REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND RECREATION ON THE BRIEFING
BY
1. Background and Overview
1.1. The
Select Committee on Education and Recreation having
considered the directive of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to
consider and report on the intervention by the Department of Basic Education in
the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDOE) reports
to the House as follows:
2. Introduction
2.1. On 17 March 2011,
the Minister for Basic Education tabled a notice of intervention to the Eastern
Cape Education Department in terms of Section 100 (1) (b) of the Constitution
(Act 108 of 1996) to the National Council of Provinces. Subsequent to that, the
notice of intervention was referred to the Select Committee on Education and
Recreation for consideration and reporting in accordance with Rule 101. In
compliance with the Council referral, the Select Committee had a briefing
meeting on 23 March 2011 with the Department of Basic Education to consider the
referred notice by the National Council of Provinces.
3. Intervention to the Eastern Cape Education
Department
3.1. The Director-General of the Department of Basic Education made a
presentation to the Select Committee on Education and Recreation. The
presentation focused on the following: background of the intervention; scope and nature of the
intervention and progress made since the date of the intervention.
3.2 According
to the Director- General, the ECDOE has been plagued by many serious problems
over the years and the manifestation of severe challenges has been a recurring
problem.
3.3. The most recent challenges in
the Eastern Cape Education Department have manifested themselves in the
following areas:
·
Over-expenditure of the budget for compensation of employees,
because the province failed over a number of years to effectively comply with
policies and norms and standards related to Educator Post Provisioning. The problem
has placed an enormous strain on the overall budget for education in the province
and this has also impacted on the province's overall budget and spending
trends;
·
Failure to provide textbooks and stationery to section
20 schools in the province due to poor management of the procurement process;
·
Sudden suspension of the scholar transport programme
due to over-spending. The situation arose due to poor implementation of policy,
·
Termination of the School Nutrition Programme (SNP)
before the end of the financial year due to non-compliance with policy; poor
management of the budget; and poor supply chain management processes,
·
Failure to effectively implement the school
infrastructure development programme. This has resulted in funding earmarked
for school infrastructure being returned to the National Treasury.
I.
It was noted that the serious problem of educator
provisioning has been around for a number of years and, for all of this time,
it has had a particularly adverse impact on budgeting and expenditure. In its
current manifestation, this problem has plunged the ECDOE into an untenable
situation. It was reported that the provincial department does not have the
capacity and enabling conditions to mount an effective turnaround of these
serious challenges.
II.
Given the recurring nature of the problems in the
ECDOE and based on the findings of various reviews, it is clear that the
current high-profile problems are symptoms of serious underlying problems in
the department. Any effort to bring about a sustainable turnaround of the
department must effectively identify and remediate all of the critical and
systemic underlying problems in the department.
III.
It must be highlighted that there are many positive
conditions and achievement for which the ECDOE should receive due recognition.
The number of candidates in the 2010 NSC examination who qualified for
admission to study for a bachelors degree increased from 13.9% in 2009 to 16%
in 2010 - this on top of a 7% improvement in the overall result.
IV. It has the
second highest percentage for Grade 1 learners who received formal Grade R - at
68%. The province performed better than four other provinces in the 2007
Systemic Evaluation. This confirms that certain parts of the system are working.
V. However, it has become clear that the
overall conditions in education in the province amount to a serious challenge
in terms of compliance with national policy, minimum norms and standards for
education service delivery, the obligations arising from the Constitution, the National Education Policy, 1996 (Act No 27
of 1996); the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No.84 of 1996) and relevant
regulations formulated in terms of these statutes.
VI. Following consultations with the Premier
of Eastern Cape, Noxolo Kiviet and the MEC for Education, Mandla Makupula, the
ruling party, coupled with the Education Ministry’s visit to the
VII.
In
view of the seriousness of these challenges, the Minister of Basic Education, Ms
A Motshekga was obliged, in terms of her statutory obligations to take the
steps required to ensure a sustainable turnaround of basic education in the
VIII. In pursuance of the above, the President
directed the Minister of Basic Education to table the matter for discussion at
the Cabinet meeting of 2 March 2011. The meeting of Cabinet resolved that the
Minister of Basic Education would, in terms of Section 100 (1) (b) of The
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996), assume
responsibility for those obligations that the ECDOE have failed in achieving
minimum standards of service delivery.
IX.
Cabinet
directed that Section 100 of the constitution be used in order to provide the
required constitutional and legal authority for this intervention. Cabinet was
of the view that this intervention should be implemented in the spirit of
cooperative governance.
4. Scope and nature of the intervention
Section 100 (1) in Chapter 5 of the
Constitution of Republic South Africa provides that:
When a province
cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of the Constitution
or legislation, the national executive may intervene by taking any appropriate
steps to ensure fulfilment of that obligation, including–
(a) issuing a directive to the provincial
executive, describing the extent of the failure to fulfil its obligations and
stating any steps required to meet its obligations; and
(b) assuming responsibility for the relevant
obligation in that province to the extent necessary to-
(i) maintain
essential national standards or meet established minimum standards for the
rendering of a service;
(iv) prevent that province from taking
unreasonable action that is prejudicial to the interests of another province or to the country as a whole.
I.
The aims of the turnaround strategy are two-fold:
firstly to stabilize the education system in the province in the short term and
secondly to address decisively the administrative, management and systemic
challenges over a longer period.
II.
It was reported that the ministry remains convinced
that the intervention must result in the creation of long-term capacity in the
department and a sustainable turnaround of education service delivery in the
province. This should include the creation of positive and sustainable changes
at a systemic level to achieve efficiency and stability in the Provincial
Department of Education.
III.
It is therefore expected that the duration of the
intervention will last for three to four years with an annual review to assess
whether a continuation is necessary based on progress made against clearly
defined targets.
IV. The key
objectives of the intervention, amongst others, is to arrest and deal with
immediate challenges in respect of appointments of teachers and allocation of teachers,
to implement a credible Learner Performance Improvement Strategy and address
underlying causes that impact on the efficiency and efficacy of the department
with a particular focus on organisational performance, size and shape of
education and also deal with root causes.
V.
The department would review the financing, budgeting
and resourcing of mandates with particular focus on addressing adequacy of
funding, credibility of budget and expenditure management.
5. Progress to date
I.
In
pursuance of this Cabinet decision, the Minister of Basic Education and the
Deputy Minister of Basic Education, accompanied by the Director-General and
senior officials of the Department of Basic Education visited the
II.
Various meetings were conducted with the Premier,
MEC for Education and senior officials of the ECDOE to explain and discuss the
implications of the intervention. The delegation also met with other relevant
stakeholders in the province to share the same information.
III.
A media conference was convened by the Minister of
Basic Education on 3 March 2011 in which a media statement, jointly prepared
with the Premier and MEC, was released. The Premier, the MEC and the
Superintendent-General for Education joined the Minister and Deputy Minister in
this media conference.
IV. The DBE
appointed a technical team comprising of senior officials to develop a problem
analysis and draft intervention plan. The first draft of this plan was
completed on 8 March 2011.
V.
The Director-General of Basic Education led a
seven-person technical team which held a meeting with senior officials of the
ECDOE in
VI. Deliberations at
the meeting were very constructive and all senior officials of the ECDOE
indicated that their earlier anxieties had been addressed and that they were
happy to participate in the intervention.
VII.
As required in terms of Section 100 (2) of the Constitution
of the
VIII.
The Minister of Basic Education held a meeting with
the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Public Service and Administration
on the Section 100 intervention in the ECDOE on 14 March 2011. The Minister of
Finance and the Minister of Public Service and Administration agreed to
actively support the intervention. The director-generals of the respective
departments are working together to define the practical contributions of each
department to the process.
IX. A framework for
the intervention is in the final stages of development. This framework draws on
the turnaround strategy formulated by the ECDOE senior management team.
X.
A follow up visit will be conducted on 24 March to
finalise the framework and to proceed with implementation.
XI. The framework
will be used to formulate a protocol that will guide the content, processes,
institutional mechanisms and definition of roles and responsibilities. The
Minister will provide regular reports to Cabinet on progress.
XII.
The Eastern Cape Provincial Executive Committee will
also receive regular briefings on progress.
XIII.
The Minister of Basic Education, the Eastern Cape
Premier and the MEC for Education in the
6. Recommendations
Having interacted
with the Department of Basic Education, the Select Committee on Education and
Recreation recommends as follows:
Report to be considered.