ATC190226: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education for the Third Quarterly Report on the Performance of the Department of Basic Education in Meeting its Strategic Objectives for 2018/19, dated 26 February 2019

Basic Education

logo Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education for the Third Quarterly Report on the Performance of the Department of Basic Education in Meeting its Strategic Objectives for 2018/19, dated 26 February 2019.

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, having considered the Third Quarterly Report on the performance of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in meeting its strategic objectives for 2018/19 reports as follows:

Introduction

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education considered the Third Quarterly Report on the performance of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in meeting its strategic objectives for 2018/19 on 19 February 2019. Consideration of quarterly reports by committees is one of the established tools to fulfill Parliament’s oversight and accountability mandates in terms of the Constitution and under rules established by the two Houses. Quarterly reports are critical for in-year monitoring since they provide information on the performance of the executive against pre-determined objectives set in the annual performance plans.

This report gives an overview of the presentations made by the Department, focusing mainly on its achievements, output in respect of the performance indicators and targets set for 2018/19 and its financial performance. The report also provides the Committee’s key deliberations and recommendations relating to the Department’s performance. The achievements and output of the Department presented for the Third Quarter are preliminary since they have not yet been audited.

Performance Indicators and Targets

The priorities of the Department in the 2018/19 financial year were anchored in the Delivery Agreement of Outcome 1: Improving the quality of Basic Education, the sector-wide Action Plan to 2019: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2030 and the 2014-19 Medium Term Strategic Framework, 2014 - 19. The activities of the Department remained structured into five programmes namely:

Programme 1: Administration;
Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring;
Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development;
Programme 4: Planning, Information and Assessment; and
Programme 5: Educational Enrichment Services.

Overview of Achievements for the Third Quarters

For the 2018/19 financial year, the Department had a total of 47 indicators for all five programmes combined. Of these indicators, 33 were annual targets, 12 were quarterly targets and two were bi-annual targets. As at the end of the Third Quarter the Department had fully achieved nine targets (75 percent), partially achieved two targets (17 percent) and did not achieve one target (8 percent).

Performance per Programme against Performance Indicators and Targets set for 2018/19

4.1 Programme 1: Administration – The purpose of the programme is to manage the Department and provide strategic administrative support services. Within this programme, two targets were annual targets and one was a quarterly target.

The Department achieved fully achieved (386 of 386) the Third Quarter target of 100 percent of service providers within the procurement unit paid within 30 days. With regard to the two annual targets set for this programme, as at the end of the Third Quarter, the Department recorded the following:

Percentage of received misconduct cases resolved within 90 days – One disciplinary case was held and will be finalised in the next quarter.
Percentage of received grievances cases resolved within 30 days – A total of 22 grievances received. All grievances, except for one, were received in November and will be finalised in the next quarter.

The Department reported on further progress made in the key focus areas in Programme 1 for the Third Quarter of 2018/19, which included the following, amongst others:

Human Resource Management and Development, Labour Relations and IT

Services;

Financial Services, Security and Asset Management;
Legal and Legislative Services;
Office of the Director-General; and
Strategic Planning, Research and Co-ordination;

Programme 2: Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring - The purpose of the programme is to develop curriculum and assessment policies and monitor and support their implementation. Within this programme, there were 19 performance indicators with eleven annual, five quarterly and three bi-annual targets.

Quarterly Targets:

Number of off-line digital content packaged and distributed to provinces: The quarterly target was achieved in Quarter 1. The Directorate received all the planned Quarter 3 digital content resources earlier than expected in Quarter 1 and was therefore able to package and distribute all the 15 annual targeted content packs simultaneously in Quarter 1, hence the deviation.

Number of schools per province monitored for utilisation of ICT resources: The Department achieved the set target of monitoring 9 schools with no deviation.

Number of schools visited for monitoring CAPS implementation in technical schools: No schools were visited during this quarter

Number of schools with Multi-Grade classes implementing the Multi-Grade Toolkit monitored: The target of 35 schools was partially achieved. The Department was able to monitor 24 schools only as some of the schools were monitored by provinces and they are yet to submit the monitoring instrument.

Number of advocacy campaigns conducted on the Rural Education Policy in the provinces: The target was set at three campaigns but this was not achieved. The decision from CEM of 8th November 2018 is that the draft policy document should be converted into a framework that would guide the provision of quality education in the rural settings.

Annual Targets:

Number of off-line digital content resources developed annually: The target set was eight annually. The quality assurance workshop for the authored textbooks was held as planned. The books were ready in January 2019.

Percentage of public schools with Home Language workbooks for learners in Grades 1-6: The target was set at 100 percent annually. The Department indicated that the Volume 2 delivery stood at 94 percent (21 986 of 23 186).

Percentage of public schools with Mathematics workbooks for learners in Grades 1-9: The target was set at 100 percent annually. The Department indicated that the Volume 2 delivery stood at 94 percent (21 986 of 23 186).

Percentage of public schools with workbooks for Grade R: The target was set at 100 percent annually. The Department indicated that Grade R delivery stood at 100 percent (16 338 of 16 338).

Number of schools monitored on the implementation of the reading norms: The target was set at 20 schools monitored but the Department registered only 15 schools monitored to date.

Number of schools monitored on the implementation of the Incremental Introduction to African Languages (IIAL) annually: The target was set at 20 schools monitored but the Department registered only 14 schools monitored to date.

Number of underperforming schools monitored on the implementation of the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA): The target was set at 75 schools monitored. The validated Quarter 2 output indicated a total of 30 schools were monitored. To date the number of schools monitored stood at 33 schools.

Number of Mathematics, Science and Technology lesson plans monitored for the Intermediate, Senior and FET Phases: The annual target was to ensure Technical Mathematics and Science Grade 10 – 12 lesson plans were monitored annually. The Department had met the target for lesson plans for Technical Mathematics monitored. Lesson plans for Technical Science were scheduled to be monitored in January and February 2019.

Number of Mathematics, Science and Technology teacher guides developed for the Intermediate, Senior and FET Phases: The annual target was to ensure Technical Mathematics and Science Grade 10 – 12 teacher guides be developed annually. Technical Maths and Technical Sciences Grade 12 Teacher Guides have been developed and were with Communications for Layout and Design. Technical Maths and Technical Sciences Grade 10 & 11 have been developed and were converted in January/February 2019.

Number of Children/ Learners with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability (C/LSPID) who utilise the Learning Programme for C/LSPID: The target was set at 3 327 learners annually. The Department has overachieved on this target to date with a total of 3 581 learners.

Number of Children/ Learners with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability (C/LSPID) with access to therapeutic and psycho-social support services that will enable them to improve their participation in learning: The target was set at 3 327 learners annually. The Department has overachieved on this target to date with a total of 3 581 learners.

Bi-Annual Targets:

Number of Mathematics training sessions/workshops monitored: The bi-annual target was set at 9 sessions/workshops monitored and the Department recorded no deviation with five sessions/workshops monitored by the end of Quarter 2.

Number of training of CAPS for Technical subjects monitored: The bi-annual target was set at 14. The Department was able to monitor four schools in Quarter 3 with some PEDs deferring Quarter 2 training to take place during September/October school holidays in Quarter 3.

Number of learners obtaining subject passes towards a National Senior Certificate (NSC) or extended Senior Certificate, including upgraded NSC per year: The bi-annual target was set at 25 000. The validated output for Quarter 2 stood at 33 026 from a target of 15 000. The Department indicated that more learners had achieved subject passes. The results excluded the October/November results. The combined results will be reported at the end of Quarter 4.

The Department reported on further progress made in the key focus areas in Programme 2 for the Third Quarter of 2018/19, which included the following, amongst others:

Curriculum and Quality Enhancement Programmes
- Learning and Teaching Support Material;
- Mathematics, Science and Technology;
- Mathematics Framework
- Rural Education
- ICT Infrastructure and Connectivity
Curriculum implementation and monitoring.
- Early Childhood Development
- Inclusive Education
- General Education and Training (GET)
- Further Education and Training (FET)

Programme 3: Teachers, Education Human Resources and Institutional Development - The purpose of the programme is to promote quality teaching and institutional performance through the effective supply, development and utilisation of human resources. Within this programme, there was a total of ten performance indicators with eight annual and two quarterly targets.

Quarterly Targets:

Number of Provincial Education Department (PED) monitored on the implementation of IQMS: The quarterly target of 1 PED was achieved with no deviation.

Number of PEDs monitored on the implementation of PMDS: The quarterly target of 1 PED was achieved with no deviation.

Annual Targets:

The Department reported the following progress in relation to its eight annual targets:

Percentage of SGBs that meet minimum criteria in terms of effectiveness: The target was set at 80 percent of 2 000 sampled SGBs annually. The progress to date stood at 1 856 SGBs

Percentage of schools producing the minimum set of management documents at a required standard: The target was set at 80 percent of 2 000 sampled schools annually. The progress to date stood at 2 255 schools

Number of Funza Lushaka bursaries awarded to students enrolled for initial teacher education: The target set was 13 500 bursaries awarded annually. A list of 13 699 students recommended for the Funza Lushaka bursaries was approved and sent to NSFAS for the disbursement of the bursary benefits.

Number of teachers participating in the EFAL Diagnostic Tests: The annual target was set at 2 000. No EFAL tests were undertaken in the current quarter. The total to date stood at 950.

Number of teachers participating in the Physical Science Diagnostic Tests: The annual target was set at 2 000. No Physical Science tests were undertaken in the current quarter. The total to date stood at 140.

Number of teachers participating in the Accounting Diagnostic Tests: The annual target was set at 2 000. No Accounting tests were undertaken in the current quarter. The total to date stood at 677.

Number of teachers participating in the Mathematics Diagnostic Tests: The annual target was set at 2 000. A total of 100 Mathematics tests were undertaken in the current quarter. The total to date stood at 1 675.

Number of PEDs that had their post provisioning process assessed for compliance with the post provisioning Norms and Standards: One PED was monitored for post provisioning compliance. All PEDs were monitored for declaration and distribution of post establishment to schools.

The Department reported on further progress made in the key focus areas in Programme 3 for the Third Quarter of 2018/19, which included the following, amongst others:

Education Human Resource Management;
Education Labour Relations and Conditions of Service;
Continuing Professional Teacher Development;
Curriculum Research;
LTSM Policy Development; and
Teacher Development Implementation.

Programme 4: Planning, Information and Assessment - This programme is responsible for promoting quality and effective service delivery in the basic education system through planning, implementation and assessment. The programme had a total of 12 performance indicators with eleven annual and one that was not applicable (i.e. Number of schools provided with electricity through ASIDI).

Annual Targets:

The Department reported the following progress in relation to its nine annual targets in Programme 4:

A bank of Language and Mathematics test items for Grade 3,6 and 9
developed: The target was set at 200 annually. In the Third Quarter, test items for the Systemic Evaluation (SE) test booklets, including 9 forms for Mathematics and 7 forms for Language for Grades 3, 6 and 9. Grade 6 were successfully piloted. These were being refined and the final number of items will be reported in the fourth quarter. Diagnostic Term tests for Languages and Mathematics were quality assured.

Number of NSC and SC reports produced: The target was set at four reports. The reports will be submitted in Quarter 4 after the examinations are written and analysed.

Number of question papers set annually for NSC and SC: The target was set at 260 annually and the progress to date stood at 278

Number of new schools built and completed through ASIDI: The target was set at 50 annually. The progress to date stood as follows:
- Quarter 1 - 8
- Quarter 2 - 10
- Quarter 3 - 0

A total of 18 schools have been built in 2018/19.

Number of schools provided with sanitation facilities through ASIDI: The target was set at 286 annually. The progress to date stood as follows:
- Quarter 1 - 28
- Quarter 2 - 75
- Quarter 3 - 21

A total of 124 schools have been provided with sanitation in 2018/19.

Number of schools provided with water through ASIDI: The target was set at 325 annually. The progress to date stood as follows:
- Quarter 1 - 18
- Quarter 2 - 78
- Quarter 3 - 11

A total of 107 schools have been provided with water in 2018/19.

Percentage of public schools using the standardised school administration system, SA-SAMS for reporting: The target was set at 98 percent annually. The Department was able to achieve 97.6 percent (21552/22064).

Number of provinces monitored by DBE officials for implementation of LURITS annually: The target was set at one report covering nine provinces monitored. The monitoring of PEDs has been completed and preliminary reports discussed with PEDs

Number of officials from districts that achieved below the national benchmark in the NSC participating in a mentoring programme: The target was set at 30. A total of two districts in the KwaZulu-Natal Province were visited.

Percentage of school principals rating the support services of districts as being satisfactory: The target was set at 71 percent. The department indicated that survey data collection and implementation has been approved.

Percentage of district managers assessed against developed criteria: The target was set at 90 percent annually. A letter has been issued to provinces to report on appointments and competency assessments conducted from 1 April to 31 December 2018.

The Department reported on further progress made in the key focus areas in Programme 4 for the Third Quarter of 2018/19, which included the following, amongst others:

National Assessment and Public Examinations;
Financial and Physical Planning, Information and Management Systems;
International Relations and Multilateral Affairs;
Partnerships;
National Education Collaboration Trust;
Planning and Delivery Oversight
District and School Level Planning and Implementation Support;
Support to the Ministry, Director-General and Parliamentarians; and
Physical Planning.

Programme 5: Educational Enrichment Services - The purpose of the programme is to develop policies and programmes to improve the quality of learning in schools. Within this programme, there was a total of four (4) performance indicators with three (3) quarterly and one (1) annual targets.

Quarterly Targets:

The Department’s performance in its three quarterly targets was as follows:

Number of schools monitored for the provision of nutritious meals:

The Department monitored a total of 46 schools in the second quarter and 16 schools in the Third Quarter against the annual target of 110 schools. The Department placed emphasis on assisting provinces in the development of business plans, which derailed the monitoring exercise. Although the target for Quarter 3 was not achieved fully, the annual target has already been exceeded by 9.

Number of learners, teachers, officials and SGBs participating in social cohesion and gender equity programmes: The quarterly target was 7 000 and Department achieved 3 855 in Quarter 2 and 559 in Quarter 3. A target against the Quarter 3 was not included in anticipation of the exam period. Previously, it has been impossible to implement activities during the exam period.

Number of hot-spot schools monitored towards implementation of the NSSF: The quarterly target was 47 and the Department achieved 46 in Quarter 2 and 15 in Quarter 3. The positive deviation results from officials being in close proximity to the existing 12 districts. This had no cost implications.

Annual Targets:

Number of professionals trained in SASCE programmes: The target was set at 900 annually. Provinces have further disseminated the 2019 music syllabus to schools.

The Department reported on further progress made in the key focus areas in Programme 5 for the Third Quarter of 2018/19, which included the following, amongst others:

Care and Support in Schools; and
Social Inclusion and Partnerships in Education.

Financial Report: Third Quarter Expenditure

The total Appropriation budget of the Department for the 2018/19 financial year amounted to R 23.700 billion. A total of R 19 128 billion (80.71%) was allocated to transfer payments as follows:

Conditional Grants: R 17 696 billion;
Transfers to Public Entities: R 144.9 million; and
Other Transfers: R 1 287 billion.

The ) was allocated to the following:

Compensation of Employees: R 444.1 million;
Examiners and Moderators: R 26.7 million;
Earmarked Funds: R 1.205 billion;
Office Accommodation: R 197.4 million;
Specifically and Exclusively Appropriated: R 2.272 billion;
Departmental Operations: R 204.0 million; and
Departmental Projects: R 222.8 million.

The total actual expenditure of the Department for the 2018/19 financial year Third Quarter amounted to R 19.443 billion. Expenditure amounting to R 16.389 billion was made up of transfer payments as follows:

Conditional Grants: R 15.010 billion;
Transfers to Public Entities: R 108.8 million; and
Other Transfers: R 1.270 billion.

The remainder of the expenditure (R 3.054 billion) was made up as follows:

Compensation of Employees: R 322.5 million;
Examiners and Moderators: R 23.4 million;
Earmarked Funds: R 962 million;
Office Accommodation: R 146.4 million;
Specifically and Exclusively Appropriated: R 1.332 billion;
Departmental Operations: R 136.4 million; and
Departmental Projects: R 131.4 million.

				Expenditure as % of Appropriation
		ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

	472 145	347 810	124 335	73.67
Curriculum Policy, Support and Monitoring	1 867 116	1 534 465	332 651	82.18
Teachers, Education Human Resources Development and Institutional Development	1 313 041	1 235 591	77 450	94.10
Planning, Information and Assessment	19 938 313	10 420 353	2 517 960	80.54
Educational Enrichment Services	7 108 968	5 905 103	1 203 865	83.07
	23 699 583	19 443 322	4 256 261	82.04

The bulk of the remaining balance on this programme was in respect of the payment for the unitary fees of the office building as well as personnel budget for the last quarter of the financial year. Unitary fees for the office accommodation is paid monthly and the fourth quarter fees will be paid as projected.

The bulk of the allocation on this programme was in respect of the Workbooks, Second Chance programme and Conditional Grants:

– The printing of Workbooks Volume 2 has been completed. The delivery was currently in progress and it was expected to be completed at the end of January 2019. The expenditure will increase once the invoices for delivery of Workbooks Volume 2 has been received and processed.

Second Chance Programme – The expenditure will increase when invoices for Offline Access to digital Content Resources and training to 74 Second Chance Learner Support Centers and the printing of the Self Study Guides for creative Writing estimated at R 20 million are processed. Furthermore, the Advocacy Awareness are currently in progress.

Learners with Profound Intellectual Disability Grant and Maths, Science and Technology Grant – The final transfers on these grants were going to be made as scheduled.

The balance in this programme was mainly for UNESCO for membership fees, Annual National Teacher Awards, claims from Teacher Union and Personnel budget.

UNESCO - UNESCO has submitted invoices for the membership fees and payment of the invoices were made before the end of the financial year. The Annual National Teacher Awards was held on 21 February 2019. The invoices for this event were going to be processed before the end of the financial year.

The balance in this programme was outstanding transfers for Education Infrastructure Grant, outstanding payments in respect of the ASIDI programme as well as the Personnel Budget.

Education Infrastructure Grant - The final transfers on this Conditional grant was made on 31 January 2019.

ASIDI Programme - National Treasury approved an additional funding amounting to R800 million to cover the shortfall and completed the projects that were currently in progress to avoid contractors leaving the construction sites and charging penalties.

The bulk of the remaining allocation in the programme was in respect of the HIV and Aids Conditional Grant and National School Nutrition Programme Conditional Grant. The final transfers on these conditional grants would be made to the provinces as scheduled.

ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION				Expenditure as % of
		ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

Compensation of Employees	510 590	367 801	142 789	72.04
Goods and Services	1 871 466	1 392 195	479 271	74.39
Interest and rent on land	51 458	34 353	17 105	66.76
Transfers and Subsidies	19 127 956	16 389 282	2 738 674	85.68
Payment for Capital Assets	2 137 861	1 259 379	878 482	58.91
Payment of Financial Assets	252	312	(60)	123.81
	23 699 583	19 443 322	4 256 261	82.04

– Included in this item is Workbooks and Matric Second Chance Programme allocations.

Workbooks - The printing of Workbooks Volume 2 has been completed. The delivery was currently in progress and it was expected to be completed at the end of January 2019. The expenditure were increased once the invoices for delivery of Workbooks Volume 2 were received and processed.

Matric Second Chance Programme - The expenditure increased when invoices for Offline Access to digital Content Resources and training to 74 Second Chance Learner Support Centers and the printing of the Self Study Guides for creative writing estimated at R20 million were processed. Furthermore, the Advocacy Awareness were currently in progress.

The bulk of the allocation on this item was in respect of the ASIDI project. National Treasury approved an additional funding amounting to R800 million to cover the shortfall and completed the projects that were currently in progress to avoid contractors leaving the construction sites and charging penalties.

ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATIONS				Expenditure as % of Appropriation
		ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

Compensation of Employees	444 130	322 498	121 632	72.61
Examiners and Moderators	26 692	23 460	3 232	87.89
Transfers to Public Entities	144 960	108 825	36 135	75.07
Other Transfers	1 286 848	1 269 895	16 953	98.68
Conditional Grants	17 696 148	15 010 225	2 685 923	84.82
Office Accommodation	197 482	146 412	51 070	74.14
Schools Infrastructure Backlogs Indirect Grant	2 271 826	1 332 161	939 665	58.64
Earmarked Funds	1 204 711	961 988	242 723	79.85
Departmental Operations	203 953	136 370	67 583	66.86
	222 833	131 488	91 345	59.01
	23 699 583	19 443 322	4 256 261	82.04

Deviations/Challenges and Mitigatory Measures/Progress

The transfer to UMALUSI was made quarterly and for SACE CPTD. The transfers to the public entities were made as scheduled for the third quarter.

The allocation of other transfers includes the transfer of NSFAS for Funza Lushaka Bursaries, NECT and foreign transfers. The high expenditure was due to the 100% transfer of the Funza Lushaka Bursaries that was made as projected. The second transfer to National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) was made as projected. The foreign transfers was made in January/February when the invoices were received.

The transfers of the conditional grants were made according to the approved payment schedules. The second transfers for the conditional grants were processed as scheduled.

				Expenditure as % of Appropriation
		ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

Earmarked Funds:	1 204 711	1 001 349	203 362	83.12
	1 109 075	961 988	147 087	86.74
Matric Second Chance Programme	65 705	17 324	48 381	26.37
	5 869	4 937	932	84.12
	19 062	13 234	5 828	69.43
Learners with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disabilities	5 000	3 866	1 134	77.32
Conditional Grants:	17 696 148	15 010 225	2 685 923	84.82
Education Infrastructure Grant	10 093 563	8 678 017	1 415 546	85 98
HIV&AIDS (Life Skills Grant	243 235	194 585	48 650	80.00
Maths, Science &Technology Grant	370 483	351 962	18 521	95.00
Nat School Nutrition Programme Grant	6 802 079	5 664 450	1 137 629	83.28
Learners with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability conditional grant	186 788	121 211	65 577	64.89

– The bulk of the allocations on earmarked funds were related to the Workbooks and Matric Second Chance programmes.

- The printing of Workbooks Volume 2 has been completed. The delivery was currently in progress and it was expected to be completed at the end of January 2019. The expenditure increased once the invoices for delivery of Workbooks Volume 2 have been received and processed.

Matric Second Chance Programme - The expenditure increased when invoices for Offline Access to digital Content Resources and training to 74 Second Chance Learner Support Centers and the printing of the Self Study Guides for creative Writing estimated at R20 million were processed. Furthermore, the Advocacy Awareness was currently in progress.

				Expenditure as % of Appropriation
		ACTUAL

Transfers to Public Entities	144 960	108 825	36 135	75.07
	128 543	96 408	32 135	75.00
ETDP SETA	417	417	-	0.00
	16 000	12 000	4 000	75.00
Other Transfers	1 286 838	1 269 895	16 943	98.68
NSFAS: Fundza Lushaka Bursaries	1 159 348	1 159 348	-	100.00
UNESCO Membership Fess	15 431	0	15 431	0.00
	148	0	148	0.00
	2 389	1 830	559	76.60
Childline South Africa	65	65	-	100.00
Guidance Counselling & Youth Development Centre: Malawi	178	-	178	0.00
	3 295	2 668	627	80.97
	105 984	105 984	-	100.00

Public Entities – The transfers to UMALUSI and SACE CPTD was made quarterly. The transfers to the public entities were made as scheduled.

Other transfers - The allocation of other transfers included the transfer of NSFAS for Funza Lushaka Bursaries, NECT and Foreign transfers.

The high expenditure was due to the 100% transfer of the Funza Lushaka Bursaries that was processed as projected. The transfers to National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) were processed as projected and the variance of R5 million was as the result of lapsed agreement between the Department and NECT for the standardisation of SA-SAMS, Treasury approval was granted to shift the funds to goods and services. The foreign transfers were processed between January/February once invoices were received

Progress on Audit Findings Raised in 2017/18

Accruals – Implementing Agents provide a consolidated list of authorized Payment Certificates by the PSPs to ensure completeness of Accruals: The Department has addressed the issue where the Mvula Trust submitted accruals only for claims , not paid by the Department. They also included invoices which were received but not yet processed.

Asset Register & WIP – Most of the work done for the final 2016/17 AFS that was subsequently not accepted, were incorporated into the Q2 financials. As such, there was a significant prior year adjustment. An updated reconciliation per school has been made. Since the YE exercise, the Department fixed historical projects where they had no PC (and hence it was not included in the AR), the Department have not identified a single project up to now, that should have been capitalised in the previous year. An updated Asset/WIP schedule together with new PC’s was sent to assets on a monthly basis. This report included all new assets capitalised during the month as well as the current month's additional BAS expenditure. At the end of each quarter, the schedule was updated with accruals per project.

A process flow on projects that reached practical completion has been approved by the CFO and should assist in timely updating of the asset register within the correct period. This should prevent late submissions as the Provincial Coordinator will be tasked with the responsibility. EMIS numbers were used as unique identifiers for capitalised projects in the asset register. Assets have started a process to update the AR with PC dates. Monthly reconciliation of the processed BAS transactions were performed to ensure that expenditure was accurate, valid and allocated to the correct school. (The projects were specifically accounted per IA and Batch to avoid duplication).

Commitment Register - The issues identified by the AG on the commitment portion were addressed. They identified a duplicate School and a duplicate commitment. The AG further had issues with the overstatement of commitments but did not agree that the Department treat the provision for retention the same as accruals. The Department disagreed and have since changed the CR to also deduct retention provisions or else there will be a double provision. This approach must still be cleared with the AG.

The AG also identified cases where the commitment balance was not reduced to zero when final account was signed off by the DG. ASIDI now updated approved final assets projects on a monthly basis and the commitment balance will only reflectpossible accruals and retention balances. A further initiative was to look at Inappropriate Structure projects that reached PC but still carried large balances, indicating savings. After accruals and retentions were taken into consideration, the balance was reduced by 90% as a preliminary final account adjustment as reality dictated that there were no big expenditure after PC.

Expenditure after capitalisation – The Department identified one reason for some of the occurrences: BAS carried all expenditure on a school level. There were many schools where there was more than one project per school (e.g. water and sanitation). When one of the projects reached PC, the entire BAS amount was capitalised (overstatement). In many of these cases, the second project had significant further expenditure and this was continuously added to the already capitalised project. Fortunately, there were fewer than 20 of these types of cases left of which the majority will reach the PC before year end. The Department will however, still have to deal with 61 schools where there were water, sanitation and fencing as well as modular projects for the same school and there was only one school on BAS.

Some of these were expected to reach the PC before March 2019 and were needed to be spliton BAS. An exercise to split the expenditure on the BAS and the Commitment Register had commenced in February. The interventions implemented for accrualsalso resulted in a more accurate reflection of the Capitalised Value + Accruals + Retentions at the point of capitalisation.

Adjustment of Opening Balances in the Annual Report - The major contributing factor was allocation changes when BAS data was correctly appropriated from 2011 to 2017 in the Commitment Register. The historical issues were mostly addressed and movements were expected to be limited. If there were movements, there should be between Capitalised Assets and have no influence on the Opening Balance.

Portfolio Committee Observations

The Portfolio Committee raised the following with the Department of Basic Education in respect of the Second and Third Quarterly Reports for 2018/19:

Regarding non-educator staff, Members wanted to find out whether the Department had any plans and programmes in place to develop these non-educator staff.
Members were of the view that there were provinces that were not complying in respect of reporting to the Department. Members enquired whether there were any steps taken against non-compliant provinces.
Members asked for reasons why there were no EFAL tests conducted in the quarter under review as reported.
Members also questions whether educators were placed/appointed into posts applicable to their qualifications. Members also wanted to find out how educators were adapting to the classroom setup.
In respect of inappropriate structures, Members indicated that there were many schools that were in dire need of maintenance and suggested that there should be an assistance to these schools by the Department regarding maintenance and maintenance budgets.
Members also wanted to be enlightened whether the Department was considering the vetting and clearance certificates for incumbent staff members as well as non-educator –staff members.
Members asked the Department whether the recently held Teacher Indaba had achieved any of the intended positive outcomes.
Members wanted to know whether the Department had plans to absorb interns currently employed at the Department.
Members generally raised concern with underspending on infrastructure and other e.g. Second Chance Programme – and asked how the Department was going to ensure that funds were utilised effectively.
Regarding school safety, Members enquired about the strategies of the Department to strengthen the transport safety of learners to schools. It was noted that district offices were under-staffed and therefore there was little or no monitoring being done in this respect.
Members urged the Department for assistance to school in respect of the building of adequate kitchens for preparing meals for learners.
Members questioned whether the IIAL initiative was satisfactorily being implemented in schools – and whether the Department was satisfied with progress in this regard.
Members wanted to know if there were any plans and programmes in place to ensure improved tracking of learners in the system.
Members noted the deployment of Cuban professionals to provinces and wanted clarity on which provinces were going to benefit from their services.
Members wanted to understand whether there had been any improvements in respect of cooperation with Implementing Agents regarding infrastructure building –and whether the Department was engaging these IAs on issues of completion certificates.
Members were further concerned with issues of leave management at provincial level and how this was being managed.
Members also sought clarity on issues relating to the conversion of temporary educators to permanent positions. Members queried the current status of the collective agreement to be signed and the implementation of the agreement.
Members also advised the Department to increase the focus on rural education as well as manage the APP in respect of the shift to rural education.

Responses from the Department of Basic Education

The Department responded that they do not normally schedule diagnostic tests in the third quarter – but some educators would have done online tests. Although the Department was facing challenges with placing educators as per the qualification, the Department was working in collaboration with SA-SAMS to rectify this. The Department agreed that the Department needed to ensure vetting and clearance of all educators in collaboration with SAPS and SACE. The Department was finalising its protocol on how to manage sexual abuse cases within the system – this be followed by training for labour relations officials within the Department. The Department was also working closely with Higher Education Institutions in respect of teacher developed initiatives and refine the model for continuing professional development.

Again, the Department acknowledged their challenges with the building of kitchens for school but indicated that they had collaborated with several partners regarding kitchens for school. Unfortunately, partners were only able to deliver kitchens on a small scale. The Department mentioned that they were able to produce around 25 000 educators per year. Regarding the deployment of Cuban professionals, the Department mentioned that they were yet to deploy these professionals as there were provinces who did their own recruitment without the help of the National Department. The Department indicated that the issues of leave management had improved significantly over the last few years but acknowledged that they were faced with challenges of high rates of absenteeism and leave. Regarding the conversion of temporary educators to permanent positions, the Department indicated that the collective agreement on the matter had been signed and was being implemented.

The Department assured the Portfolio Committee that it prioritised all schools facing challenges with LTSM shortages as they occur. The Department had been focused on ensuring digitization of content and roll-out of devices – to assist with distribution of material.

The Department was not satisfied with progress in respect of IALL due to the attitude of schools in implementation. The Department was of the view that, for better enforcement, IALL be revisited and consideration be given to make this a policy and not a strategy. The Department was looking to rotate the Cuban professionals amongst provinces to benefit from their services. The Department also agreed that there were ongoing challenges with rural education.

In respect of the Driehoek case, the Department has instructed provinces to do the necessary assessment of all schools that were more than 30 years old with the assistance from a team from the Department. The Department found it difficult to report accurately on report on building performance in the Third Quarter as there was a “builders break” between December and January. However, the Department has engaged with relevant implementing agents and there was a commitment to ensure completion of relevant schools by the end of the quarter.

The Department also explained the issues in respect of the qualification – this was not in relation to expenditure, but related to accruals, commitments and the asset register. The Department had made significant progress in this regard.

Portfolio Committee Recommendations

Based on the observations made above, the Portfolio Committee requests that the Minister ensure that the Department consider the following recommendations:

In respect of the Incremental Introduction of African Languages, the Department to submit a report on the monitoring and implementation, or lack thereof, as well as benefits of implementation.
The Department should improve on its underspending, especially for infrastructure.
The Department should ensure that PEDs are assisted and supported with sufficient budget for school maintenance – and ensure such budgets are utilised effectively for its intended purpose.
The Department effectively should deal with the court order in respect of the Centre for Child Law regarding the placement of learners.
The Department should intensify its implementation of interventions designed to improve performance in respect of targets set for school infrastructure.

Report to be considered.

Documents

No related documents

ATC190226: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education for the Third Quarterly Report on the Performance of the Department of Basic Education in Meeting its Strategic Objectives for 2018/19, dated 26 February 2019

Basic Education

Documents

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