Committee Strategic Planning Session; BELA Bill Public Participation Programme

Meeting report

Committee's strategic plans

Ms Portia Mbude-Mutshekwane, Committee staff, led the strategy session under the key themes outlined in slide 2 of the presentation. She said the budget review had deliberately been left out as this was an initial session, and the next session would include the budget.

She said the work of Parliament was centred on committees, which were the “engine rooms” of the institution. In their oversight role, the committees ensured that the set policy priorities had been implemented. The National Development Plan’s (NDP's) policy priority for 2030 was that South Africans should have access to education and training of the highest quality, characterised by significantly improved learning outcomes. The DBE had seven years to reach these 2030 NDP targets, and this would require significant progress.

The Portfolio Committee conducted oversight over the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and its public entities, which were the South African Council for Educators (SACE), the General and Further Education and Training Quality Assurance Council (UMALUSI), and the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC).

Over the five years period from 2019 to 2024, the Department had planned to implement the following set of priorities, which were expressed as medium term strategic framework (MTSF) outcomes:

Outcome 1: Improved school readiness of children;
Outcome 2: Ten-year-old learners enrolled in publicly funded schools reading for meaning;
Outcome 3: Youth better prepared for further studies and the world of work beyond Grade 9;
Outcome 4: Youths leaving the schooling system more prepared to contribute towards a prosperous and equitable South Africa;
Outcome 5: School physical infrastructure and environment that inspires learners to learn and teachers to teach.

Some notable annual performance plans (APPs) for 2022/23 include a better monitoring system for the Early Childhood Development (ECD) function and school readiness for children entering grade 1, indivdualised coaching for foundation phase teachers, the introduction of the General Education Certificate at the end of Grade 9 to facilitate the flow between schools and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, and improvement of the National Senior Certificate (NSC), among others.

Priorities for Committee oversight for 2022/23 include mathematics and science performance and enrolment and assessing numbers versus expenditure related to redressing and addressing economic demands, the monitoring of R4.1 billion allocated to the Funza Lushaka bursary scheme to address critical educator shortages in specified subject areas such as mathematics, science and technology, ECD migration, under-expenditure related to the school infrastructure grant, the R6.7 billion grant over the MTEF to build 30 new schools, to provide water to 50 schools, and safe sanitation to 450 schools.

The oversight results of the Committee for 2021/22 outlined the number of meetings and matters addressed by the Committee with the various public entities of the DBE, details about oversight visits in the various regions and the public entities and/or stakeholders the Committee engaged with while on those visits, and the number of Committee meetings held. She highlighted that while Members should be encouraged by the work they had done so far, there was quite a significant amount of work to be done to meet the NDP goals over the next few years.

On the oversight role of the Committee regarding lawmaking, the DBE presentation of its 2022/23 APP, which was tabled to Parliament earlier in the year, had submitted the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, which would be processed during the next two financial years. The Committee would follow up on progress made by the Department with its review of gaps in the Children's Amendment Act, and recommendations made would undergo scrutiny in the legislative path by DBE for review in the 2023/ 24 financial year.

On 15 December 2021, the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill [B 2 – 2022] had been referred to the Portfolio Committee for its consideration. Section 59 (1) (a) of the Constitution required the National Assembly to facilitate public involvement in the legislative and other processes of Parliament. To date, the Committee had held two meetings on the BELA Bill and was in the process of placing advertisements for public comments on the BELA Bill in various news media.

The Committee envisaged working closely with the Select Committee on Education of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and provincial legislative committees on education matters to assess and support school performance and functioning. The Committee aimed to cooperate and collaborate with other spheres of government on matters of common interest and ensure cooperative and sound intergovernmental relations.

Parliament was required to increase its capacity to represent the interests of South Africans in the international arena and to build strategic partnerships around mutual interests. During the 2020/21 financial year, the Committee had planned for international study tours as part of its engagement in international forums. However, due to the lockdown, travel plans were set aside. In the 2022/23 financial year, the Committee should consider the study tour and ensure that the draft plan that was set aside was presented to its Members.

Discussion

The Chairperson opened the discussion by stating that such a strategy session had not been held since they became Members of this Committee in 2019. This strategy covered the period 2020 to 2023, which highlighted the work that needed to be done this year -- what the Committee needed to focus on and what the immediate priorities were. She asked Members not only for their comments but also for suggestions on how this strategy document could be strengthened.

Dr W Boshoff (FF+) commented that should the Committee go through the BELA Bill clause by clause, it would transpire that the Bill was outdated before it was even law. According to the schedule, there was public participation until March 2023, then the Bill would still have to go to all the respective provincial legislatures, where there they might state that there needed to be public participation. It was not impossible that legislators might decide to do so, which would push the period to 2024 before this Bill could be accepted as law. That would make it seven years after the Bill was first published. In the meantime, the whole restructuring of the educational landscape, which had been static for ten to 15 years, but had really changed during the lockdown period, had not been considered. He said the challenges with the BELA Bill would mean that other modalities of education needed to be regulated by another Act or another Bill which should be introduced, which could be more up to date. Before huge costs were incurred in putting the Bill forward and voted upon by the National Assembly, it had to be realised that the Bill was outdated.

Ms M Sukers (ACDP) said she was grateful for the good presentation, and echoed the sentiments of the Chairperson in commending Ms Mbude-Mutshekwane, as this was the first time this session had been conducted since 2019. She said it would help strengthen the oversight work of the Committee.

She said that the format used for the round table in Pretoria had been a very effective engagement with the different departments. Commenting on the way committees did oversight, she said they suffered “death by PowerPoint” with the departments. One of the ways to strengthen oversight was really for the committees to insist on a certain way the departments reported to them. The use of hundreds of slides was not effective and did not allow enough time for Members to engage fully on the key focus areas that were important for this Committee.

Part of the Committee’s oversight interest was research, and the Committee was concerned about whether the departments were adequately resourced to conduct it. However, it was evident from the presentation that billions of rands had been allocated so the departments were adequately resourced to conduct their own research. It was worrisome that the DBE relied on outside researchers who tended to focus on what was of particular interest to them, and not necessarily the needs of the Department. Areas that needed more research included the issue of school dropouts, on which non-profit organisations (NPOs) did extensive work. Other areas needing extensive research were early childhood education and alternative education.

Ms Sukers said she disagreed with Mr Boshoff about the need for the Committee to do study tours. She asked how the Committee would be able to look at the education system, specifically as public representatives, in assessing virtual schools, home-schooling etc.

She was interested in the issue of rural schools and the closure of some of them, and the issue of home language tuition, especially as it related to rural schools. Government closed rural schools, but on the other hand, spoke about rural development. It appeared the policy implementation was working contrary to the priorities in the different plans of government. As a part of its oversight, the Committee should address this incongruence.

She said the impact of comprehensive sexuality education and best practices in preventing learner pregnancies, and the issue of bullying and gender-based violence (GBV), should be key focus areas that the Committee needed to engage with the Department in terms of its research. These areas did not appear in the 2019 and the 2023 research plan of the DBE, and these areas were urgent.

She said the National Development Plan mentioned the development of skills, specifically senior certificates for adults. Despite funding being made available to Umalusi, no progress was being made. There was disconnect between oversight through this Committee, as this matter fells within the ambit of the Department of Higher Education and Training, so this issue was falling between the cracks. This issue had been delayed since 2014 and it was not clear how oversight was going to be achieved, especially as this was a high priority area, as South Africa had quite a high population of people between 18 and 35 who were in no programme whatsoever, whether it be training or skills development.

Another key focus area was the independent education sector. The Committee needed to address how it was going to make it achievable for the sustainable goals to be met. This was a major economic driver. The President had asked the departments to think about how each of them could play a part in growing the economy. From this, it could be seen that the independent education sector was important, but it seemed as though it was not a priority when one assessed it in comparison with other issues.

She said home education was another focus area, and the Committee had received no reports on trends and no numbers or a status update on the delays in the registrations, and this should have been included in the quarterly reports.

Lastly, Ms Sukers asked which policies were planned, which ones were being worked on and what the planned deadlines were. For example, the Committee had been asked to comment on the school admission policy in February 2021, and it did not know what the progress was; comment on the rural education policy had been requested in 2017, but the finalised policy had not been received, and the Committee was not aware of what policy was planned for virtual schooling. She added that the Committee needed regular reports.

Mr P Moroatshehla (ANC) commented that the presentation had been filled with information that was thought-provoking and full of insight.

Regarding the BELA Bill, nothing was lost and he did not agree that it would be exhausted before it was even kickstarted. Education was dynamic by nature, and it would keep on changing as long as they lived. He wanted the Committee to succeed with the Bill as it ventured into the public hearings. South Africa operated in a participatory democracy governed by the Constitution, so the Committee could never force something on the public without a comprehensive consultative process. He requested that if possible, the advert for public participation on the Bill should be released soon, to allow for adequate and timeous engagement. The success or failure of the Bill was in the hands of the Committee and thus needed public and key stakeholder engagement before it was presented and voted on.

He added that Ms Mbude-Mutshekwane had mentioned that the advert for the public participation process should not distract the Committee from doing the work of identifying major education stakeholders and engaging them when it did its oversight.

He said the Committee had plans for international study tours and now, in the third year of the plan, those tours had not been undertaken. He acknowledged the existence of barriers which had affected the plans but felt that the Committee should rise above those challenges, especially with the lifting of the National Disaster Act. It had a responsibility to make a formal resolution, and it must be prioritised. The Committee did not want to just go for a tour, but countries which were to a large extent aligned to South Africa had to be targeted so that lessons learnt were easily implementable.

Mr Moroatshehla said that several people had been swept away in the Natal floods, and infrastructure such as roads, school buildings and houses had been destroyed. Some teachers and school children were still missing. He challenged the Committee to support a proposal of doing an oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, and that it be adopted as a matter of urgency.

Ms Sukers added that as part of the study tour, the Committee needed to see the elements of curriculum recovery, as this had been done in countries similar to South Africa.

She commented that it was highly likely that sections of the Bela Bill were out of date or had not even been considered, so matters such as virtual schooling needed to be addressed urgently, as new modalities like home education and micro-schools required research. The Department lacked research capabilities, and the Committee should address this first.

The Chairperson thanked Members for their participation on the strategic plan. This exercise reminded them as lawmakers and as Members of Parliament, that they were responsible for the basic education issues in the country.

Response

Ms Mbude-Mutshekwane responded to comments regarding the Bela Bill being outdated and gave the example of the Foreign Service Bill, which had become a Bill in 2015. This Bill went through as far as 2019 when it had been rejected by the National Council of Provinces. In 2019, South Africa had new administration coming in, and when it was rejected, it was brought back to the National Assembly. That Bill was revised in the sixth administration, but it was coming from the fifth administration. In 2020, that Bill was passed in the National Assembly. With the BELA Bill, the Committee should look at the timeframe and where necessary prepare a legacy report when their tenure expires. The legacy report contained details about where the Committee started its work, how much work had been done and what the unresolved matters were. This legacy report would assist the next administration.

She said that some of the things her team would go back and look at included higher education issues, home language, mother tongue tuition, sexuality education, GBV, and policies of admission. The strategy document would be refined and strengthened by the staff and presented at the next strategy session.

Closing remarks

The Chairperson thanked Ms Mbude-Mutshekwane for leading the plenary of the day. She said the next step was to work together with the staff to strengthen the document.

She requested that the Committee support staff assist the Committee in identifying the areas and the schools that had been affected in Kwa-Zulu Natal so that it could conduct oversight visits in those areas. She added that the research on the affected schools should include the affected Eastern Cape area as well. This would assist in planning for the oversight visit, which she said had to happen soon.

The meeting was adjourned.