The Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on the performance of the Department of Basic Education for the 2011/12 financial year, dated 23 October 2012.

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, having considered the performance of the Department of Basic Education, reports as follows:

 

1. Introduction

 

1.1. The role and mandate of the Committee

 

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education is mandated by sections 55 and 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) to oversee the activities and performance of the Department of Basic Education and its statutory bodies. In fulfilling its statutory responsibilities, the Committee performs the following functions:

 

·         Monitoring and overseeing the Department of Basic Education in its day-to-day and overall performance.

·         Conferring with relevant governmental and civil society organs on educational matters in order to participate in the development of strategies and policies aimed at ensuring the quality and integrity of the education system.

·         Processing and approving legislation as well as international protocols and conventions relating to education in accordance with the Rules of Parliament and the Constitution.

·         Participating in national and international educational dialogues relating to education.

·         Conferring with the National Council of Provinces on legislation pertaining to education which affects the Provinces.

·         Engaging in various activities and programmes aimed at the development and delivery of quality public education to all South Africans.

·         Dealing with any other matter referred to the Committee by the Speaker of the National Assembly.

 

The Committee is further mandated by the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and Related Matters Act, No. 9 of 2009 to perform an oversight role. Section 5 of the aforementioned Act requires the National Assembly, through its Committees, to annually assess the performance of each national Department then submit Budgetary Review and Recommendation reports (BRRR) for tabling in the National Assembly. These reports are referred to the Committee on Appropriations for consideration when considering and reporting on the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to the National Assembly.

 

This report provides the Committee’s assessment of the performance of the Department of Basic Education for the 2011/12 financial year to the first quarter 2012/13.

 

1.2. Processes followed by the Committee in arriving at this report

 

In compiling this BRRR, the Committee assessed the performance of the Department of Basic Education with reference to the following:

 

·         The strategic priorities and measurable objectives as set out in the strategic plan.

·         Expenditure trends drawn from the reports and notes of the National Treasury; the 2010 State of the Nation Address priorities; the reports of the Auditor-General of South Africa and the reports on the 2010 Budget Vote.

·         The financial statements and annual report briefings, in terms of Section 65 of the Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 1999, which requires the Ministers to table the annual reports and financial statements for the Department and public entities before Parliament.

·         Departmental briefings, including quarterly briefings and the progress update on the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

 

1.3. The mandate of the Department

 

The Department of Basic Education derives its mandate from the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and several pieces of legislation, including the National Education Policy Act (Act 27 of 1996) (NEPA); the South African Schools Act (Act 80 of 1996) (SASA); other Acts and White Papers that guide the employment of educators, qualifications, inclusive education and quality assurance of curricula and assessment. The Constitution provides the overarching framework for transformation in education. According to the Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution, everyone has the right to a basic education, including adult basic education and further education, which the State, through reasonable measures, must progressively make available and accessible.

 

The Department is also guided by international protocols on education, particularly the commitments made in terms of the Education for All Declaration in Dakar and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which the country has ratified.

 

In line with its mandate, the Department has a vision of a South Africa in which all people will have access to lifelong learning, education and training opportunities, which will, in turn, contribute towards improving the quality of life and building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic South Africa. 

 

2. The Department of Basic Education’s Strategic Priorities and Measurable Objectives

 

2.1 Strategic Priorities of the Department

 

Within its vision of creating access to lifelong learning, education and training opportunities; improving the quality of life; and building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic South Africa[1], the Department of Basic Education is mandated to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Based on the mandate, the Department has prioritised the following:

 

·         learning outcomes;

·         the quality of learning across all grades;

·         access to basic education;

·         productivity in the classroom;

·         competence, professionalism and status of teachers;

·         textbooks and related learning support materials; and

·         leadership in schools.

 

To achieve the outcomes, the Department has set itself 13 goals through the Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realization of Schooling 2025. The 13 goals are accompanied by delivery targets to be achieved in 2014 which were informed by the baseline set in 2010.

 

The 13 goals and their targets relate to learning -, enrolment and focus mainly on increasing the number of learners who master minimum language and mathematics (numeracy) competencies; learners who are eligible for a Bachelors programme at a university and to increase the number of learners who pass mathematics and physical science. In addition, the Action Plan sets out 14 areas in education to be improved to reach the set targets[2].

These targets are sufficiently placed and focused to improve the quality of learning and achievement in basic education. While there is a concern that some targets are set at a low level, they measure the delivery of the goals and the overall output of quality education.

 

Further, the performance of the Department should be viewed within the context of the priorities highlighted by the President in his 2011 State of the Nation Address (SONA). These included:

 

·         Focussing on the Triple T: Teachers, Textbooks and Time: ensuring that teachers were at school, in class, on time and teaching, without neglect with regards to their duty or abuse of learners; supporting them and creating the optimum environment for quality teaching to take place; and, ensuring that every learner has a textbook on time.

·         Investing in teacher training, especially in the subjects of mathematics and science.

·         Tracking progress on the implementation of annual national assessments in literacy and numeracy that are internationally benchmarked, for Grades 3, 6 and 9.

·         Paying particular attention to the training of principals, particularly those in underperforming schools. 

 

The above priorities as highlighted in the SONA overlap with or give effect to the goal of improving the quality of teaching and learning. In response to these issues, the Department continued to consolidate its work to improve learner performance in the basic education sector through the following strategic interventions:

·         Focusing on Teachers, Textbooks and  Time (3Ts);

·         The issuing and implementation of the CAPS;

·         Planning and preparing for the ANA;

·         Expanding the workbooks programme; and

·         Improving infrastructure to maximize learner performance.

 

Key systemic improvements were consolidated around these strategic interventions for the period 2011/12 continuing into the current financial year, anchored by the Action Plan to 2014 and the Delivery Agreement.

 

2.2 Measurable Objectives of the Department

 

The Annual Performance Plan provided specific performance targets, interventions and indicators that the Department intended to employ in order to entrench and consolidate the direction and approaches to improving learner performance in the basic education sector in the 2011/12 financial year. Key strategic outcome oriented outputs on which specific programme targets and indicators are set include:

 

·         Improving teacher capacity and practices;

·         Increasing access to higher-quality leaning materials;

·         Improving the quality of early childhood development;

·         Undertaking regular assessment to track progress;

·         Strengthening school management and promoting functional schools; and

·         Strengthening the capacity of district offices and Improving infrastructure to maximize learner performance.

 

These outputs have been aligned to the budget programmes (including key departmental improvement strategies).

  

3. The Analysis of the Departments’ Prevailing Strategic and Operational Priorities

 

This section provides an analysis of the first quarter of the 2012/13 financial year. The Strategic and Annual Performance Plans reflected the commitment of the Department to undertake activities effectively and on time to produce the agreed-upon outputs that will in turn contribute in achieving  the goals of the long-term sector plan called the Action Plan to 2014: towards the realisation of Schooling 2025.

 

3.1 2012/13 Strategic Priorities

 

Key interventions to improve the basic education system for 2012 included the following:

 

·   Deepening the  focus on the 3Ts (Teachers, Texts and Time)

·   The implementation of a credible Literacy and Numeracy Strategy

·   The implementation of a Maths, Science and Technology Strategy

·   Strengthening the focus on the utilisation of the Annual National Assessments (ANA) and National Senior Certificate (NSC) results to define interventions at school and district levels.

 

Intended interventions in the sector to improve system performance, focussing on improving learner performance included:

 

·   Interventions to be based on an accurate analysis of specific patterns of poor performance per district and school

·   Sound analysis of performance in Grade 12 and Annual National Assessment (ANA) per province, district and school

·   Basic functionality of schools to be reflected (leadership, resources, right number and utilisation of teachers, culture of teaching and learning etc)

·   Basic functionality of districts ( leadership, resources, right number and utilisation of staff, culture of professionalism, support  and service to schools)

·   Intervention implemented per district based on a specific analysis of performance and contextual factors taken into account.

·   Intervention implemented per school or selected number of schools based on levels of performance

·   Intervention to indicate what was to be done - Model (mentoring, itinerant teachers, substitute teachers, short, long courses, just in time courses etc), by whom ( trainers, facilitators, subject advisors, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) etc), when monitoring and evaluation systems

·   Explicit and compulsory focus on all districts in a country that performed below 30 percent in Grade 12 and/or under a determined performance in ANA

·   For other districts, Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) would implement specific improvement plans based on current performance

·   To work with and through PEDs using existing plans as a basis upon which to build

·   To deploy Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) staff and explore using Whole School Evaluation (WSE) people in PEDs to conduct a detailed evaluation of all schools in the affected districts

·   Detailed School Improvement Plans to be ready by the end of March, with the necessary intersection with Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) at local level

·   To capacitate Districts to implement a turnaround strategy

·   Ensuring efficacy of this value chain to be facilitated by the Planning and Delivery Oversight Unit working through districts to focus on underperforming schools

·   Focus the NEDLAC Accord mobilisation of stakeholders on these districts – with explicit guidance from the Education Sector

 

4. Analysis of Expenditure trends

 

4. Analysis of the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the 2011/12 financial year

 

4.1 The Department of Basic Education

 

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education considered the Annual Reports and Financial Statements of the Department of Basic Education and its relevant statutory bodies for 2011/12 on 10, 11 and 16 October 2012 in Parliament. This section includes an overview of the presentations made by the Department and its entities – with a focus on the achievements/successes -, challenges, performance per programme, human resource management and financial performance.

 

4.1.1 Overview of the service delivery environment

 

The service delivery environment of the education sector included 12 283 875 learners in ordinary public and independent schools, who attended 25 851 schools and were served by 420 608 educators. The reduction in the number of schools was caused by an assessment that some small schools were not viable and were rationalised, as well as by demographic shifts.

 

A key challenge that affected service delivery during the reporting period was the National Cabinet interventions in the Eastern Cape Education Department on 2 March 2011 and in the Limpopo Education Department on 5 December 2011 in terms of section 100 (1) (b) of the Constitution The interventions in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo focused on a number of issues including:

 

·         Financial and supply chain management;

·         Failure to deal with excess teachers;

·         Over expenditure; and

·         The non-delivery of learning and teaching materials.

 

The Department reported that these interventions placed considerable strain on the DBE’s institutional capacity and required a re-engineering of the work of the DBE, within the existing budgets and organogram. 

 

 

4.1.2 Overview of the Basic Education Vote 2010/11 – 2011/12

 

Table 11: Overview of Budget 2010/11 – 2011/12

 

2010/11

2011/12

 

Allocation

 

 

 

Actual Expenditure

 

Deviation/ Variance

 

 

% Spent

Allocation

 

 

 

Actual Expenditure

 

 

Deviation/ Variance

 

 

%    Spent

Administration

R266.9m

R259.2 m

R7 670

97.1

R294.0m

R287.7 m

R6 238

97.8

Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring

R1. 3 b

R736.6m

R608.9 m

54.7

R1.796 b

R1.70 b

R96 394

94.6

Teachers, Education Human Resources Development and Institutional Development

R503.7m

R486.6m

R17 086

96.6

R580.7m

R537.5m

R43 145

92.6

Planning, Information and Assessment

R165.9m

R147.5m

R18 407

88.4

R6.581 b

R5.563 b

R1.017 b

84.5

Education Enrichment Services

R3.889 b

R3.885 b

R4 814

99.8

R4.827 b

R4.811 b

R16 210

99.6

Total

R6.171 b

R5.515 b

R656m

89.4

R14.080 b

R12.900 b

R1.179 b

91.6

 

In the 2011/12 financial year, the Department received a budget of R14.040 billion compared to R6.1 billion in 2010/11. The allocation was distributed among the five programmes of the Department as indicated in Table 1. Overall, the Department spent 91.6% of its allocated budget in 2011/12 compared to 89.4% in 2010/11. The unspent balance of R1.179 billion at the end of 2011/12 is greater than in 2010/11, when R656 million went unspent, which is a cause for concern. Table 1 shows that the main contributors to the under-spending were programmes 2, 3 and 4 that have consistently in the past two years been under-spending. However, the Department has showed that other than programme 4 where there is a total delay in the implementation of infrastructure, other programmes have not necessarily been under-spending but have had delays in processing payments for some line-items. Recurring under-expenditure issues include:

·         Delays in the receipt and processing of invoices for the delivery of workbooks. This has been reported as the main reason for under-expenditure.

·         Low expenditure in current payments for goods and services and delays in the submission of invoices in respect of the Curriculum Review project.

·         Delays in filling vacant posts for the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) and the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) affected both the current and capital budgets.

·         Delays with regard to the procurement of the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign learner support materials.

·         Problems and subsequent cancellation of a tender for literacy and numeracy workbooks for Grades R – 6 learners. 

·         Recurring delays in the Annual National Assessment (ANA), specifically for grades 3, 6 and 9, in February 2011 and not in October 2010 as initially projected. Similarly in 2011/12 ANA was postponed from February 2012 to October 2012 resulting in yet another delay. 

·         The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) baseline study that did not take place as initially planned.

4.1.3 Performance per Programme, 2011/12

 

Programme 1: Administration (Unspent: R 6.328 million)

 

The Administration Programme is responsible for the management of the Department and the provision of strategic and administrative support services. Sub-programmes include Human Resource Management and Development; Legal and Legislative Services; Media Liaison, International Relations and Multilateral Affairs and provincial support and delivery. The Programme spent 97.8 per cent of its available funds. The under-expenditure of R6.328 million on this programme was as a result of savings on Office Accommodation due to fluctuations of the CPI.

 

Within this programme, four of the eight targets were achieved, four were exceeded and four were not achieved. The Department reported key highlights and achievements which included the following:

 

Policy Area - Human Resource Management

           

The Department completed its internal reconfiguration process to meet its strategic intent. The new organisational structure was fully implemented on 25 November 2011 and the PERSAL system had been updated accordingly. Appointments were made in the key posts of Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Directors-General for Finance and Administration; as well as for Planning, Information and Assessments. In response to natural attrition at middle and senior management level, the Department put in place a development plan to address the issues related to career pathing and succession planning. To this end, 264 officials attended courses during the financial year for professional and personal            development; 47 officials attended induction programmes for new entrants in the     Department, while, 63 internships were implemented for unemployed graduates.

 

Policy Area: Legal and Legislative Services

 

      The Department received 37 court cases in the period under review and managed to            successfully resolve 22 of these. The remaining 15 cases were still in progress. In some             cases, the judgments delivered by courts of law were in favour of the Minister or the Department, while         other cases were settled out of court. Four pieces of legislation were drafted. The pieces that have             been passed as law are:

 

·               The Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, 2011 (Act No. 15 of 2011), which was                  finalised and signed into law on 15 December 2011

·               Regulations Relating to the Prohibition of the Payment of Unauthorised                                   Remuneration or the Giving of Financial Benefit or Benefit in Kind to Certain State               Employees, which was signed into law on 23 December 2011.

 

      The National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) Bill, 2011, had already   been published for comments and adapted to accommodate comments that had merit. The   "Pregnancy Regulations" had not been finalised as planned and were subject to amendments to SASA.

 

Policy Area: International Relations

 

      The process of drafting a bilateral agreement between the Republic of South Africa and the People’s Republic of China, pertaining to cooperation in the field of basic education was     completed. An agreement was reached with the Japan International Cooperation Agency      for the provision of a specialist in Mathematics to support the DBE’s processes of       curriculum development for the Foundation and Intermediate Phases. The specialist assumed duty   on 23 March 2012, and would serve for a period of two years. From 24 October to 10 November      2011, the Minister led a delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural     Organisation’s (UNESCO) 36th General Conference in Paris. The drafting of a Memorandum of             Understanding around co-operation in the field of English Language between the Government of         the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and       Northern Ireland had been completed and was awaiting input from the Department of Justice and      Constitutional Development.

 

 

 Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring (Unspent: R 96.394 million)

 

The purpose of Programme 2 is to develop curriculum and assessment policies and to monitor and support their implementation. Sub-programmes include Programme Management; Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring; Curriculum Implementation and Monitoring; Curriculum and Quality Enhancement Programmes and the Kha Ri Gude Literacy Project.

 

The Programme spent 94.6 per cent or R1.7 billion. The under-expenditure of R96.394 million was due mainly to the following:

 

·         Delay with regard to the procurement of the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign learner support material was due to the change of the procurement model. LTSM was previously procured through the Implementing Agent. After concerns were raised by the Auditor-General which was confirmed by National Treasury on the procurement process, the Department took over the procurement process.

·         Delay in the submission of invoices in respect of the Curriculum Review project resulted in the inability to finalise the processing of payments before the end of the financial year.

·         The final invoices for the Workbook project were received at the end of the financial year. External Auditors had to verify the invoices before they could be processed. This could not be finalised on time.

·         The withholding of the final transfer for the Dinaledi Schools conditional grant to Limpopo due to low spending.

 

This programme achieved 11 out of 17 targets, eight targets were exceeded and six were not achieved. The Department reported several key highlights and achievements which included the following:

 

Policy Area – Curriculum Implementation and Development

 

      The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) comprised of a single,            comprehensive and concise policy document for all subjects were approved by the Minister in a      Government Gazette on 12 September 2011. Implementation thereof commenced with Grades R,    3 and 10 in 2012.  A total number of 2 591 subject advisors were trained in the implementation of         the CAPS during this cycle. In preparation for the implementation of CAPS in Grades 4-6 in 2013,    the Department reported that all district officials responsible for teacher training and support in         these grades were orientated to the changes in the CAPS Subject Statements. A total of 968            district officials were taken through the orientation programme in the Intermediate Phase.             The Department reported on several additional initiatives to improve teaching and learning which included the distribution of CAPS documents to schools and districts and Question and Answer       booklets and Self-Study Guides in selected subjects to schools.

 

Policy Area: Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM)

 

      The Department reported that in 2011, a total of 23 million Grades R 6 (Volume 1 and 2)      Language and Mathematics workbooks were printed and delivered to 18 854 public primary             schools in nine provinces. In 2012, schools were informed about the distribution of workbooks in           an effort to improve the delivery process. Grades R-9 workbooks were distributed to all targeted      schools and offices. Proof of delivery for all Volume 1 and Volume 2 workbooks was provided as       follows by the service provider and verified by an external auditor for payment:

 

·               98.74 percent of Grades R-9 Volume 1 workbooks as per the order;

·               97.25 percent of Grades 1-9 Volume 2 workbooks as per order; and

·               97.36 percent of FET schools Physical Science and Mathematics supplementary textbooks as per order.

 

            While the Department should be commended for the provision of workbooks at a reasonable cost,    evidence from the Committee oversight in 2011 and 2012 revealed inefficiencies in their delivery,         which included late or non-delivery to some schools, shortages and wrong languages being    delivered.   

 

      The Department also reported that the Grades 1-3 and Grade 10 National Catalogue of Textbooks    aligned with the CAPS was developed and released to the provinces. In addition, the following   developments also contributed to increasing access of learners to a wide range of media:

·               A framework for the LTSM Policy was developed.

·               Draft specifications for each subject and grade for the minimum school bag were developed.  

·               The process towards the development of the National Catalogue of Textbooks for Grades 4-6 and Grade 11 commenced.

·               A reading and literacy activity guide for schools to use during National Book Week was developed.

·               Some 2 600 schools were provided with library books in the official languages, so as to support classroom libraries.

·               The National Guidelines for School Library and Information Services (NGSLIS) to schools were released.

·               A National Guidelines for School Library and Information Services implementation plan was developed, in collaboration with the provinces.

 

Achievements in other policy areas

 

The Department also reported several achievements in the policy areas of e-Education and Adult Literacy (Kha Ri Gude) which included increased access to ICT and the creation of employment opportunities, respectively.

     

Policy Area: Assessments (ANA)

           

      The first cycle of ANA was written in February 2011. Following the finalisation of the official ANA Report in June 2011, work started on improving the utility of the data, aimed at an    improvement in teaching and learning, and accountability for learner performance within    the        system. In preparation for the next cycle of ANA - the process of test development commenced in         July 2011. Test developers developed draft tests for Grades 1-6 and these were submitted for       moderation. Two sets of each test in Literacy/Language and Numeracy/Mathematics were   completed. ANA exemplars were developed and released to support preparation for the second       cycle of ANA written in September 2012.

 

The ANA results released during the period under review showed that performance in literacy and numeracy is still very low.

 

Policy Areas: Assessments – NSC

 

      The results of the 2011 NSC examinations indicated that there had been an overall improvement      of learner performance from 67.8 percent in 2010 to 70.2 percent in 2011. This subsequently        increased to 72.7 percent after the release of the March 2012 supplementary examination results.            The quality of the passes however remained a challenge. The Department missed the set targets      for the number of learners who pass mathematics and physical science and who obtain a Bachelor    pass. The Department noted that the decreased matriculation examination candidates in 2011       compared to 2010 contributed to lower achievement against predetermined targets. Further highlights reported in this policy area included that an international benchmarking of the 2010 NSC          question papers revealed that the standard of the NSC question papers compare    favourably to those of international bodies and that a diagnostic report based on the NSC           examination results, which articulated the weaknesses in the key subjects, with proposed remedial       programmes was compiled. This was distributed to the PEDs and schools to support teaching and learning in those key subjects.

 

Policy Area: Special Needs Education

 

      Reported achievements included that the Deparment successfully coordinated the development of    a South African Sign Language curriculum for Grades R-12. English and Afrikaans workbooks for      numeracy and literacy were adapted to Braille in Grades1-4. The Inclusive Education Strategy was    developed and used to contribute to the development of the National Strategy on Learner Attainment Framework. The Guidelines for Responding to Learner Diversity formed part of the       CAPS orientation programme for the Intermediate Phase and Grades 10 and 11. No training by        the Department took place on the identification and support of special needs. This was due to the     prioritisation of the implementation of the CAPS in 2012. The 2011/12 financial year was           specifically set aside for the refinement and finalisation of the Screening, Identification,       Assessment and Support (SIAS) tool, which was going to be used for training and for the       implementation of White Paper 6. The framework for the refinement of SIAS was developed in          November 2011. The rewriting of SIAS took place in January 2012.

 

Policy Area: Teacher Development

 

Key achievements included that the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development which provided a comprehensive plan for teacher recruitment, initial teacher education, induction and lifelong teacher development, was launched by the Ministers of Basic Education and Higher Education and Training. The provision of training programmes to teachers was the function of the PEDs, and the DBE played a coordinating role.  Orientation for the introduction of CAPS to 90 000 Foundation Phase and 60 000 Grade 10 teachers was co-ordinated in conjunction with the PEDs. Further, teacher development programmes were co-ordinated with provincial departments in targeted priority areas with 184 207 teachers in response to improving the professionalism, teaching skills and subject knowledge of teachers throughout their careers [Action Plan to 2014: Goal 16]. A collaboration programme with teacher unions was initiated and an agreement with the PEDs of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga was reached for the orientation of teachers. A reported 21 306 teachers participated in CAPS orientation as part of this collaboration programme. Achievements in other policy areas such as e-Education and Adult Literacy

 

Programme 3: Teacher and Education Human Resources Development and Management (Unspent: R43.145 million)

 

The purpose of Programme 3 is to promote quality teaching and institutional performance through the effective supply, development and utilisation of human resources. Sub-programmes include Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development; Education Human Resources Management and Education Human Resources Development; and Curriculum and Professional Development Unit.

 

            The programme spent 92.6 percent or R537.5 million. The under-spending of R43.1 million was due mainly to the following:

 

·         The resignation of external moderators during the year in respect of the Integrated Quality Management System project influenced the spending on compensation of employees on the project and subsequently there were challenges in finding suitable replacement candidates.

·         Invoices in respect of the training of educators were received in the week of March 2012; therefore they could not be processed by 31 March 2012 as they were still being verified by the Department.

 

In this programme, out of nine targets, six were achieved, three were exceeded and three were not achieved. The Department reported key achievements and highlights which included the following:

 

Policy Area: Teacher Supply and Utilisation

 

      As at the end of December 2011, 1 822 (76 percent) of the 2010 graduates had been appointed        and, of these, 1 496 (82 percent) were 30 years and younger in January 2011. This percentage        was slightly higher than in 2010, when the reported placement rate was 72 percent. The number of          qualified teachers aged 30 and below entering the public service as teachers for the first time   during the past year; the overall target of 6 200 was exceeded with the appointment of 7 744             teachers for the 2011/12 financial year. This augured well for attracting a    new group of young        motivated and appropriately trained teachers into the teaching profession            each year. The target     of          8 517 Funza Lushaka Bursaries for 2011/12 was exceeded by 216 bursaries, with a cumulative         total of 8 733 bursaries being awarded in 2011.

 

Policy Area: School Management

 

      A total of 1 485 principals participated in the Advanced Certificate in Education programme for 2011. A total of 8 407 schools were visited in all provinces for the purpose of monitoring         the quality of IQMS implementation, school effectiveness as well as district engagement with the school. These visits included 5 080 follow-up visits and visits to 1 359 underperforming secondary   schools. During these visits, the lessons of 1 446 educators were observed and support provided       where necessary. The Quality Teaching and Learning Campaign (QLTC) committees were   established in more than 3 000 schools. These committees were tasked with protecting teacher    contact time and consolidating learning.

 

Policy Area: School Governance

                 

      In March 2012, School Governing Body (SGB) Elections were held throughout the country. The        participation of parents through SGB platforms contributed towards making learning a societal             issue and also promoted good governance in schools. Of the 25 851 schools in the country,   only about 500 did not participate in the elections.

 

Policy Area: District Development

 

      The Department had quarterly engagements with district directors to advocate their contribution to    the outputs of Action Plan to 2014: Towards the realisation of schooling 2025. The Department         identified the need for more research and guidelines on the role of districts. The Guidelines on the          organisation, roles and responsibilities of education districts was published for comment and would           be finalised after consideration of the responses received. These guidelines expressed a national            vision for education districts in the transformation of the education system; they determine a       standard nomenclature for district offices and personnel and provided a normative guideline for the    management and operation of district offices, including the support they render to schools. The    Planning, Delivery and Oversight Unit (PDOU) supported the 15 underperforming districts     located as follows: 11 in the Eastern Cape; one in KwaZulu-Natal; one in Mpumalanga, one in             Northern Cape and one in Limpopo.

 

Programme 4: Planning, Quality Assessment and Monitoring and Evaluation (Unspent: R1 017.476 million)

 

The purpose of Programme 4 is to promote quality and effective service delivery in the basic education system through planning, implementation and assessment. Sub-programmes includes Planning, Information and Assessment; Information Management Systems; Financial and Physical Planning; National Assessments and Public Examinations; and the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit; and the Planning and Delivery Oversight Unit.

 

The programme spent 84.5 percent of its allocation in 2011/12 or an amount of R5.6 billion rand. The under-spending of R1.017 billion was due to the following:

·         The National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) evaluators were appointed during the latter part of the financial year. The delays in the appointment resulted in under-expenditure on the compensation of employees in the Unit.

·         There was under-expenditure on the Systemic Evaluation project due to the shifting of the Annual National Assessment (ANA) from February 2012 to September 2012.

·         The final transfer for the Education Infrastructure Grant to the Eastern Cape Province in respect of the construction, rehabilitation, renovation, upgrading and maintenance of school infrastructure was withheld due to low spending. The province experienced challenges in relation to a lack of capacity to deliver on the programme.

·         The Accelerated School Improvement and Development Initiative (ASIDI) for the eradication of inappropriate schools and the provision of basic services spending was lower than projected due to capacity challenges experienced by the implementing agents and contractors. This had an impact on the implementation of approved projects. Progress had been delayed on the construction of 49 schools due to the following challenges:

 

o        Procurement of Implementing Agents took longer than anticipated. Negotiations with the Independent Development Trust (IDT) commenced in February 2011 as the implementing agent for the programme.

o        However, in April 2011, when negotiations with IDT were to be concluded, it was indicated that the Development Bank of South Africa, (DBSA) should be used as the implementing agent.

o        Negotiations with DBSA started in April 2011.

o        There were delays in the finalisation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the DBSA as the bank had to receive approval from the Minister of Finance before the MOA could be concluded.

o        Subsequently, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) signed the MOA on the 13th June and DBSA only signed on the 06th July 2011. The DBSA submitted the implementation Plan on 03 August 2011.

o        The DBSA planned to use Professional Service Providers (PSPs) to undertake scoping work which was crucial for determining the extent of the work.

o        The process for procurement of PSP to undertake the work had to be rescinded at the end of August after issues of conflict of interest were discovered between the companies bidding for the Programme Support Unit (PSU) and Project scoping.

 

In this programme, six of the 16 targets were achieved, five were exceeded and ten were not achieved. Key highlights and achievements for 2011/12 included:

 

 

 

 

Policy Area: School Funding

 

A request aimed at securing additional funding for implementing an amended funding model within the revised Grade R policy framework was made to the National Treasury (NT) and it was approved for the expansion of Grade R in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 periods. A funding request was made to the NT to ensure the PEDs would be able to fund all no-fee schools at the same level and to offer certain fee charging schools the option to be voluntarily declared and funded as no-fee schools. Funding had consequently been made           available by the National Treasury for the equalisation of the allocation to no-fee schools in   the 2013/14 and 2014/15 periods. Amendments to the National Norms and Standards for School Funding by updating the national table of targets for the school allocation for2012/13 had been approved and gazetted. An advertisement was placed in newspapers    through the GCIS, as part of a media campaign aimed at emphasising when parents qualify to be automatically exempted from the payment of school fees. Input was provided           for a pamphlet on school fees and exemption to be placed on the Department’s website. For the 2011 academic year, approximately 78 percent of learners in public schools were accommodated in more than 20 000 no-fee schools. For the 2012 academic year, the national target allocation, which catered for non-personnel and non-capital expenditure in schools, was increased to R960 per learner for schools in Quintile 1, while the no-fee threshold, which was applicable to schools in Quintile 2 and Quintile 3, was set at R880 per learner.

 

Policy Area: School Infrastructure

 

A human resources strategy to address capacity constraints with regards to infrastructure in the PEDs was developed. An amount of R10 million had been allocated to each province to address capacity constraints. The guidelines for planning for school infrastructure and boarding facilities were concluded and approved by the Council of Education Ministers (CEM). The standardised designs and cost model were developed and approved. A guideline on school infrastructure maintenance was developed. Short-term technical assistance support was appointed to assess infrastructure plans and to assist provinces with long-term infrastructure planning. In respect of the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) - at the end of March 2012, PEDs had spent 93 percent or R5.254 million of the adjusted Grant of R5.678 million.

 

While most recently there had been some progress in addressing school infrastructure issues since the commencement of implementation of the Accelerated School Improvement and Development Initiative (ASIDI), the period under review was marked by slow progress in eradicating the first batch of 49 schools in the Eastern Cape. During the 2011/12 financial year, the following infrastructure projects were implemented: 1648 classrooms; 316 sanitation blocks; water supply to 63 schools; electricity supply to 540 schools and the fencing of 96 schools. Some of the challenges experienced in the delivery of school infrastructure include the following:

 

·         Substantial variances exist in the cost of building schools across provinces, which was compounded by the lack of uniformity in provincial planning, budgeting, design, procurement processes and implementation procedures to meet infrastructural targets.

·         The competency of contractors and consultants, the dispersed nature of the projects, a myriad of small contracts that had to be managed, inadequate project management and few quality assurance staff members contributed to the slow pace of infrastructure provisioning.

·         On-going maintenance and operations were not receiving adequate funding and attention, thus contributing to the increasing deterioration of existing infrastructure.

 

Programme 5: Social Responsibility (Unspent: R16.210 million)

 

The purpose of Programme 5 is to develop policies and programmes to improve the quality of learning in schools. Sub-programmes include Educational Enrichment Services; Care and Support in Schools; Partnerships in Education; and Grant Implementation, Monitoring and Reporting. The programme spent 99.7 per cent of its allocation for 2011/12 or R4.8 billion. There were no material variances in the programme.

 

This programme achieved seven out of eleven targets, exceeded three and failed to achieve four. The Department noted the following key highlights and achievements:

 

Policy Area: Partnerships and Community Participation

                 

The successful national launch of the NEDLAC Accord on Basic Education and Partnerships with Schools was held in Butterworth, Eastern Cape on 2 October 2011. The recorded number of schools that benefitted from private partnerships was 477.

 

Policy Area: Learner Well-being

 

Nutritious meals were provided to 8 850 208 learners in 21 013 Quintile 1 – 3 primary and secondary schools daily. Health screening for 256 268 learners in quintile 1 primary schools was conducted. Learning and Teaching Support Material on sexual and reproductive health was delivered to 902 279 schools. To implement sexual and reproductive health programmes for learners, 18 039 educators received training. At least 235 schools participated in the Care and Support for Teaching and Learning pilot programme. 9 745 public ordinary schools participated in school sport leagues while 8 871 public ordinary schools were linked to their local police station. The “Values in Action” training manual, which infused constitutional values and human rights into school governance, was developed during the period under review. The manual formed part of the training of newly appointed SGB and RCL members. The Curriculum and Assessment Policy incorporated the Bill of Responsibility (BOR). The BOR was explicitly entrenched in the Life Orientation Curriculum under the sub-section “Rights and Responsibilities”. The Department conducted comprehensive research utilised in developing an evidence-based social cohesion toolkit. The toolkit was a practical guide to school communities on how to bridge the gap between schools and their host communities, in a bid to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

 

4.1.4 Conditional Grants, Provincial Budget Monitoring and Support

 

Five conditional grants were allocated to the Department during the period under review as follows:

 

·         HIV and AIDS Life Skills Programme

·         National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP)

·         Dinaledi Schools

·         Technical Secondary Schools Recapitalisation

·         Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG)

 

In addition to the conditional grants, the Department received an allocation for School Infrastructure Backlogs Indirect Grant, amounting to R700 million. Before conditional grants funds were transferred to the provinces, the Department ensured that all the requirements of the Division of Revenue Act (DORA), 2011, were met.

 

(i)                  HIV and Aids

 

      A total of 291 582 learners and educators and 462 108 parents and other key stakeholders were      reached in terms of awareness campaigns. At least 13 210 learners were reached through             functional peer education programmes; 10 250 learners through curriculum-based learner      pregnancy and learner retention programmes; 74 317 learners through training on the prevention      of drug and substance use. Around 2 796 educators were trained as master trainers to integrate      the Life Skills Programme into the curriculum. Some 6 400 educators and support staff were           trained as School-Based Support Teams (SBSTs). A total of 1 230 691 sets of LTSM were         distributed to 13 480 primary and secondary schools. A total of 8 168 selected schools were           reached through monitoring and support visits.

 

      Challenges included the following:

     

·         Delayed payment of invoices for activities conducted in Limpopo had an impact on the final spending of the grant.

·         Utilisation of the conditional grant funds for non-grant related activities in Gauteng impacted negatively on the implementation of the programme.

 

(ii)                National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP)

 

The programme was time extended to Quintile 3 secondary schools from April 2011, increasing the number of secondary schools covered to 4 805. Vegetable gardens in schools increased from 5 964 to 7 156 at the end of March 2012. A total of 53 workshops were conducted on meal planning and preparation (28), sustainable food production (22) and financial management (3). A partnership with the Tiger Brands Foundation supported schools in Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. 

 

(iii)       Dinaledi Schools

 

      As these were the best resourced schools in the country, the Department supplied             Mathematics, Physical Science, and Life Science, Agricultural Science and English textbooks and      study guides to these schools – including extra educators. The Department further supplied        mobile   science laboratories and other equipment - audio-visual equipment, computers, software        and ICT laboratories.

 

      Challenges included the late submissions of the monthly, quarterly, annual reports and business     plans by provinces.

 

(vi)               Technical Secondary School Recapitalisation

 

      Twenty-three out of forty-two new workshops were built to support technical subject offerings.          One Hundred and ninety-eight out of two-hundred and forty-seven existing workshops were           refurbished, upgraded and re-designed to comply with safety laws and regulations, and minimum           industry standards. Equipment, machinery and tools were bought, delivered and installed at one-            hundred and seventy-four            out of two-hundred and fifteen projected workshops. Out of five-         hundred and fifty-eight technical school teachers, five-hundred and fifty-four were trained in       subject content delivery and new practical teaching methodologies. Challenges included the                        following:

 

·         Delays in the development and approval of tender specifications;

·         Irregular monitoring, collection of data and reporting resulted in the absence of information to detect early warning signals for underperformance;

·         Late approval of provincial and school business plans.

 

(v)        Education Infrastructure Grant

 

      The projects that had been completed, including the following:

 

·         131 ablution facilities;

·         721 new or additional classrooms;

·         49 Specialised classrooms;

·         50 provided with water;

·         420 mobile classrooms; and

·         33 526 square metres of fencing

                 

      Challenges included the following:

 

·         Insufficient capacity to deliver infrastructure;

·         Lack of adequate reporting and monitoring mechanisms;

·         Large number of projects are at a retention level;

·         Poor adoption of best practice approaches and methodologies for infrastructure planning; and

·         The lack of capacity to maintain a school infrastructure database

 

      Further challenges noted regarding infrastructure:

 

·         An amount of R66.6 billion would be required to bring all ordinary schools up to the level of Optimum Functionality (excluding preliminaries, contingencies, escalations, professional fees and VAT).

·         The continuing state of school infrastructure backlogs was arguably one of the most serious shortcomings in South Africa’s education transformation project.

·         Current projections, based on budgets and delivery rates, indicated that it would take decades to bring infrastructure provisioning to acceptable levels.

·         Considering current models of delivery, a stage was being reached where the availability of budgets exceeded capacity. There was a need to adopt a different & more diverse approach.

 

4.1.5 Provincial budget and monitoring

 

A Budget Standards Exercise for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period was undertaken throughout all the nine PEDs to analyse and evaluate the 2012 MTEF budget. The focus was on the following aspects:  evaluation of the 2011/12 spending performance including conditional grants, the funding of personnel expenditure and the progress on the implementation of audit action plan to address matters raised by the Auditor-General in 2010/11. The PEDs monthly expenditure reports were collected, consolidated and analysed. Financial management support was provided to the intervention teams in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape. Policy compliance with basic administrative and financial prescripts was still problematic.

 

 

4.1.6     Report of the Auditor General

 

            The Department received an unqualified audit opinion for 2011/12 and for 2010/11. Emphases of       matter raised by the Auditor-General (AG) included:

·         Significant uncertainties in legal claims emanating from legal actions by Lingua Franca Publishers and Procon Fisher (Pty) Ltd.

·         The corresponding figure for irregular expenditure in respect of the Kha Ri Gude project had been restated as a result of an error discovered during 31 March 2012 in the financial statements of the department at, and for the year ended, 31 March 2011. The Department reported that they were in the process of obtaining condonation for the irregular expenditure.

·         Materially under-spending of the budget in programmes 2, 3 and 4 to the amounts of R96.394 million, R43.145 million and R1 017.474 million, respectively.

 

 

            The A-G also drew attention to additional matters including the following:

 

·         Lack of measurability and reliability of programme performance (Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring Programme): With regard to measurability, the AG noted that the delivery of a qualitatively material indicator (percentage of textbooks and workbooks available to learners) was not time bound in specifying a time period or deadline for delivery of the learner teacher support material (LTSM). In respect of reliability, the AG reported that the actual performance reported as achieved did not address the indicator which required the workbooks and textbooks to be made available to learners. The reported achievement indicated that some of the LTSMs were delivered to the provinces and provincial districts. The AG further noted that the department lacked controls to ensure that learners have workbooks and textbooks available to them as per indicator.

·         Achievement of planned targets: The Department did not achieve 47 per cent of the total number of planned targets during the year under review. This is attributed to the fact that indicators were not suitably developed during the strategic planning process and relevant systems and evidential requirements were not considered.

·         Human Resources (HR): Although there was some improvement in the area of HR, management of leave taken by employees remained a problem as not all leave was accurately recorded on the PERSAL as required by the Public Service Regulations.

·         Information Technology Controls: Weaknesses were identified in effective security management controls, IT Governance controls, programme change controls and IT service continuity. The AG noted that slight but insufficient improvements were made in this area.

·         Material adjustments to the annual performance report: Material misstatements of disclosure items in the annual performance report were identified during the audit and subsequently corrected. 

·         Prior year commitment: There was not much progress made on the commitment to follow-up on control deficiencies identified at Provincial Education Departments reported on the sector service delivery focus areas: Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM), the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) and Learner Transport Scheme (LTS). The Committee was awaiting a briefing on the full sector report at the time of compiling this report. 

 

 

5. Analysis of the First Quarter Expenditure Report for 2012/13 Financial Year (Department of Basic Education)

 

The allocation against the Actual Expenditure per item for the 2012/13 Financial Year was as follows:

 

PROGRAMMES

2012/13

Expenditure as % of Main Appropriation

MAIN APPROPRIATION

ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

VARIANCE

R’000

R’000

R’000

Compensation of Employees

349 614

75 070

274 544

21.47

Goods and Services

1 641 562

126 801

1 514 761

7.72

Interest and Rent on Land

50 112

-

50 112

-

Transfers and Subsidies

11 971 957

3 875 578

8 096 379

32.37

Payment for Capital Assets

2 330 333

63 370

2 266 963

2.72

Total

16 343 578

4 140 819

12 202 759

25.34

 

 

The allocation over the 2012/13 Financial Year was as follows:

 

SERVICE

2012/13

Expenditure as % of Main Appropriation

MAIN APPROPRIATION

ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

VARIANCE

R’000

R’000

R’000

Compensation of Employees

265 276

57 144

208 132

21.54

Examiners and Moderators

17 490

540

16 950

3.09

Transfers to Public Entities

713 756

682 373

31 383

95.60

Other Transfers

11 614

316

11 298

2.72

Conditional Grants

11 246 587

3 192 889

8 053 698

28.39

Schools Infrastructure Backlogs Indirect Grant

2 315 000

62 721

2 252 279

2.71

Earmarked Funds

1 469 113

55 870

1 413 243

3.80

Departmental Operations

234 982

24 379

210 603

10.37

Projects

69 760

64 587

5 173

92.58

Total

16 343 578

4 140 819

12 202 759

25.34

 

Expenditure Trends

 

The Department had spent R4.1 billion or 25.3 percent of the total available budget by the end of this quarter. Planned expenditure by this point in the year was R4.7 billion, equivalent to 28.5 percent of the total available budget. The Department was therefore behind on its total spending by R520.7 million or 11.2 percent. This was mainly due to the expenditure on the Kha Ri Gude Project that did not take place as projected and slow spending on the school infrastructure backlogs conditional grant. This was a new situation for the Kha Ri Gude Project, while for the school         infrastructure backlogs conditional grant the slow spending was consistent with 2011/12. The reason for the slow spending on the grant included difficulty in accessing project sites due to poor road conditions, material supplies constraints as suppliers were not able to meet the demand, difficult terrain with steep grades resulting in significant construction of bulk earthworks, and under-      resourcing and poor performance by some contractors.

The Department’s budget was dominated by transfers and subsidies, which represent 73.3 percent of their available budget, mainly to the Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG, National School Nutrition Programme, Dinaledi Schools, and Technical Secondary Schools recapitalisation condition grants. Two-point-eight (2.8) percent of the available budget was spent on goods and       services, mainly in Programme 2 for the Workbooks and Kha Ri Gude Projects. Compensation for employees stood at 2.6 percent. The percentage made available for capital assets was 14.3 percent – mainly for the school infrastructure backlogs conditional grant. Programme 4 was allocated R8.3 billion or 51.2 percent of the total budget, which was mainly composed of the             Education Infrastructure Grant and the School Infrastructure Backlogs grant – 70 percent and 28      percent of this programme’s allocation respectively. Programme 5 was allocated R5.5 billion or 3.5 percent of the total budget, which was mainly composed of the National School Nutrition Programme, Dinaledi Schools, HIV and AIDS (Life Skills) and Technical Secondary Schools Recapitalisation conditional grants. The conditional grants represented 99.1 percent of this programme’s allocation.

 

Spending trends per economic classification:

 

PROGRAMMES

2012/13

Expenditure as % of Main Appropriation

MAIN APPROPRIATION

ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

VARIANCE

R’000

R’000

R’000

Administration

309 648

68 254

241 394

22.04

Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring

1 428 317

47 928

1 380 389

3.36

Teachers, Education Human Resources Development and Institutional Development

760 159

717 525

42 634

94.39

Planning, Information and Assessment

8 370 170

1 559 664

6 810 506

18.63

Educational Enrichment Services

5 475 284

1 747 448

3 727 836

31.92

Total

16 343 578

4 140 819

12 202 759

25.34

 

 

Programme Spending

 

·         Programme 1 – Administration

            Expenditure was R68.3 million or 22 percent of the available budget of R309.6 million.         Planned expenditure was R74.9 million thus the Department was behind by R6.7 million.           This was primarily due to delays in the payment of R4.6 million for interest and rent on land          for the Department’s accommodation.

·         Programme 2 - Curriculum, Support and Monitoring

            Expenditure was R47.9 million, or 3.4 percent of the available budget of R1.4 billion.            Planned expenditure was R65 million so the Department was behind by 17.1 million. This          was primarily due to the Kha Ri Gude project that did not take place as projected due to           delays in awarding of the tender for the delivery of stationery. The DBE also reported     delays in the printing of the 2013 workbooks.

·         Programme 3 – Teacher and Education Human Resources Development and Management

            Expenditure was R717.5 million, or 94.4 percent of the available budget of R760.2 million.    Planned expenditure was R694.4 million so the Department was ahead by R23.1 million.           This was primarily due to the payment for the CAPS orientation conducted in 2011/12 for           which    invoices were only received in April.

·         Programme 4 - Planning, Quality Assessment and Monitoring and Evaluation

            Expenditure was R1.6 billion, or 18.6 percent of the available budget of R8.4 billion.             Planned expenditure was R2.1 billion so the Department was behind by R23.1 million. This        was primarily due to delays in spending on the School Infrastructure Backlogs Grant as discussed above.

·         Programme 5 - Social Responsibility

            Expenditure was R1.7 billion, or 31.9 percent of the available budget of R5.5 billion, which    was broadly in line with the planned expenditure for the first quarter.

 

 

6. Submission by Equal Education on a Review of the Department of Basic Education’s Performance in 2010/11 and 2011/12

 

            Equal    Education (EE) raised the following issues in its assessment of the Department of Basic     Education (DBE)’s performance against its stated policies, goals and targets for the 2011/12   financial year.

 

6.1       Overall performance – Equal Education acknowledged that there were areas in which the

DBE had advanced in achieving its objectives during the reporting period. However, there were weaknesses that had an effect on the quality of education provided for South African learners. These include planning for and provision of workbooks and textbooks, school libraries and library materials, the Annual National Assessments (ANA) and school infrastructure.

 

6.2       Workbooks and Textbooks – Equal Education commended the Department on providing

workbooks to learners in primary schools. However, EE was concerned that the Department had not prioritised access to textbooks as a key strategic objective as highlighted in the 2011-2012 Annual performance Plan and Annual Report. This was premised on the fact that the Department had missed two court imposed deadlines for the delivery of textbooks for learners in Limpopo.

 

EE further referred to the report of the Presidential Task Team that required the Department to conduct a headcount for learners and teachers in the Province and finalise this by the end of November 2012, in order to have credible information that would serve as the basis for both the costing and procurement of LTSM.

 

            These matters were also of concern to the Committee.

           

            6.3 School Libraries – Equal Education raised a concern that the Department only published the   National Guidelines for School Library and Information Services which was a discussion document       rather than policy and did not refer to the provision of resources by the Department. EE       acknowledged, however, that the Department noted in its 2011/12 Annual Report that it had           developed an implementation plan in collaboration with the provinces.

 

6.4   Annual National Assessments (ANA) – Equal Education was of the view that one could

not only use the Grade 12 pass rates as an indicator of the education system’s performance since many learners did not reach Grade 12. Grade 12 examinations only measured performance at the end of secondary school and      therefore did not identify where interventions were needed. The Department introduced ANA as it recognised the problem of using Grade 12 results as the main indicator of system quality. As a monitoring tool, the ANA was meant to identify districts and schools most in need of interventions and assistance. It was unclear whether the Department had put interventions in place following the 2011 ANA. It was imperative that a plan was established to improve numeracy and literacy results. Of further concern was that teachers only receive a short manual explaining how to administer the ANA - and yet did not receive assistance on how to analyse and use the results. Teachers needed to play a role in assisting learners to overcome their challenges. Equal Education welcomed the National Development Plan’s call to make the ANA’s publically accessible however the Department was            yet to make the 2011 ANA results (per school/per district) available to the broader   public.

 

7. Statutory Bodies

 

7.1 Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi)

 

The Council was mandated to quality assure qualifications and standards, monitor and moderate learners’ achievement and issue certificates. The Council also evaluates whether providers of education and training in the sector have the capacity to deliver and assess qualifications and are doing so to expected standards of quality. Umalusi’s mandate was determined by two Acts i.e. the National Qualifications Framework Act of 2008 and the General and Further Education and Training Quality Assurance Act of 2001 amended in 2008. Umalusi therefore reported as a new Quality Council - although there were matters which were still in transition and would require clarification. The mandate of Umalusi covered the following areas:

 

·         Qualifications and Standardisation

·         Quality Assurance

·         Information

·         Research

·         Advice and Collaboration

 

Aspects in the macro environment that had affected Umalusi were as follows:

 

·         The passing of the NQF Act in 2009 resulted in changes in the roles and responsibilities of the various bodies in the quality assurance landscape;

·         The amendment of the various acts that govern the work of the QCs which had required more capacity and a review of Umalusi’s positions and approaches;

·         Varying views on the nature of standard setting and quality assurance

·         Ministerial guidelines for 2011/2012

·         The NQF Implementation Framework from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) putting pressure on policy development  in an uncertain environment

·         The conceptualisation of the post schools system through a green paper process which was nearing completion in respect of public comment

·         General Further Education and Training Framework had not been regulated to date, making for further uncertainty (public comment and South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) advice to the Minister of Higher Education and Training):

 

ü       The review of the National Certificate Vocational (NCV) by the Ministerial Task team was not yet finalised.

ü       The revision of the N-courses was in a state of limbo due to a lack of direction (SAQA advice to the Minister of Higher Education and Training; SETA developments i.r.o artisan qualifications etc.)

ü       The revision of the school curriculum (CAPS) was ongoing

ü       No further progress on the development of new qualifications such as the NASCA (public comment completed) and National Independent Certificate (NIC).

 

In respect of the Quality Assurance Regime for 2011/12, Umalusi argued that educational standards and quality were set and maintained through a combination of processes and interventions. The 2011/2012 quality assurance regime was designed to include the following:

 

  • Evaluation and benchmarking of existing qualifications and curricula (Intended curriculum) and issuing authentic certificates; development of new qualifications and curricula
  • Ensuring through external moderation processes and benchmarking that assessments at exit points are of an acceptable standard and that the examinations are conducted in a credible manner through verifying the national and provincial monitoring systems (Examined curriculum)
  • Ensuring that standardisation processes are reliable, consistent and that standardisation decisions are upheld
  • Accrediting private institutions (schools, Further Education and Training (FET) colleges and Adult Centres), and private assessment bodies to offer / assess the qualifications it certifies (Enacted curriculum)

 

7.1.1 Qualifications, Curriculum and Certification Unit (QCC) - The role of QCC was to ensure and enhance the status and quality of the qualifications Umalusi certifies. Quality assuring the qualifications and their related curricula was QCC’s contribution to the overall quality of the certificate which Umalusi issued. This function also oversaw the issuing and verification of certificates. (Qualifications: Senior Certificate, National Senior Certificate; N3; National Certificate Vocational 2, 3, 4; General Education and Training Certificate (GETC): adults).

 

7.1.2 Quality Assurance of Assessment Unit (QAA) - This function entailed establishing, maintaining and improving standards and quality in assessment at exit points in General and Further Education and Training. In order to fulfil this function, Umalusi used five key processes:

 

  • external moderation of question papers;
  • verification of monitoring the conduct of examinations;
  • external moderation of marking;
  • external moderation of continuous assessment; and
  • standardisation of assessment results.

 

7.1.3 Evaluation and Accreditation Unit (E&A) – The Unit was responsible for accrediting private institutions through quality assurance of their provision for the qualifications Umalusi certified. The unit evaluated the capacity of education and training providers to implement registered qualifications and approved curriculum they sought accreditation for. The Unit also evaluated the capacity of assessment bodies to conduct practical, internal, and external assessment of learner achievement - leading to the issuing of registered qualifications by Umalusi, as well as the standards of assessment products and processes.

 

7.1.4 Statistical Information and Research Unit (SIR) - The mandate of the SIR unit was to conduct research as identified by the needs of the organisation and report on the key indicators of quality and standards in general and further education and training. The Unit further established and maintained databases and lead statistical research and analysis. The SIR Unit also informed and provided statistical support for the work in other units. The SIR Unit also plays a role in organisational and professional development at Umalusi.

 

7.1.5 Management Support Structures Unit (MSS) – This Unit ensured that strategic plans were in place and that the organisation carries out its remit. The Unit also covered the areas of Corporate Governance, Advocacy of Umalusi’s work and Stakeholders relationships.

 

7.1.6     Finance, Human Resource Development and Admin Support – Umalusi claimed to have received an unqualified audit. All Creditors were paid within 30 days and any surpluses were invested at Corporation for Public Deposits (CPD). All Umalusi assets were registered and labeled. Umalusi awarded ten staff with bursaries and seven staff with in-house training. The vacancy rate and turnover rate at Umalusi stood at 6 percent.

 

 

7.1.7          Financial Performance for 2011/12

           

 

Revenue

Amount

 

Certification, verification and accreditation

71 993 289

Department of Basic Education Grant

18 391 000

Interest and other income

  2 835 429

Total Income

R 92 219 718

Expenditure

75 279 084

Surplus

R 17 940 634

 

The surplus was due to certificates being requested in March 2012 instead of June - resulting in the increased revenue which would only be used during the 2012/13 financial year.

 

 

7.1.8          Financial Position for 2011/12

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

21 402 262

          Property & equipment

21 158 744

          Intangible assets

     243 518

Current Assets

48 820 243

          Trade & other receivables

21 373 260

          Cash & cash equivalents

27 446 983

TOTAL ASSETS

R 70 222 505

Equity

61 617 213

          Accumulated surplus

53 420 591

          Revaluation reserve

8 196 622

Liabilities

 

          Trade & other payables

8 605 292

TOTAL  EQUITY & LIABILITIES

R 70 222 505

 

 

7.1.9     Umalusi 3 Year Forecast

 

 

2012/13

 

2013/14

 

2014/15

 

2015/16

 

R 92 952 000

 

R 105 893 141

 

R 118 919 797

 

R 135 240 416

 

From 2013/14 the Department of Basic Education would fully fund the Umalusi mandate so that certification fees would no longer be collected from Provincial Departments and FET Colleges. This was the culmination of support from all stakeholders and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Basic Education.

Y/Y Percentage Increase

 

18 percent

14 percent

12 percent

14 percent

 

 

7.1.10   Conclusion

 

Umalusi was working hard to further clarify their role and ameliorate relations with the other Quality Councils (QCs) through collaboration. The Council was looking forward to the promulgation of the GENFET Sub-Framework of Qualifications in order for Umalusi to take its added mandate work forward.

 

7.1.11      Report by Auditor-General - Umalusi

 

On the portfolio audit outcomes and key control status, the Council received an unqualified opinion with findings for 2011/12 (with adverse findings for Predetermined Objectives). This was down from the previous financial year. For the year under review the compliance remained stable, with no findings. In respect of key controls, Umalusi remained stable for leadership and governance – but went down in respect of financial performance management.

 

In respect of key focus areas the Audit Report indicated that there were no matters for all the key focus areas except the Audit of Performance Objectives where there was no improvement.

 

Umalusi also registered no irregular expenditure or fruitless and wasteful expenditure for the period under review.

 

Intervention was required for Umalusi commitments to sustain its current performance and continue to achieve clean audit outcomes – this was not achieved due to adverse conclusions on performance information in the 2011/12 financial year.

 

Recommended commitments for clean audit included:

 

  • Monitoring compliance with policies and procedures and to take decisive action on non-compliance.
  • Monitoring of bad planning by entities resulting in an increase in non-compliance with PFMA, Treasury Regulations etc
  • Developing checks and balances to ensure credibility of all information
  • Effective utilisation of Internal Audit: Review internal audit scope to include adequate coverage of  AOPO and compliance  in their plans
  • Training programs to incorporate:

 

ü       understanding of why AFS are prepared (for operational management purposes, e.g. analysis of financial performance )

ü       understanding of why key controls are essential

ü       understanding of why service delivery reporting is critical

ü       Continuous professional and skills  development for all staff and monitoring thereof

 

  • Quarterly reinforcement  of  clean administration processes by Accounting Officer / Executive Authority

 

 

7.2 Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)

 

The primary business of the Council was to promote the maintenance of labour peace in the public education sector through the provision of dispute resolution (and prevention) services. To this end, the grievance and disputes of educators and officials were resolved through conciliation and/or arbitration. The secondary business of the Council involved the promotion and maintenance of labour peace in the public education sector through the provision of consultation and negotiations between trade unions and the state as the employer, as represented by the Department of Education. Key legislation directing the work of the ELRC in its core business of dispute resolution and collective bargaining included the following:

 

    • The Labour Relations Act (Act 66 of 1995);
    • The National Education Policy Act (Act 27 of 1996);
    • The Public Finance Management Act (Act 1 of 1999);
    • The Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act 54 of 2002);
    • The Employment of Educators Act (Act 76 of 1998) (Prior to amendment by Act 57 of 2001); and
    • The Further Education and Training Colleges Act 1(Act 6 of   2006)

 

For the period under review, the total number of reviews increased from 3 to 11. The ELRC did not oppose these applications. In the past financial year, 741 disputes were received, 210 more referrals than the 2010-2011 financial year which stood at 531. This increase was experienced despite the employer-employee relations being relatively stable in the past year. The increase could be attributed to the fact that employees were asserting their rights more and it was a demonstration of their increasing trust in the ELRC processes. The number of referrals that were out of the jurisdiction of the ELRC stood at 179 (24 percent). This was eight (8) percent less than the 2010-2011 financial year. The ELRC had continuous engagement with dispute practitioners in a bid to reduce this number further. The out of jurisdiction disputes signified discontentment that should be addressed at provincial level through the Dispute Prevention task teams.

 

The following graph showed the dispute referrals per province for 2010/11 and 2011/12:

 

Province

ULP (Promo/Appl)

Other ULP

Unfair Dismissal

Mutual Interest

Interpretation & App

BCEA

Total

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)

94

16

51

0

2

3

166

Free State (FS)

10

6

17

0

7

0

40

Eastern Cape (EC)

32

34

13

2

9

4

94

Western Cape (WC)

71

15

47

0

18

25

176

Gauteng (GP)

33

17

29

0

4

8

91

Limpopo (LP)

19

11

17

0

8

3

58

North West (NW)

20

2

8

0

10

3

43

Mpumalanga (MP)

18

5

7

0

1

3

34

Northern Cape (NC)

14

11

7

0

                                   3

3

38

National (NAT)

                                 0

               0

0

                           1

0

                                                                                          0

           1

TOTAL

311

117

196

3

62

52

741

 

Western Cape was the highest referring province at 176 followed by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) with a total of 166 and these were alternating over the years. Mpumalanga was the least referring province alternating with the Northern Cape, although their educator numbers compare favourably with the Western Cape and others. Only the Free State experienced a drop in referrals in the past financial year from 46 to 40 and all the others showed increases. The nature of the disputes could be categorised as follows:

 

 

 

09/10

10/11

11/12

Promotions

45 percent

(301)

44 percent

(232)

42 percent

(311)

Dismissals

31 percent

(207)

30 percent

(157)

26 percent

(196)

Unfair Labour Practice (ULP)

12 percent

(80)

18 percent

(95)

16 percent

(117)

Interpretation and Application (Inter & Appl)

4 percent

5 percent

(28)

8.3 percent

(62)

Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)

4 percent

3 percent

(19)

7 percent

(52)

Interest

4 percent

0

0.4 percent

(3)

 

The promotion disputes category was consistently the highest in all the financial years. Promotions, Enforcement of the BCEA and Interpretation or Application disputes stood at 53 percent and did not require a grievance procedure. Of the 196 dismissals, 29 (15 percent) involved learners as victims. Interpretation and Enforcement disputes were showing a steady rise and would warrant some attention from the Council. Of the 508 cases involved, 513 conciliation processes were conducted and of the 7070 cases involved, 766 arbitration processes were conducted.

 

In respect of dispute outcomes; 230 (18 percent) disputes were settled in the past financial year - but fell far short of the 70 percent CCMA target. Of these, 144 were settled at both conciliation and arbitration and 86 were withdrawn at both processes. The number of arbitration awards rendered stood at 168, with 29 of those involving a child as a victim.

 

 

Dispute prevention figures were as follows:

 

PROVINCE

TOTAL GRIEVANCE

FINALISED

NOT FINALISED

DISPUTED

Free-State

10

2

8

2

Kwazulu-Natal

56

54

2

6

Northern Cape

5

2

3

0

Eastern Cape

 

 

 

 

Limpopo

24

11

13

5

Mpumalanga

 

 

 

 

North-West

6

3

3

3

Western Cape

 

 

 

 

Gauteng

 

 

 

 

TOTAL

101

72

29

16

 

In trying to minimise the referral of disputes not to exceed 500 per annum, the ELRC was now monitoring the finalisation of grievances, the finalisation of appeals by the MECs and the precautionary suspensions by requesting quarterly information from provinces. This information would enable the ELRC to make the necessary interventions. Submissions of the statistics by provinces were still in progress.

 

In respect of Professional Development and Training, the ELRC provided the following training in the period under review:

 

  • Eight employer representatives.
  • Practical Labour Law short course for Combined Trade Union – Autonomous Trade Union (CTU-ATU). 
  • Case management and capacity training.
  • Case management for National Teachers Union (NATU) representatives.
  • Annual training and developmental workshop for dispute practitioner and panelists.    

 

The ELRC performance with regard to collective bargaining continued to decline. The following collective agreements were concluded:

 

  • Collective Agreement 1 of 2011: Improvement on the Remuneration of Markers in National Examinations
  • Collective Agreement 2 of 2011: the amendment of Clause 9.3.1 of the ELRC Constitution as certified by the Registrar of Labour on 25th April 2007 and as ratified by Collective Agreement No 6 of 2007
  • Collective Agreement 3 of 2011: Vote Weights for Trade Unions that are parties to Council

 

  • The overall performance of chambers, excluding the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal was pleasing. The achievement rate of five chambers was over 80 percent whilst one achieved 73 percent and the other 60 percent. In respect of developments in the Eastern Cape Chamber there had been facilitation emanating from the implementation of a Motion of Agreement between the Premier of the Eastern Cape, the MEC for Education, the MEC for Health and the Unions, with regards to “post provisioning and temporary teachers”. 

 

Emanating from the work of the task teams, Collective Agreement No. 1 of 2012 on the Appointment of Temporary Educators was concluded in June 2012. The first quarter of the 2012 Financial Year saw an improved level of performance in the Eastern Cape Chamber for the first time after three years. In KwaZulu-Natal, predetermined objectives were replaced by priority issues. Much time was devoted to the plight of underqualified educators; monitoring the implementation of post provisioning norms (PPN) to ensure the smooth functioning of schools and displaced educators. The following provincial collective bargaining agreements were concluded:

 

  • Collective Agreement 1 of 2011 of the Mpumalanga Chamber: Permanent Appointment of Serving Temporary Educators Occupying Vacant Substantive Posts.
  • Collective Agreement 1 of 2012 of the Limpopo Chamber: Implementation of the 2012 schools post establishment.

 

In respect of the allocation and distribution of shop stewards, the collective Agreement No.2 of 2007 covered the appointment of shop stewards in education to facilitate negotiations, consultations, dispute resolution and dispute prevention. The figures for the appointments of shop stewards were:

 

 

 

Eastern Cape

Free State

Gauteng Province

KwaZulu-Natal

Limpopo

Mpumalanga

Northern Cape

North West

Western Cape

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CTU-SADTU

 

7

 

6

 

10

 

8

 

5

 

6

 

5

 

7

 

7

 

61

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CTU-ITU

 

3

 

 

4

 

9

 

5

 

4

 

3

 

2

 

2

 

5

 

37

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL

 

10

 

 

10

 

19

 

13

 

9

 

9

 

7

 

9

 

12

 

98

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The work of the shop stewards covered the following areas:

 

  • Represented educators in disciplinary and conciliation-arbitration (Dispute Resolution) hearings
  • Represented unions in negotiations and consultations at provincial level
  • Were involved in HIV/AIDS intervention programmes
  • Assisted and communicated with educators about education, employment  and Trade Union (TU) related matters
  • Assisted Trade Unions in monitoring the employer’s compliance with provisions of CA’s and workplace-related laws.

 

The ELRC appointed six new employees during the period under review. The Council spent a total of R 185 078 on skills development workshops and educational studies for a total of 17 employees.

 

The Financial Figures for the ELRC were as follows:

 

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

Variance

 

 

 

 

Levies Received

49.693

49.422

0.6 percent

 

 

 

 

Contributors

414.104

411.850

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial Performance:

                                                                        R’ 000

 

Total Income                                       -           R 49.692

Total Expenditure                                -           R 47.938

Operating Surplus / (Deficit)    -           R 1.755

Interest Income                                    -           R 4.392

Surplus/ (Deficit)                                  -           R 6.247

 

The ELRC envisaged future challenges in respect of revenue management and budgetary constraints as well as procurement and contract management, expenditure management and risk management.

 

7.2.1     Report by Auditor-General – ELRC

 

On the portfolio audit outcomes and key control status, the ELRC received an unqualified opinion with findings for 2011/12 (with unqualified Predetermined Objectives). For the year under review the compliance remained relatively stable. In respect of key controls, the ELRC remained stable for leadership, financial performance management as well as governance.

 

In respect of key focus areas there was not improvement for supply chain management as well as material errors in annual financial statements submitted. There was some improvement in respect of Audit of Performance Objectives (pre-determined objective) and no matters arising for Human resources and IT controls.

 

For 2011/12 the Irregular expenditure for the ELRC stood at R 644 000 and Fruitless and Wasteful expenditure stood at R 87 000.00. These were both downward movement in respect of other matters of interest.

 

Interventions were required for prior commitments as the ELRC committed to perform the risk assessment to identify all risks affecting the entity. The risk assessment was not performed and therefore non-compliance was reported in the audit report.

 

The ELRC committed to address shortcomings relating to the management of performance against pre-determined objectives – this was still in progress and therefore non-compliance was reported in the audit report.

 

Recommended commitments for clean audit included:

 

  • Monitoring compliance with policies and procedures and to take decisive action on non-compliance.
  • Monitoring of bad planning by entities resulting in an increase in non-compliance with PFMA, Treasury Regulations etc
  • Developing checks and balances to ensure credibility of all information
  • Monthly financial and performance reports that include disclosure items
  • In line with best practice, updating Supply Chain Management (SCM) policies to ensure that approval of requests to deviate from normal SCM process by the accounting officer/authority is based on recommendations by the bid adjudication committee based on their evaluation of the submission for such a request
  • Effective utilisation of Internal Audit: Review internal audit scope to include adequate coverage of  AOPO and compliance  in their plans
  • Training programs to incorporate:

ü       understanding of why AFS are prepared (for operational management purposes, e.g. analysis of financial performance )

ü       understanding of why key controls are essential

ü       understanding of why service delivery reporting is critical

ü       Continuous professional and skills  development for all staff and monitoring thereof

  • Quarterly reinforcement  of  clean administration processes by Accounting Officer / Executive Authority

 

 

7.3 South African Council for Educators (SACE)

 

The amendment of the SACE Act by the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (2011) provided SACE with a full mandate to manage a system of continuing professional development, enhanced further by the National Development Plan (2011). It further provided SACE with an opportunity to receive money appropriated by Parliament. SACE had also relocated to its newly leased building with a view to purchase. The Council re-established the principle that Professional Development (PD) was the main pillar of SACE.

 

7.3.1          Registration – Registration backlogs had been cleared and applications were processed speedily. The validation and update of the register was currently underway. The Council was compiling separate registers for the different types of registration with plans for on-line registration also underway. The Council observed an emerging trend in fraudulent qualifications. A total of 39 522 educators were registered (Full Registration: 12 786 and Provisional: 26 736).

 

7.3.2          Professional Development – The Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) system pilot had been run in the nine provinces though not all the pilot structures were functional. The CPTD-Information System was being continually tested both internally and externally with the endorsement of at least 300 activities. The CPTD Provider Forum launching meetings had been convened in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape - and a total of 91 Providers had been reached. The CPTD system implementation plan was in the process of being finalised. The process of establishing the Endorsement Committee and appointing more evaluators was underway. The official roll-out was planned for January 2013 - details would be circulated once adopted by Council in November. A full scale advocacy programme would follow.

 

            The Educator Professional Assistance Programme (EPAP) had been launched in Cape Town in       October 2011. The network database of structures and organisations that would be working with          SACE had been established. A total of 26 cases were handled by the Council with 10 cases being    on professional matters and 16 on conditions of service.

 

      World Teachers’ Day celebrations were successfully held in Cape Town. SACE worked with E-TV    to identify teachers doing excellent work and going beyond the call of duty in executing their tasks.            These teachers were shown on E-TV as South African heroes. Educators were also rewarded with   bursaries from the ETDPSETA for professional development. Ten teachers from all nine provinces were recipients of these bursaries.

           

      Several workshops were conducted to concsientise educators on SACE, its functions and in           particular, the Code of Professional Ethics. (Gauteng for 3600 educators, Limpopo for 4220             educators, Northwest for 2966 educators, Mpumalanga 3792 educators, Eastern Cape 1750       educators, Free State for 1900 educators, KwaZulu-Natal for 5841 educators and Northern Cape            for 966 educators)

 

      The number of cases received by provinces could be summarised as follows:

 

PROVINCE

NO. of CASES RECEIVED

Kwazulu –Natal

84

Northern Cape

06

Eastern Cape

33

Limpopo

25

Mpumalanga

58

Northwest

18

Gauteng

103

Free State

24

Western Cape

174

TOTAL

525

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Type of offences and breaches could be summarised as follows:

 

TYPE OF OFFENCE / BREACH

NUMBERS

Verbal Abuse, Victimisation, Harassment, Defamation

79

Sexual Misconduct, including Rape

126

Fraud, Theft, Financial Mismanagement

58

Racism

3

Corporal Punishment, Assault

174

Unprofessional Conduct, Alcohol Abuse, Absenteeism, Insubordination

69

Negligence

13

Murder

0

No Jurisdiction

3

TOTAL

525

 

 

The total number of disciplinary hearings held was 42 with 374 cases being finalised and closed as follows:

·         Educators found guilty                      :           38

ü       Struck off indefinitely                                   - 31 sexual offences

ü       Struck off but may re-apply               - 01

ü       Struck off, suspended for a period     - 06

·         Educators found not guilty: 1

·         Charges withdrawn against educators (parents refusing to avail learners to testify as witnesses): 3

·         Cases referred to other institutions: 173

·         Cases finalised in other forms other than disciplinary hearing: 159

 

At least 151 cases would be carried over into the new financial year.

 

SACE worked with the Centre of the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) on the effect of school-based violence, with a special focus on educators. A report was produced in November 2011. The study had shown that the negative impact of school-based violence on learners/children was well documented nationally and internationally. Research had clearly shown that there was a lack of focus on the impact of high levels of violence on educators and how they were able to cope.

 

The Council conducted an analysis of educator misconduct cases reported to SACE in 2008 and 2009. The main findings from the analysis were that most of the cases reported to SACE came from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. The report also noted that although the Eastern Cape had the second largest number of educators in the country, the province had amongst the fewest reported cases of misconduct. Males were more likely to be accused of misconduct than females and the largest proportion of offenders were between the ages of 35 and 54. The largest number of cases before SACE was lodged by the Provincial Education Departments. The largest proportion of cases involved professional misconduct, followed by assault. Over the two years the number of sexual cases increased, including rape allegations, harassment and inappropriate relationships with learners.

 

7.3.3          Financial Statements

 

            Statement of Financial Position

 

Assets

2012

2011

 

 

 

Non-Current Assets

 

 

Investments

13,100,000

15,097,280

Property, plant and equipment

1,062,826

2,066,767

Intangible assets

2,265,335

3,065,963

 

 

 

 

16,428,161

20,230,010

 

 

 

 

Current Assets

 

 

Trade and other receivables

6,512,810

702,617

Cash and cash equivalents

29,859,262

13,934,708

 

 

 

 

36,372,072

14,637,325

 

 

 

Total Assets

52,800,233

34,867,335

 

 

 

 

Equity and Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

Equity

 

 

Accumulated surplus

24,408,711

20,062,148

Building reserve fund

22,362,956

9,516,579

 

 

 

 

46,771,667

29,578,727

 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

Current Liabilities

 

 

Finance lease obligation

-

93,835

Trade and other payables

6,028,566

5,194,773

 

 

 

 

6,028,566

5,288,608

 

 

 

Total Equity and Liabilities

52,800,233

34,867,335

 

 

 

 

Analysis of Financial Position

 

         Property held for sale last year was now classified as “investment property”. No offer of purchase existed at the end of the year.

         Total assets amounted to R52 million

         Total equity of R46.7 million

         Increase in equity by 58 percent( building reserve fund)

         Accumulated surplus is R24.4 million

         Cash equivalents R29.8 million

         Included is R22.3 million building reserve fund

         Included in trade and other payables is 2.8 million government grant deferred to next year.

 

 

Statement of Financial Performance

 

 

2012

2011

 

 

 

Revenue

53,470,094

47,355,288

Government Grant

4,442,813

2,417,957

Other Income

289,277

145,152

Operating Expenses

(39,985,969)

(37,455,582)

 

 

 

Operating Surplus

18,216,215

12,462,815

 

 

 

Investment revenue

993,630

182,853

Fair Value adjustments

(1,997,280)

-

Final costs

(19,625)

(43,807)

 

 

 

Total comprehensive surplus for the year

17,192,940

12,601,861

 

 

 

 

Analysis of Financial Performance

 

·         Revenue increased (Membership and registration fees)

·         The Department transferred R 7.2 million of which the unspent amount of R 2.8 million was deferred to the next financial year

·         Fair value adjustment represented a decrease in the value of building on sale

·         The surplus was R 17 million:

ü       R 12.8 million was planned towards building a reserve account

ü       The remainder was unplanned and approval was obtained from Treasury to retain the amount towards the building reserve fund.

 

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

Building reserve fund

Accumulated surplus

Total Equity

 

 

 

 

Balance at 1 April 2010

-

16,976,866

16,976,866

Total comprehensive surplus for the year

-

12,601,861

12,601,861

Transfer to building reserve fund

9,516,579

(9,516,579)

 

 

 

 

 

Balance at 1 April 2011

9,516,579

20,062,148

29,578,727

Total comprehensive surplus for the year

-

17,192,940

17,192,940

Transfer to building reserve fund

12,846,377

(12,846,377)

-

 

 

 

 

Balance at 31 March 2012

22,362,956

24,408,711

46,771,667

 

Analysis of Statement of Changes in Net Assets

 

  • Equity increased by 58 percent
  • Surplus and Building Reserve Fund
  • Building and Reserve Fund created in July 2010

 

Statement of Cash Flow

 

 

2012

2011

 

 

 

Cash flows from operating activities

 

 

 

 

 

Cash receipts from customers

53,299,232

55,463,962

Cash paid to suppliers and employees

(37,649,118)

(38,816,124)

 

 

 

Cash generated from operations

15,650,114

16,647,838

Interest income

993,630

182,853

Finance costs

(19,625)

(43,807)

 

 

 

Net cash from operating activities

16,624,119

16,786,884

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase of property, plant and equipment

(546,664)

(3,830,324)

Proceeds on sale of property, plant and equipment

18,609

3,868

Additions to intangible assets

(77,675)

(355,522)

 

 

 

Net cash from investment activities

(605,730)

(4,181,978)

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities

 

 

Decrease in finance lease obligation

(93,835)

(327,936)

 

 

 

Total cash movement for the year

15,924,554

12,276,970

Cash at the beginning of the year

13,934,708

1,657,739

 

 

 

Total cash at the end of the year

29,859,262

13,934,708

 

 

 

 

Analysis of Statement of Cash Flow

 

         R 53 million generated from members in the form of registration fees and levies.

         R 0.6 million converted into assets

         R 29 million was on hand on the 31st March 2012

         Increase in cash was 114 percent

         Building Reserve Fund contributes to the high percentage of cash.

 

The Council was currently accommodated in one building (240 Lenchen Street, Centurion). The Council was keeping to its decision to acquire the currently rented building by June 2015. The Building Reserve Fund had grown to R 22.3million. A professional development manager position was vacant at the end of the financial year.

 

7.3.4     Report by Auditor General – SACE

 

On the portfolio audit outcomes and key control status, the Council received an unqualified opinion with findings for 2011/12 (with unqualified Predetermined Objectives). For the year under review the compliance remained stable, with no findings. In respect of key controls, the SACE remained stable for leadership, financial performance management as well as governance.

 

In respect of key focus areas the Audit Report indicated that there were no matters for all the key focus areas (Supply Chain Management, Audit of Performance Objectives, Human Resources, It Controls and Material errors in annual financial statements submitted)

 

SACE had no Irregular expenditure or Fruitless and Wasteful expenditure for the period under review.

 

SACE committed to address shortcomings relating to the management of performance against pre-determined objectives – this was still in progress.

 

Recommended commitments for clean audit included:

 

  • Monitoring compliance with policies and procedures and to take decisive action on non-compliance.
  • Monitoring of bad planning by entities resulting in an increase in non-compliance with PFMA, Treasury Regulations etc
  • Developing checks and balances to ensure credibility of all information
  • Effective utilisation of Internal Audit: Review internal audit scope to include adequate coverage of  AOPO and compliance  in their plans
  • Training programs to incorporate:

ü       understanding of why AFS are prepared (for operational management purposes, eg analysis of financial performance )

ü       understanding of why key controls are essential

ü       understanding of why service delivery reporting is critical

ü       Continuous professional and skills  development for all staff and monitoring thereof

  • Quarterly reinforcement  of  clean administration processes by Accounting Officer / Executive Authority

 

 

8. Consideration of Other Sources of Information

 

8.1 Report on Millennium Development Goals

 

The basic education sector in South Africa was primarily responsible for the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2 and 3. MDG 2 thrusts for commitment by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to achieve universal primary education while MDG 3 sought the promotion for gender equality and empowerment of women by 2015.

 

In terms of the South African government’s development priorities, the focus on education was not only on access to education, but more on quality of education. The focal point was on a range of practical steps for attracting, retaining and teaching children including the provision of no fees for schools servicing poorer communities, up scaling school nutrition and feeding schemes and further allowing for free transport. The focus also included: improving access to Grade R; expanding the provision of infrastructure, facilities and learning resources at primary and secondary schools; and broadening access to specialist services for Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN).

 

8.1.1 Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

 

The Department reported progress in achieving this goal on the following three indicators: 

-          Net enrolment rate in primary education

-          Completion rates of primary education for 18 year olds

-          Literacy rate of 15 – 24 years old, women and men

 

Overall, the performance of the country in these indicators for the period under review had remained constant.

 

Net enrolment rate - On the matter of the Net Enrolment Rate (NER) in South Africa, the Department reported on the age level 7 to 13 or grades 1 to 7 which are the recognised primary schooling age. In this regard, it is significant that South Africa had attained almost universal access to primary education. The Department further indicated that the girls’ net enrolment rate in 2009 was higher at 98.8 percent while boys’ net enrolment rate was at 96.4 percent.

 

Completion rates of primary education for 18 year olds - Completion rates of primary education and higher for those aged 18 years increased from 89.6 percent in 2002 to 93.8 percent in 2009 and was at 92.1 per cent in 2011.

 

Literacy rate of 15 – 24 years old, women and men - The Department reported that the functional literacy rate among 15–24-year-olds, which was based on educational achievement of up to Grade 7, had steadily increased from 88.0 percent in 2002 to 91.0 percent in 2009 and remained 91.0 per cent in 2011. It was further reported that the functional literacy level for female youths in 2009 was at 93 percent, slightly higher than their male counterparts who were at 89 percent.

According to the Department, South Africa had in effect achieved the goal of universal primary education before the year 2015, and its education system could now be recognised as having attained near universal access. However, if this achievement was to be translated into educational transformation in a meaningful way, serious interventions would be needed to improve the quality and functionality of education. The results of 2011 Annual National Assessments (ANA) gave evidence that most learners did not acquire the skills and understanding that gave substance to the right to education.

In terms of the different levels of performance, over half of the total learners assessed performed at a level that indicated that they had clearly not achieved the competencies specified in the curriculum. In Grade 6, the results indicated that approximately 70 percent of learners fell into this category. At the top end (at least 70 percent), very few learners were able to achieve outstanding results. For instance, only 3 percent of learners in Grade 6 mathematics could be considered outstanding.

8.1.2 Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

 

The target of Goal 3 was to eliminate the gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 and to continue doing so in all levels of education no later than 2015. Data provided confirmed that South Africa had generally performed well against the international indicators for Goal 3. According to the Department, South Africa could be considered to have reached most gender equality targets, if not exceeded them. While the country performed well on the international indicators, South Africa had a range of socio-economic and cultural challenges that continued to undermine aspects of gender equality and women empowerment.

 

8.2 Audit outcome of the Provincial Education Departments 

 

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education received a briefing from the Office of the Auditor-General on the summary of audit outcomes of the Basic Education Sector and related entities for the year ended 31 March 2012, on the 9 October 2012.

 

       Audit outcome of Provincial Departments of Education for 2010/11

 

         Province

Audit Outcome

 

2011/12

2010/11

2009/10

Eastern Cape

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Free State

Unqualified

Qualified

Qualified

Gauteng

Unqualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

KwaZulu-Natal

Qualified

Qualified

Unqualified

Limpopo

Disclaimer

Qualified

Disclaimer

Mpumalanga

Unqualified

Unqualified

Qualified

Northern Cape

Qualified

Qualified

Qualified

North West

Qualified

Qualified

Disclaimer

Western Cape

Qualified

Unqualified

Unqualified

 

The briefing highlighted that the overall audit outcomes of the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) continued to be unsatisfactory. Two PEDs, Limpopo Education Department and the Eastern Cape Education Department received disclaimers in 2011/12 compared to one (Eastern Cape) in 2010/11. Limpopo Education Department regressed to disclaimer from qualified audit opinion in 2010/11. Only Free State Education Department progressed from a qualified audit opinion to a unqualified audit opinion, while Mpumalanga progressed from a qualified audit opinion to an unqualified audit opinion. Mpumalanga and Gauteng Education Departments have retained unqualified audit opinions while the North West, Northern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal have retained qualified opinions. The Western Cape showed poorer performance this year, regressing from an unqualified to a qualified audit opinion.

 

9. Committee Observations

 

9.1 Department of Basic Education

 

9.1.1 As in previous reporting periods, the Committee commended the Department and two of its entities for continuing to receive an unqualified audit opinion in relation to the management of their finances. The Committee is, however, concerned about a number of shortcomings in the Department’s planned and reported performance as highlighted by the Auditor-General. Specific concerns include the lack of measurability of programme performance related to the delivery of textbooks and workbooks, the inconsistency regarding the actual performance reported as achieved and the indicator which required the workbooks and textbooks to be made available to learners, as well as the lack of adequate controls to ensure that learners receive workbooks and textbooks. The Committee further noted with concern that of the total number of planned targets, the Department failed to achieve 47 per cent during the year under review. To enhance its management systems, the Committee expected the Department to work towards ensuring that the problem areas highlighted as matters of emphasis and other matters do not arise in future.

 

9.1.2 The Committee was concerned that the accuracy of data on the number of learners and teachers remains questionable, despite raising the matter previously. As a consequence, the department could not reliably estimate the total number of LTSMs to be delivered to schools. The problems relating to data also impacted on the budget. The Department noted in response that, the collection of data was a provincial function and principals tended to inflate numbers in order to receive more funding. The Committee further heard that systems were now underway to verify learner numbers.

 

9.1.3 The Committee remained concerned about the recurring poor management of finances in several Provincial Education Departments as reported by the Auditor General, since this impacts on service delivery. The Committee requires that the parties involved update it on the impact of their intervention strategies to resolve this issue.

 

9.1.4 The Committee continued to acknowledge that South Africa rated well on standard indicators of access to education but remained concerned about poor performance of learners as one of the proxy indicators for measuring the quality of education. The Committee supported the placing of the Department’s efforts towards improving the quality of education and sustaining gains made in equity and access.

 

9.1.5 As in 2010/11, the Committee remained concerned about the poor utilisation and supply of teachers in the system and expected to see greater progress made in resolving this challenge. The Committee previously recommended inter alia that processes to deal with the absorption of teachers should be fast tracked in order to facilitate the employment of new educators (Report on oversight visits to the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, dated 6 March 2012). The Department reported that the DBE had set up a team to deal with teacher utilisation in the provinces. Excess teachers were moved, though they were not necessarily matched to the right posts, and this had to do with post provisioning implementation.

 

9.1.6 Informed by major challenges in sector performance, the Committee noted that it is important that the Department strengthen its steering role as well as its support and monitoring of implementation in provinces.

 

9.1.7 The problems with the allocations for Quintile 1 and Quintile 2 needed to be re-visited. The

Committee remained concerned about the impact of the training received by the identified Subject

Advisors.

 

9.2 Umalusi:

 

9.2.1 Contrary to what Umalusi reported, according to the AG Report, Umalusi had regressed from receiving a clean audit in 2010/11 to an unqualified audit opinion with matters of emphasis.

 

9.2.2 The Committee was concerned about the persistent criticism and comments which persisted from academics on the “low standard” of exams.

 

9.2.3 There was a further concern that Umalusi was losing external moderators on a regular basis.

 

9.2.4 The Committee was concerned about plans by Umalusi to mitigate the challenge on the scarcity of suitably qualified people to be appointed as external examiners for NCV - which was recurring in all the years of reporting.

 

9.2.5 There was a further concern around the challenges behind the Council’s receipt of adverse opinion on predetermined objectives as raised by the AG.

 

 

9.3 ELRC:

 

9.3.1 The Teacher Laptop Initiative was still of concern to the Portfolio Committee as this ought to have been rolled out already. This needed to be resolved urgently.

 

9.3.2 ELRC mentioned that the lack of skills was mentioned as a reason for the irregular expenditure. This needed to be remedied.

 

9.3.3 For the amount of money the Council received, the AG mentioned that the irregular/wasteful expenditure was too high.

 

9.3.4 The Council failed to finalise all cases before it with carryover of 195 cases (38.3 percent).

 

 

9.4 SACE:

 

9.4.1 The Committee observed that SACE was ready to roll-out the CPTD project and was concerned with the necessary service providers being on board.

 

 

 

10. Conclusion

 

The Committee has reviewed and analysed the performance of the Department and its entities for the 2011/12 financial year. It observed that the Department and two of its entities have retained unqualified audit opinions with findings while the third entity moved from receiving a clean audit in 2010/11 to an unqualified audit opinion in 2011/12. [The Committee noted that Umalusi disputed aspects of the findings of the Report of the Auditor General - and would follow up on the matter.]

 

The Committee further took note that the Department has responsive strategic priorities and objectives in place, aimed at realising Outcome 1 of improving quality basic education. In terms of the overall performance, there were many areas in which the Department had advanced in achieving its objectives during the reporting period. The Committee also noted that there were major challenges in the sector’s service delivery that remain to be resolved. The sector needs to intensify its work to improve learner performance through key priorities such as Workbooks, ANA, CAPS, ASIDI and Teacher Education during the MTEF period.

 

 

11. Committee Recommendations

 

Based on the observations made above, the Committee recommends that the Minister should ensure that the Department and its Entities consider the following:

 

11.1    Department of Basic Education

 

            11.1.1 Programme 1: Administration

 

·         Addresses audit shortcomings highlighted by the Auditor General in order to avoid their recurrence in the future - provide Parliament with details of its audit action plans within three weeks of the adoption of this report by the National Assembly. This report should include a focus on how the Department will address challenges around:

o        Under expenditure particularly in programme 4;

o        the lack of measurability of programme performance and reporting that does not link to the predetermined objectives;

o        Accuracy of Departmental data which impacted on the ordering, delivering and their provision of textbooks;

o        Leave management.

·         Updates Parliament regarding details of the systems underway to verify learner numbers during its third quarterly progress report.

·         Strengthen its steering role as well as its support and monitoring of implementation in provinces and give a report to Parliament by the end of January 2013.

·         Updates Parliament on the nature and impact of interventions to improve the management of finances in affected provinces, given the recurring poor management of finances in several Provincial Education Departments. The Department should supply Parliament with a written report within three months of the adoption of this report by the National Assembly. The Committee will follow up on this issue in collaboration with relevant committees of Parliament.

 

            11.1.2 Programme 2: Curriculum

 

·         Together with Provincial Education Departments, fast tracks the development of adequate controls and processes to collect and verify learner numbers in the system and to ensure timeous delivery of LTSMs to schools. A written report should be given to Parliament by 30 November 2012.

·         Reviews or assesses the Dinaledi Schools and supply Parliament with a written report on progress by 31 January 2013.

·         Reviews or assesses the subjects offered in Technical Schools and supply Parliament with a written report on progress by 31 January 2013.

·         Assesses the White Paper 6 of 2001 on Inclusive Education in order to ascertain whether it has met its objectives and supply Parliament with a written report on progress by 31 January 2013.

·         Intensifies the QLTC particularly its establishment, effectiveness and impact at school level and supply Parliament with a written report on progress by 31 January 2013.

·         Intensifies the implementation of targeted interventions to improve the quality and functionality of education if the goal of meaningful access to education is to be realised.

 

            11.1.3 Programme 3: Teacher and Education Human Resources Development and                                       Management

 

·         Provides Parliament a progress report on details to deal with teacher utilisation in the provinces by the 30 November 2012.

·         Supply an updated written report to Parliament on supply and demand of teachers by 31 January 2013

 

            11.1.4 Programme 4: Planning, Information and Assessment

 

·         Considers a better and holistic approach to planning and implementing ASIDI and supply a written report to Parliament on progress by 30 November 2012.

·         Supports teachers to effectively use ANA results as a diagnostic tool to improve teaching and learning and supply a written report to Parliament on progress by 31 January 2013.

·         Continues to prioritise teacher skills development and supply a written report to the Parliament on progress by 31 January 2013.

           

11.2    Umalusi

 

Umalusi urgently addresses the issues around monetary controls as well as a turnaround strategy on any pronouncements by the Auditor-General. Umalusi was urged to meet with the Auditor-General to deal with the issues around the AG Report on Umalusi. Umalusi should supply Parliament with a written report after engagements with the AG.

 

11.3    SACE

 

·         SACE analyses and monitors the impact of the various workshops held throughout the country to train educators on SACE function and role and supply a written report to Parliament on progress by 31 January 2013.

·         SACE invests in updating its database of its registered members and supply a written         report to Parliament on progress by March 2013.

 

 

 

 

11.4   ELRC

 

·         The ELRC in conjunction with the DBE fast-tracks and resolves the issues around the Teacher Laptop Initiative as implementation has been slow and supply a written report to Parliament on progress by 31 January 2013.

·         Supply Parliament with a report on progress in respect of the Performance Agreements for Principals and Deputy Principals by 31 January 2013.

·         The ELRC should address the issue around the lack of skills which contributed to the irregular expenditure and supply a written report to Parliament on progress by March 2013.

 

 

 

Report to be considered.

 

 

 

 

 

 



[1] Department of Basic Education, (2011)

[2] Department of Basic Education (2011)