Report
of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on its engagement with the Department
of Basic Education in
1. Background
1.1
During
the first few months of the fourth Parliament, time was allocated for Portfolio
Committees to focus on their mandate and that of the Department and entities
that the Committees oversee. In pursuit of this goal, the Portfolio Committee
on Basic Education travelled to
1.2
The
visit allowed the Portfolio Committee to engage and interact with the
Department at its head office, and gain insight into its day-to-day operations.
It also afforded the Committee the opportunity to meet officials from the
Department whom it would otherwise not have met.
1.3
The
workshop with the Department was conducted by way of presentations by senior
officials from the six branches of the Department of Basic Education. At the
introductory session, the Deputy Director General (DDG) in the
Director-General’s (DG) office, Ms Vivienne Carelse
provided a brief overview of the work of the Department. The presentations by
the representatives of the Department were followed by deliberations from
Members of the Committee. During the course of the two days, inputs were also
received from the Minister, Deputy Minister and DG.
1.4
This
report provides a brief summary of the presentations made by the Department to
the Committee, which focused mainly on key activities of the various branches,
their achievements and challenges in the previous financial year and their
current priorities.
2. Composition
of delegation
2.1
Parliamentary Delegation
2.1.1 The delegation from the Portfolio Committee
on Basic Education comprised of Ms F I Chohan MP
(Chairperson), Ms N Gina MP (ANC), Ms M
T Kubayi MP (ANC),
Ms N M Madlala
MP (ANC), Ms N P Mkhulisi MP (ANC), Ms A C Mashishi MP
(ANC), Dr J C Kloppers-Lourens MP (DA), Mr D C Smiles MP (DA), Ms A Mda
MP (Cope), Mr A M Mpontshane
MP (IFP) and Mr N M Kganyago MP
(UDM).
2.1.2 Administrative support for the visit
included Mr L Brown (Committee Secretary: Portfolio
Committee on Basic Education), Mr D Bandi (Content Advisor) and Mr V Mfuniselwa (Committee Assistant).
2.2 Department of Basic Education representation
2.2.1 The Department of Basic Education was
represented by Mr D Hindle
- Director-General, Ms V Carelse - Deputy
Director-General: Office of the Director-General, Prof V Mckay
– Chief Executive Officer: Kha Ri
Gude Literacy Project, Mr R
van den Heever – Parliamentary Liaison Officer
(Office of the Minister), Mr F Patel – Deputy
Director-General: System Planning and Monitoring, Ms P Vinjevold
– Deputy Director-General: Further Education and Training, Ms K Busisiwe – Branch Co-ordinator:
Office of the Director-General, Mr D Ngobeni – Director: Office of the Director-General, Mr A Schoeman – Chief Director:
Personnel Administration and Development, Mr T Tredoux – Acting
Chief Finance Officer, Ms T Khoza – Director:
Training and Social Responsibility, Ms G Maaka-Tlokana
– Director: Development Support, Mr A Mpanza – Chief Director: Information, Monitoring and
Evaluation, Mr S Padayachee
– Chief Director: Financial and Physical Planning and Analysis, Mr C Leukes – Director: Legal Services,
Mrs P Tyobeka – Deputy
Director-General: General Education and Training, Dr C Madiba
– Chief Director: Strategic Co-ordination and Support, Dr S Sithole
– Chief Director: Quality Promotion and Assurance, Dr W Green – Director:
Initial Teacher Education, Mr H Mahomed
– Director: Continuing
Professional Teacher Development, Mr J Ndlebe – Director: School Management and Governance, Ms M
Samuels – Director: Early Childhood Development Integrated Plan, Ms J Joshua –
Director: Foundations of Learning Campaign, Mr T Kojana – Chief Director: Social Inclusion in Education, Ms
N Xulu – Director: School Safety and Enrichment Programme, Mr D Diale – Director: ABET, Dr F Kumalo
– Chief Director: Health in Education, Ms S Panday:
Director: Health Promotion , Ms M Hleki – Director:
Gender Equity, Ms N Rakwena – Director: National
School Nutrition Programme, Dr S Mannah
– Director: Race and Values in Education, Mr G Coetzee – Director: Rural Education, Mr
G Jeppie – Chief Director: International Relations
and UNESCO, Dr G Whittle – Chief Director: Media Liaison and National and
Provincial Communication, Mr S Mlambo
– Chief Director: National and Provincial Co-ordination and Administration and
Ms C Gcasamba – Parliamentary Liaison Officer (Office
of the Director-General).
3. Site Tour of the New
3.1 The visit began with
the Parliamentary delegation being taken on site of the new Department of
Education building currently under construction in
4. Address by the Minister
4.1 The Minister in her address to the Committee expressed
appreciation of the Committee’s decision to visit the Department. She stated in
agreement with the Committee, that the visit would lay the foundation for a
close working relationship between the Department and the Committee, which is
vital for ensuring the effective delivery of services. Against the backdrop of
a global economic meltdown, the Minister outlined the key challenges facing government,
which included balancing the interests of the state and of educator unions,
particularly with reference to wage demands from teacher unions. She added that
despite some concerns the Department was preparing itself for the 2011
international benchmark assessment which would be
useful in measuring
4.2 The
Minister stressed that the core function of the department is to deliver on the
curriculum and that it is a priority for the Department and the advancement of
5. Branch: Administration
5.1 The Branch has the
following Chief Directorates:
5.1.1 Strategic Co-ordination and Support
The main purpose of the
Chief Directorate is to integrate all planning of the Department with the
strategic objectives of the organisation.
5.1.2 Personnel Administration and Development
This Chief Directorate renders a professional human resource service which
includes adherence to new initiatives. The directorates that support this Chief
Directorate are Staffing Services, Internal Training, Social Responsibility and
Labour Relations and Human Resource Support to
Provinces.
5.1.3
Financial Support Services
This Chief
Directorate ensures sound financial management of the Department and the
development of policy and co-ordination of education and training. The directorate
also renders budgetary support and an advice service to provincial education
departments. It is supported by the following directorates – Financial
Services, Provincial Budget Monitoring and Development Support
5.1.4
Internal Audit
This Chief Directorate evaluates and monitors the efficacy of risk management
controls and governance processes in the Department and its public entities.
The reporting line is to the accounting officer of the Department.
5.2 The branch provides
administrative support to the line functions in the Department as well as
administrative support in the Office of the Minister, the Deputy Minister and
the Director-General. The following services are also provided:
- Personnel
- Financial
- Logistical
- Security
- Asset management
The above
functions include services such as tender administration, budgetary processes,
staff recruitment, cleaning and other auxiliary services.
5.3 Achievements
Achievements
of the branch include the following:
5.3.1 receiving unqualified
audit reports for the past few years;
5.3.2 achieving the 2%
disability employment equity target and being
fully
representative of all racial and gender groups;
5.3.3 assisting
provincial education departments with budgeting and human resource matters; and
5.3.4 being
close to the completion of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) project in
regard to the new office building.
5.4 Challenges
5.4.1 The
main challenges are the splitting of the Department into two: the Department of Basic Education and the
Department of Higher Education and Training while simultaneously rendering an
agency service on corporate matters to both departments until 31 March 2010
without an increase in the staff complement of the unit.
5.4.2 The Acting Chief Financial
Officer (CFO) warned that while the Department usually obtains a non-qualified
audit, the pace at which the splitting has to happen and given the lack of
capacity in the unit a qualified audit could be expected in this financial
year.
5.5 Deliberations
The
Committee raised issues related to responses to parliamentary questions and the
ability of the Department to respond. It also requested details regarding the
contingency plans in place due to the split of the DoE
into two new departments. In respect of Parliamentary questions, Department
officials indicated that there was a central point for receiving them and the
Minister was responsible for signing them off.
6. Branch: Systems Planning and Monitoring
6.1 The branch comprises of 4 Chief
Directorates:
· Education Human Resources Management
· Information, Monitoring and
Evaluation
· Financial and Physical Planning and
Analysis
· Legal and Legislative Services
6.1.1 Education Human Resources Management
Education Human Resource Planning, Provisioning and Monitoring
This directorate includes human resource
planning for educators at schools at schools, provisioning norms for educators
and support staff at schools and the effective human resource management in
provinces
Educator
Performance Management and Development
This directorate includes the monitoring of the
performance of educators and the facilitation of the establishment of an
external unit to evaluate the performance of schools – National Education
Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU).
Education Labour
Relations and Conditions of Service
This directorate is tasked with
the improvement of conditions of service and expediting the filling of posts at
schools.
6.1.2 Information, Monitoring and
Evaluation
The main
purpose of the Chief Directorate is to develop, maintain and support a national
education information system, to design, develop and monitor operational systems
for education policy and coordinate research, monitoring and evaluation of various
education policies. The structure of the Chief Directorate is as follows:
Education Management Systems (
This directorate develops systems to support
the integrated Education Management Information System (EMIS) and develops
systems and procedures to support education policy implementation.
Education Management Information Systems
(EMIS)
This
directorate implements and reports on the implementation of the Education
Information Policy and develops and maintains an Integrated Education
Management Information System based on individual learner records.
Research Coordination, Monitoring and
Evaluation
This directorate develops and implements a monitoring and evaluation
framework for education using macro service delivery and other indicators. The
directorate also facilitates and undertakes research and analyses to support
planning processes in the Department. This includes development of sector indicators,
programme performance measures and reporting on macro
indicators, service delivery indicators and development indicators to the Presidency.
National Human Resource Development
This directorate implements a human resource
development strategy for
6.1.3 Financial and Physical Planning
and Analysis
The main
purpose of this Chief Directorate is to analyze the medium to long range financing
and physical resource and provisioning of education in
6.1.4 Legal and Legislative Services
This Chief
Directorate has two directorates i.e. Legal Services and Legislative Services.
The Legislative Services Directorate
assists in assigning the statutory functions of the Ministers and ensures that
the two new Departments are functioning within the legal ambit. It also creates
and monitors a legislative framework for the education system where
quality education can be provided in institutions to learners and students. The
directorate also processes legislation assigned to the new Minister and drafts
new legislation applicable to education – thus ensuring that the procedure to
table draft Bills is properly managed.
The Legal
Services Directorate also manages all litigation of the Department. It
monitors, co-ordinates and evaluates litigation in the provincial education departments.
It scrutinises and provides advice and co-ordinates
complaints of a legal nature. The focus of litigation in the next five
years will be to identify litigation risk to the education system and manage
such risk in order to limit court cases and legal costs in the system.
6.2 Achievements
Achievements
of the Branch include:
·
School Realities 2008
and Education Statistics 2007 were published and disseminated to all
schools in
·
Standard SC006, which provides a standard
for education terms and definitions, was approved by the Council of Education
Ministers (CEM) and it will go out for public comment subsequent to the
recommendation of HEDCOM. The item is on the agenda of the HEDCOM meeting of 31
August – 1 September 2009;
·
the audit of the Education Management
Information Systems (EMIS) data for 2008 was completed;
·
the
Data Dictionary (a dictionary explaining the use of terms, especially in the
EMIS context) is ready to be gazetted for public
comments;
·
Data Quality Assessment Framework
Report compiled by UNESCO gave the Department a score of 77% in data management;
·
GIS (Spatial Analysis) and Statistics
Unit were set up. The Department is able to portray schools on a GIS system,
which enable spatial analysis (analysing data using geographic positions such
as provinces, regions, districts, municipalities, wards etc) on a visualised
mapping environment;
·
the
Revised Human Resource Development Strategy for
·
the
development of the Learner Unit Record Information and Tracking System (LURITS)
which is now in the implementation phase;
·
successful
ongoing maintenance and enhancement of the South African Schools Administration
System (SA-SAMS) and support to provinces for the rollout of SA-SAMS to schools;
·
the
Business Intelligence (BI) reporting layer (a data integration and reporting
layer built on Business Object Software) and the DoE
Data warehouse with GIS functionality has been developed; and
·
Learner
Attendance Policy and Procedures was published for public comments in the Government
Gazette 32414 of 17 July 2009. The closing date to submit comments was 11
August 2009.
6.3 Deliberations
The
Committee raised a number of issues pertaining to the briefing. These related
to the salary structure of educators, qualifications of early childhood development
(ECD) teachers, the employment of foreign teachers and the posting of the
external Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) moderators and their
location. These are outlined below.
6.3.1 Salary structure of educators
A concern
was expressed that there is no uniform salary structure for educators in place,
particularly regarding ECD teachers. The Committee suggested that this matter
be reviewed.
6.3.2 Qualifications of ECD teachers
In
regard to the matter of the qualifications of ECD educators, the department responded
that the White Paper 5 outlined their required qualifications. The Committee
noted that there was a need for all teachers of Grade R programmes
(whether in schools or ECD centres) to have access to
the same professional development and curriculum support materials.
6.3.3 Employment of foreign teachers
The
employment of foreign teachers was raised and the Department was asked why some
qualified educators were employed in temporary positions. The DDG concurred
that there was a need to reduce the number of temporary teachers and emphasised that the Department was committed to the
achievement of this goal.
6.3.4
Posting of external IQMS moderators
and their location
In
response to the enquiry about the posting of the 76 external moderators for the
purpose of moderating IQMS outcomes and their location, the Department
indicated that although the moderators were appointed at national level, they
were based in rural areas.
7. Branch:
General Education and Training
7.1 The
Branch consists of 4 Chief Directorates:
·
NCS
Implementation: Grades R – 9
·
Teacher
Education (Initial Teacher Education and Training; Continuing Professional
Development; Teacher Qualifications and Programmes)
·
Institutional
Development (School Management and Governance; District Development and
Support)
·
Quality
Promotion and Support (Systemic Evaluation;
Special programmes within this directorate include QIDS UP and
Foundation for Learning Campaign.
7.2 A curriculum implementation
committee has been established comprising members of the curriculum review
committee, teachers and union representatives. Their main focus is on the clarity
of curriculum expectations and implementation challenges; teacher
administrative workload and Intermediate Phase Curriculum.
7.3 With teachers in the
Foundation Phase the focus is on guiding resourcing
and teacher classroom activities. Guidelines were provided on Grade R classroom
lay-out, resources and daily teaching activities. Currently underway are
country-wide workshops with Foundation Phase curriculum advisors.
7.4 There is a move to strengthening
literacy and numeracy teaching through Foundations for Learning and the monitoring of
learner performance.
7.5 The focus on “Special
Schools” is to ensure quality through guidelines with respect to
infrastructure, learning programmes, resources and
teacher capacity. Schools identified as under stress in the 2002 audit have
been prioritised. Teacher training is focused on
Braille and Sign Language for all schools catering for learners with these
needs.
7.6 Deliberations
The
Committee members deliberated on the content of presentations pertaining to the
GET branch and discussed, amongst others, the following:
·
the concern of underperformance in literacy and numeracy;
·
the need to have competent teachers who teach
effectively with a thorough knowledge and practice of the curriculum;
·
the need to know the subject areas teachers should
qualify in;
·
the need to acquire funding to train teachers; and
·
the need for adequate
training within districts.
8. Kha Ri Gude (South African Mass Literacy
Campaign)
8.1 The Campaign was launched on 28
February 2008, The Kha Ri Gude Unit was
established as an “arms length” Unit to enable it to respond timeously to the imperatives of Campaign implementation.
The organogram of the Unit provides for the Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Operations Officer, four Directors and four administrative
support staff. The Kha Ri Gude Unit is supported
by an external administrative agency (SAB&T) to assist with procurement as
well as data, financial, project and human resource management.
Kha
Ri Gude is a mass literacy
campaign aimed at enabling 4,7 million South Africans
to become literate, in one of the eleven official languages including Braille
and Sign language, by 2012. In 2008, some 360 000 learners were reached whilst
620 000 learners are reached in 2009. Learners are able to read, write and
calculate in their mother tongue. The campaign also provides 40 000 volunteers
with a stipend income. Kha Ri Gude is available at no
cost to learners. Classes are held in communities, at times convenient to the
learners, and take place in homes, churches and schools.
8.2 Achievements
Achievements
of the Campaign include:
· Kha Ri Gude will have one million new literates by the end of 2009;
· the Campaign contributes to poverty
alleviation by paying stipends to the unemployed volunteers;
· the development of original
highly-rated literacy materials in all 11 official South African languages and
Braille;
· financial systems and risk management
processes are operational;
· the development of monitoring &
evaluation systems to ensure quality control and assurance of all Campaign
activities;
· approximately 80% of the learners
completing and returning their assessment portfolio;
· administrative & management tools
such as forms, registers, educators’ reports, and monthly reporting templates
are developed;
· the databases for registering all
learners, volunteer educators, supervisors and coordinators are populated;
· statistical and demographic profiles
of learners and volunteers are updated on a weekly basis; and
· interactions with UNESCO, the
8.3 Challenges
Some of the systemic
challenges include:
· insufficient funding to meet the
demand, which delays time frames of the Campaign;
· the need to reduce the per capita
cost by 50%;
· confusion of the role of Kha Ri Gude
in relation to ABET level 1 in the respective provincial education departments;
· accessing suitable sites;
· outreach for the blind and deaf in
rural areas;
· the time lag between receiving claims
and verifying and paying volunteers;
· incorrect numbers and/or IDs of
volunteers;
· a very high bank return rate of 52% –
(after a huge payment is made into the bank account for the payment of
volunteers, 52% is returned due to incorrect initials or incorrect branch
codes);
· banks not being attuned to the needs
of the poor such as closing accounts which are deemed to be dormant; and
· sustainable solutions to these operational
challenges are being found and challenges were reduced from 52% in 2008 to 16%
in 2009.
8.4 Deliberations
Members of the Committee commended the Kha Ri Gude unit for running an impressive cost-effective campaign
that is well on course to achieving its targets.
The Committee highlighted the need for other branches to draw lessons from the
successes of this campaign, especially regarding the need for every primary school
learner to have access to a workbook or manual.
9. Branch: Social and School Enrichment
9.1 The branch has 3 Chief Directorates
i.e. Equity in Education, Health in Education and Social Inclusion. The aim is
to provide strategic direction in the provision of quality education by
promoting social transformation, justice and cohesion, as well as South African
identity in the education system.
9.1.1 Equity in Education
This
Chief Directorate monitors equity in the education system, and develop national
programmes that are responsive to changes in schools,
with the overall goal of ensuring quality education and education support programmes in all schools. It ensures that all South
Africans regardless of race, gender and
socio-economic status gain access to quality education. The directorates in
this Chief Directorate are Gender Equity, Race and Values and Rural Education.
9.1.2 Health in Education
This
Chief Directorate develops and guides the implementation of policies and
programmes and coordinates and monitors the implementation of the National
School Nutrition Programme. It also promotes healthy lifestyles and educates
learners and educators towards risk-free behaviour. It coordinates the
development and implementation of an integrated comprehensive HIV response by
the department. Two directorates fall under this Chief Directorate: Health
Promotion and National School Nutrition Programmes.
9.1.3 Social Inclusion
This Chief
Directorate ensures access and participation by all learners in school
enrichment, adult literacy and ABET programmes. Its
three directorates include Adult Education and Training, Adult Literacy and
School and Social Enrichment Programmes.
9.2 Achievements
Achievements
for this Chief Directorate include:
· an
overall gender parity in education, with the focus being on quality;
· the
prevention of discrimination towards pregnant learners and young mothers;
· a
coordinated approach to managing gender-based violence in the education system
directed by the Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Sexual
Harassment and Violence, produced in 2008;
· the
production of support materials for teachers on learner pregnancy and sexual
harassment and violence: Genderations;
· initiated
the mainstreaming of care and support for teaching and learning in public
schools across all provinces;
· care
and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) adopted as a SADC programme;
· facilitated
early identification of health barriers to teaching and learning and the alleviation
of their impact;
· promoted
healthy lifestyle choices amongst secondary school learners;
· peer
education successfully piloted;
· information
and educational materials (e.g. Health Mate) published and distributed;
· 6
359 901 learners in quintiles 1-3 primary schools have access to meals; and
· 806
240 learners in quintile 1 secondary schools received meals from April 2009.
9.3 Challenges
One of the
main challenges facing the Chief Directorate is the absence of
a national policy or standardized approach for the implementation of Section 14
Agreements at public schools situated on private property. Section 14
Agreements are agreements regulating the provision of public schools on private
property between the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) and the owner of a
private property, as provided for in the South African schools Act No.84 of
1996.
9.4 Deliberations
The Committee raised a number of issues related to
rural schools, learner pregnancies, teachers affected by HIV and AIDS. These
are briefly outlined below.
9.4.1 Rural schools
The issue of whether there
was an agreed definition of rural schools was raised. In response, the DDG
responsible for the branch explained that rural schools generally referred to
smaller schools on farms, poorly resourced schools and those with multi-grade
classes which could be located anywhere. The Committee also enquired whether
e-learning has ever been considered as a mode of teaching and learning in rural
schools since highly qualified teachers rarely teach at rural schools. The
department acknowledged that many teachers who teach in these schools do not live
in the area and stated that it was exploring incentives which would encourage
teachers to reside closer to these schools.
9.4.2 Learner pregnancies
The DDG
indicated that the Minister of Basic Education was convening a meeting on 28
August 2009 to discuss findings of a study on learner pregnancies.
9.4.3 Teachers affected by HIV and
AIDS
In light of a 2004 findings that 12.7% of South African educators were HIV
positive, the issue of support measures to teachers affected by HIV and AIDS
was raised. The department agreed that little was done to address this matter
and noted that in future it would intensify measures for addressing this issue.
10. Branch: Further Education and Training
10.1 The aim of the Branch is
to improve the quality of learning and teaching in Grades 10 - 12 through the support
of curriculum delivery in schools. It also plans to enhance learner
participation and high level performance in Mathematics and Science in Grade 10
– 12. There was a strategy to harness the potential ICT to support the curriculum
and strengthen e-Education initiatives.
10.2 Support for the NCS Grades 10 – 12
includes the following:
·
monitoring
on the provision of quality learner materials;
·
teacher
and subject advisor training in subject content;
·
to
support and strengthen the teaching of Life Orientation; and
·
to
develop and plan for expanding specialist subjects in poor areas
10.3 There is a 3-phase approach to the
transformation of Technical Colleges:
·
Phase 1: Restructuring the Institutional
Landscape of Colleges;
·
Phase
2: Revamping existing curricula and implementing curriculum programmes
that are responsive to the needs of the economy and society; and Phase 3: Implementation
of governance, management and funding systems that are sensitive to colleges of
transformation.
10.4 Between 2006 – 2008, there was an
allocation of R 1,9 billion for the re- capitalisation of colleges. R 50 million was provided for
the planning of the recapitalisation of the 50
colleges. This period also saw the implementation of of
the National Certificate (Vocational) of Levels 2, 3 and 4.
10.5 The new vocational programmes
consist of seven subjects: Language, Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy, Life
Skills with a strong IT component and four vocational subjects. The programmes run over one year for a full- time student.
10.6 Student support allows for increased
student access into FET Colleges and to improve student retention. The focus is
as follows:
·
pre-entry
support - career guidance, selection and placement, student code of conduct and
orientation;
·
on-course
support - academic support, financial assistance through provision of bursaries
and personal support; and
·
Exit-support
– student tracking, articulation into Higher Education, self-employment and
employment.
10.7
Challenges
faced included the following:
·
the
new National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination, with new subjects and
different pass requirements;
·
new
Integrated Examination Computer System (IECS);
·
a
larger volume of candidates;
·
examinations
commenced one month later to maximise teaching time –
this reduced the time to process results from 47 days to 27 days;
·
the
previous programme did not specify the component of
school-based assessment – resulting in a casual approach by learners, teachers
and schools;
·
IECS
only accepted computer generated mark sheets this year; and
·
candidates changing courses at a late stage.
The overall
findings of the Ministerial Committee were that: “the delay in the release
of the results of the 26 737 candidates could not be attributed to a single
factor but a collection of variables that impacted on the examination processes
and procedures”.
10.8 Deliberations
The Committee commended the NSC examination unit for running an effective
examination system. With regard to FET colleges, it was raised strongly with
the department that these should be in the main practically orientated. A view
was also expressed about the need for the introduction of more options to
school leavers.
11. Branch: Office of the Director-General
11.1 The Branch comprises of the following
Chief Directorates:
·
Ministerial Services;
·
Media Liaison and National and Provincial Communication;
·
International Relations and UNESCO; and
·
National and Provincial Coordination
11.2 Ministerial
Services
The functions in the Ministry are
interrelated to the Office of the Deputy Minister and the Office of the
Director-General especially regarding the following matters:
· parliamentary services;
· Cabinet documents;
· the Council of
Education Ministers;
· ministerial management
meetings; and
· minister’s meeting
with senior management;
· multilateral meetings;
· domestic and international
travel;
· institutional visits;
and
· stakeholder liaison.
11.3 Media
Liaison and National and Provincial Communications
This Chief Directorate provides the following key
communications services to the Minister and the Department:
·
events management;
·
media monitoring;
·
brand management;
·
on-line communications; and
·
internal communications.
Branding
and brand development are key aspects of the communications function. GCIS has finalized the new logos of the two
departments and the logos will then be incorporated on all stationery (business
cards, letterheads, etc). The website
will also be re-branded.
A series of public engagements and
meetings with key stakeholders will be arranged to introduce the Ministers to
the key stakeholders in the sector. This “listening campaign” will also
position the new Minister as responsive to the needs of the sector.
Coordination
and consistent messaging are key aspects of effective communications services.
Ministers and DGs are our primary messengers and all
media related engagements (statements, responses, briefings, etc) must be
signed off by either the DG or Ministers. On technical/professional issues, DDGs are allowed to communicate with the media.
Generally the media, and the
education journalistic corps, have been very supportive of the efforts of the
department to improve the quality of education for all. It is important to
build partnerships with a range of media platforms (both mainstream and
community-based) in order to ensure the presence of government/departmental
messages in the public space. A focus on good practice in the education system
and showcasing success are key ingredients in this regard.
11.4 National
and Provincial Co-ordination and Administration
|
This Chief Directorate deals inter alia with mediating disputes referred to it from
provincial departments relating to pensions, salaries and appointments as
well as general queries from provincial administrations. |
|
Information ·
liaise with provincial departments regarding
speeches, reports, and parliamentary questions; ·
liaise with the Office of the Public Protector; ·
liaise with Pensions Chief Directorate (Finance); ·
liaise with provinces; and ·
establish indicators. |
|
Customer Care Centre |
|
· manage the
Departmental Customer Care; and · compile reports. Provincial visits |
|
· conduct
provincial visits for investigations and meetings; and · compile reports on
observations and findings. |
11.5 International Relations and UNESCO
This Chief Directorate is
charged with the co-ordination and monitoring of the Department of Education’s
international obligations and commitments. On
The Department’s
international relations activities are guided by the government’s foreign
policy; hence it maintains a close working relationship with the Department of
Foreign Affairs, and all other relevant government departments and stakeholders
working towards furthering
The DoE
views its international relations as an important means of sharing ideas,
learning from the experiences of other countries and enlisting the support
needed to speed up the process of transformation. The DoE
is committed to mutual educational collaboration, both with individual
countries and multilateral organisations, to provide
a global dimension to the DoE’s policy makers,
thereby ensuring that they have access to the best international practices, and
also to share our experiences and expertise.
Each relationship and
agreement entered into is thoroughly scrutinised in
order to ensure that it is in line with the DoE’s
priorities by taking into account its human and financial implications. This is
done to protect
11.6. Deliberations
The Committee
welcomed the Branch’s intention to develop a more structured approach in
communicating its services, particularly in respect to the communication of the
National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) bursaries and loans to schools. A
view was expressed to the effect that it is crucial to include constituency
offices as part of the communication structures.
12. Conclusion
12.1 Based
on the deliberations with the Department, the Committee concluded the following:
·
Learner outcomes particularly in Foundation and Intermediate
phases are not of the desired standard. Hence the
Committee welcomes initiatives by the Department to improve the quality of
education at schools, including the Foundations for Learning Campaign which
aims to increase every child’s performance in literacy and numeracy
in Grades R – 6 by at least 50% by 2011.
However, while the Department was commended for these initiatives, the
Committee expressed the need for each branch within the department to learn
from achievements of other branches. In particular, in the Committee’s opinion,
the General Education and Training Branch should draw lessons from the
successful Kha Ri
Gude approach of teaching literacy and numeracy. The success of Kha Ri Gude
is due to the comprehensive and tailor-made manuals that are used by volunteer
teachers and learners. It was noted that there was a paucity of such manuals
being used at Foundation and Intermediate Phases and that the Department should
urgently address this matter if the literacy and numeracy
levels are to be improved in schools. The Committee was assured by the DG in
his closing remarks that the Presidency has noted this point and was preparing to obtain funds for
the development of such manuals. The Committee requires a progress report in
this regard and will require regular reports from the Department on the matter
of gains in quality outcomes in schools over the next five years.
·
The level of support provided to schools by district offices
was a matter of concern to Members. It was apparent that the Committee needs to
undertake a visit to some of the districts and provincial head offices.
·
The Chairperson requested that members of the Committee
contact at least two schools in their constituency and check if they had
received all documentation on the “Foundation for Learning Campaign”. Members
of the Committee are to report back in writing on their findings.
·
The Committee resolved to call a meeting on the subject of
literacy and numeracy competence of school-leavers and
invite the Department and authors of the report showing low literacy and numeracy competence at first year university level, to
engage in Parliament.
12.2 It was agreed that the Department would
supply the Committee with the following
information:
·
a comprehensive list of all relevant key stakeholders;
·
quarterly budget reports to Treasury;
·
a quarterly update on all vacancies throughout the country;
·
a draft legislative programme;
·
a report on all funding received from sources outside of the
South African government (conditions and value) as well as a report on the
Millennium Goals;
·
a list of all textbooks/workbooks that were compulsory for
use by students in all grades, including prices and publishers; and
·
3 sets of Kha Ri Gude manuals in English.
Report to be
considered.