to be trained

• Additional training of 10 000 educators to deliver programme to learners

• Verified reporting of implementation of the life skills programmes in schools
• Peer education, care and support programmes implemented in selected schools in nodal areas
• Verified reporting of implementation of the life skills programmes in schools
• Peer education, care and support programmes implemented in selected schools in nodal areas
• National evaluation of Life Skills Programme/conditional grant

This conditional grant will be transferred to the Department on 1 April 2004 from the Department of Health.

The measurable objectives for this programme are the following:

For information pertaining to this grant please see Annexure A.

PSNP ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

INFORMATION ON FEEDING SCHOOLS PER DISTRICT