Chairperson, your clock started before I started speaking. Before I start with my speech, I'd like to acknowledge the presence of the following people: We've invited the former Deputy President, Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who continues to help us with education. Also present are various MECs from the provinces, various Ministers and Deputy Ministers, members of our Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign, the ambassador of Basic Education, Mr Thurston Sebotsane; the principal of Dendron Secondary School, one of our top ten schools, situated in a deep rural area with limited resources, yet one of the best. Some of our business partners are also here, as are our friends in NGOs in the education sector and the teacher unions. I've also invited my mother and other members of my family, and I want to acknowledge them, too.
Chair, Cabinet colleagues who are here, members, members of the diplomatic corps, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, we have made huge strides in education since the establishment of our new democracy. We have achieved an enormous amount in terms of transforming the education system in a relatively short space of time.
Given what we have achieved, we remain determined to address those challenges that continue to detract from how far we have come. We continue to be concerned that South Africa's learning outcomes are unsatisfactory. All local and international assessments indicate that far too many of our learners, especially African learners, do not perform at the required level. We have identified the underlying factors and we are determined to work systematically to resolve them.
As indicated in my 2009 budget speech, we need to turn the system around with bold targets and initiatives that are carefully crafted and executed, and that pay due attention to the already fragile nature of the system and people who work in it.
The adoption of an outcomes approach in implementing government's priorities was announced by President Jacob Zuma in his state of the nation address. This approach will ensure that the work of government will be measured according to outcomes.
These performance outcomes are politically determined positions of government to achieve greater and more focused development. The President declared this year as the "year of action" focusing on implementation. The outcomes approach enables us to set measurable targets and deliverables, against which we and South Africa can monitor our progress in addressing the challenges that remain in education.
Our targets are high and will require a lot from us. Both budgets and priorities are informed by the ruling party's Ten Point Plan and election manifesto commitments. And we will be working closely with the provinces to ensure that there is alignment between strategy and structure.
Our systems will have to improve to achieve our targets. Our turnaround strategy includes a social compact with unions to achieve our goal to have all teachers in schools doing their job.
In order to address these challenges, we have established targets that we need to achieve by 2014. They are as follows. Firstly, increasing the number of Grade 12 learners who pass the national examinations and qualify to enter a bachelor's programme at a university from 105 000 to about 175 000. Secondly, targeting Grade 12 learners who pass maths and science so that 225 000 and 165 000 learners will pass those subjects respectively. Thirdly, our target, which will be monitored and measured, is to increase the percentage of learners in public schools who obtain the minimum acceptable mark for Grades 3, 6 and 9 from between 27% and 38% to at least 60% by 2014.
In order to support the achievement of our targets for the education system, Basic Education has set out the following priorities: by 2014, there will be universal access to Grade R; adequate learning and teaching materials will be developed and distributed; there will be standardised national assessments of the quality of learning that takes place in Grades 3, 6 and 9. This will start this year and be done on an annual basis.
I also have announced the development of a national Basic Education Action Plan. This long-term plan for the basic education sector will be known as "South African Schooling: the Department of Basic Education's Action Plan". It will allow for the monitoring of progress against a set of measurable indicators covering all aspects of basic education, including, among others, the enrolment and retention of learners, teachers, infrastructure, school funding, learner wellbeing and school safety, mass literacy and educational quality.
This Basic Education Action Plan will co-ordinate and guide all interventions in the Basic Education system in order to turn the system around. The plan will establish key outcomes and performance deliverables for the entire education system, including the national and provincial departments. The plan will commit provinces and provincial education departments to clear, agreed-upon outcomes and ensure that everyone in the system is accountable for the attainment of these outcomes. Regarding the improvement of the curriculum, we have already acted on the main recommendations of the report prepared by the ministerial committee that had been established in 2009 and tasked with reviewing the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement. Curriculum reform is not something the system takes lightly. Change fatigue is something we need to counter to restore the confidence and enthusiasm among all our stakeholders. At the same time, we need to iron out the difficulties that exist quickly and efficiently.
So we will not rush change and risk confusion and failure, which we can ill afford. We will proceed with due deliberation and decisiveness to effect the broad recommendations of that ministerial committee.
For this reason, I have and will continue to make changes on an ongoing basis where they can be made with minimal disruption to bring relief and improve systems. But the longer-term change to the curriculum requires coherent action and needs to be done properly. All stakeholders need to be kept properly informed at all times.
To provide short-term relief, we have reduced the number of projects expected from learners and done away with the need for portfolio files of learner assessments and with continuous assessment. Instead, the tests for Grades 3, 6 and 9 will be set nationally, administered by schools and externally moderated. The department will make available exemplar question papers.
I have established three committees to enable the smooth implementation of curriculum streamlining. They are led by three able people who have the experience and qualifications to do so.
Recall that the review committee raised questions about the lack of clarity in the National Curriculum Statement. Therefore, the first committee's task is to provide clear guidelines of what teachers ought to teach on a grade- by-grade and subject-by-subject basis. This work is being conducted under the chairpersonship of Dr Cassius Lubisi, who has great experience in the research, planning, development, management and implementation of the curriculum. The timeframe for this committee will be two years, rather than the one year that was proposed by the review committee. This will enable the first committee to consult widely and to test the statements with teachers.
Chair, I should have asked for more time. I have a sore throat and I'm encountering difficulties.
The first committee's work is supported by the two other committees, one to plan the implementation of the recommended reduction of learning areas in the intermediate phase from eight to six, and the other to consider recommendations on improving the distribution and use of learning and teaching support materials in schools.
The committee making recommendations on the reduction of learning areas in the intermediate phase is led by Professor John Volmink. This committee is considering all the possible implications of the intended changes, including timetabling, human resources and legal implications, as well as models and timelines for implementation. It will report by the end of April and its recommendations will inform the longer-term work on the curriculum.
A Ministerial Committee on Learner Teacher Support Materials, LTSMs, headed by Mr Garry Rosenberg, will report mid-year. We expect recommendations on guidelines for a national catalogue of LTSMs with price guidelines. Their recommendations will take account of matters relating to teacher choice, quality and cost effectiveness.
The curriculum change is a comprehensive one. It requires ongoing research and development. For this reason, we will continue to build capacity for curriculum research and review within the national department to ensure that we strengthen the implementation of the curriculum.
Effective communication of all these changes is critical. We have begun a curriculum newsletter and have distributed the first one to all teachers and officials in time for the start of the school year in 2010.
Regarding budget allocations for the 2010-11 financial year, I am delighted to record that the overall budget for the Department of Basic Education has increased by R2,2 billion to R6,1 billion.
Additional funds have been received for the following priorities, with growth expected in the budget over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period: Firstly, for the National School Nutrition Programme, conditional grants increased from 2009-10 to cater for the implementation of school feeding in quintile 2 secondary schools. Secondly, regarding the supply of learners' workbooks, R750 million has been allocated, to reach R1 billion by 2012. Thirdly, the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, Needu, has been allocated R11,3 million. Fourthly, Funza Lushaka Bursary will increase from R424 million to R471 million. Fourthly, the recapitalisation of technical high schools received an allocation of R80 million, an increase on the R5 million we were given last year. Finally, the allocation for our literacy programme, Kha Ri Gude Campaign, increased from R468 million to R520 million.
The R750 million allocation for this financial year for workbooks will reach R1 billion in 2012. The allocation for workbooks is a significant contribution towards assisting us in meeting our challenges in providing support for our schools - and we hope it will contribute towards improving the quality of our education.
We are also implementing the Foundations for Learning Programme and distributing learning and teaching support materials and workbooks. Learning and teaching packs for Grade R teachers have been distributed to all 13 900 schools that offer Grade R. We are also planning to distribute lesson plans in literacy and numeracy for Grades 1 to 6 teachers in primary schools.
Regarding the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, Needu, section 8(1) of the National Education Policy Act of 1996 compels the Minister and the national Department of Education to monitor and report on the implementation of education policies as well as the progress of the system. The additional funding will help us to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of our whole education system.
We have investigated the mandate, scope, name, location and modus operandi of the proposed structure and on this basis we will shortly operationalise Needu and appoint staff who are appropriately qualified to head and direct its work.
Needu will be a professional facility for purposes of monitoring, evaluation and support. It will be a unit that will evaluate school quality and present regular reports to the nation on such quality. Its role will be to assess and develop strategies for improving the quality of educational outcomes and supporting schools to achieve this. It will monitor and evaluate performance across the entire system. It will be there to ensure that learners learn and achieve, teachers teach and departmental officials properly support schools.
Credible and up-to-date information on how our learners perform is valuable for a number of reasons. Firstly, it helps identify systemic weaknesses that might impact on the quality of learning and teaching in our schools. Secondly, it enables the tracking of progress in the measurable learning outcomes and targets that we have set for ourselves.
As mentioned above, we have been given R10 million this year for the Grades 3, 6 and 9 assessments. This amount will increase to R18 million over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period. We have decided that performance in Grades 3, 6 and 9 will be improved from the current average performance of between 27% and 38% to at least 60% by 2014.
From 2010, independently moderated annual assessments will be administered in Grades 3, 6 and 9 and the results will be reported to parents. By 2014, the average performance in these independently moderated assessments must be no less than 60%.
The provision of relevant learning and teaching support materials will be linked to the assessment processes to ensure that teaching and learning do not only benefit from the assessments but also inform what has to be done.
We have also received money for our teacher bursary scheme. The Funza Lushaka Bursary allocation has increased from R424 million to R471 million. This is the linchpin in our efforts to improve the quality of beginner teachers in scarce and critical subjects, such as mathematics, science, accounting and languages.
We acknowledge that our teachers and principals are key to a quality education system. We recognise that there is a need for coherence and synergy across the system. We recognise that there are many role-players who have a stake in the development of teachers and school leaders, not least of all the educators themselves, who have a key role to play in their own growth and development.
However, the key responsibility for ensuring that teachers are supported to deliver the national curriculum lies with the Department of Basic Education. So, while provinces have the responsibility to implement the programmes on teacher development, the national department has the responsibility to develop policy and to plan for, monitor and evaluate provincial delivery.
For this reason, we are developing a common plan throughout the sector and want to find ways to compel schools to use teachers according to their strengths, areas of specialisation and qualifications without jeopardising our schools' already precarious human-resource balances. This matter was raised sharply with the President during his interaction with the principals.
This year we shall also introduce a new distribution model of posts to schools. We will use this "pro-poor" model as a planning tool to determine the actual utilisation of and future demand for teachers with regard to subjects and/or phases. This model will be adjusted to address changes in the curriculum.
A key deliverable in 2010 will be the action plans emanating from the multistakeholder working groups established after the National Teacher Development Summit that was held last year. Their task is the completion of a detailed national teacher development action plan, including activities, timelines, responsibilities and outputs for the next five years, nested in a longer-term plan to ensure a sustainable teacher development system. Together, we will move forward to improve teacher subject and pedagogical knowledge to realise the rights of all learners to quality education.
For the period 2010 to 2011, we are targeting at least 8 000 principals and deputy principals to complete the Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership and Management, the ACE programme. In addition, all school leaders from underperforming secondary schools and their feeder primary schools will complete specific stand-alone ACE modules.
We will strengthen subject advisers' knowledge of the school curriculum and their skills for supporting teachers in order to implement the curriculum more effectively through specific programmes - this is a currently budgeted for activity undertaken through the curriculum support directorates. The training of early childhood development and foundation-phase practitioners will occur through further education and training colleges, among other places.
We will not live up to our claim that every child is a national asset if we do not concentrate our efforts on tackling our immense infrastructural challenges. The backlog is estimated at R140 billion; that is what we need to spend if we are to get all our schools onto an acceptable level. In spite of considerable progress, the current rate of financial allocations means we can anticipate eliminating our infrastructure "conditions" and "space" backlogs only in 20 years' time. Consequently, finding innovative funding and infrastructure delivery mechanisms to deal with all the backlogs in the shortest time possible is now paramount in our endeavours.
In order to address this and accelerate our infrastructure improvement programme, we will draw explicitly on the construction capacity and momentum created to complete the stadia for the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup event. The Department of Basic Education is working with the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Treasury regarding appropriate financing models and capacity for this accelerated school infrastructure improvement programme.
The Basic Education Action Plan, which is currently under development, will make provision for short- to medium-term initiatives to source alternative resources for school infrastructure development. These resources will be aimed at eliminating the backlog of those schools that fail to meet the basic functionality levels of provision. While addressing this backlog, the proposed initiative will also strive to upgrade these schools to optimum functionality.
We have an enormous responsibility to ensure that our funds are well spent on the purposes for which they are intended, and that we see results. Our democratic mandate is to deliver on the right to education, and this means the right to be literate and numerate when you leave school. We are fully focused on delivering on this mandate.
Let me end by paying tribute to all the members of the executive council responsible for education from the different provinces that have assisted in defining this agenda. I also want to thank my Deputy Minister, Minister Surty, for his strong and capable support at all times. My thanks go also to the Acting Director-General, Mr Bobby Soobrayan, and his senior officials who have been responsible for ensuring that this agenda is efficiently implemented.
I want to pay special tribute to the outgoing Director-General of Education Mr Duncan Hindle for his loyal service to the South African education system. I also thank all the officials in the department for their sterling work and the support that my Deputy Minister and I are enjoying. Thank you. [Applause.]
Before I call the next speaker, I want to inform the House that, in addition to the House Chairpersons, temporary chairpersons will be coming on board to assist us. Once in the Chair, they have all the powers a presiding officer has. Refer to them as chairpersons, not as temporary chairpersons. I will now call the hon F I Chohan.
I am so intimidated, Chair, by the important people who are here today that I am going to use the old school habit and say, "Good afternoon, madams and sirs".
In 1855, the Governor of the Cape, Sir George Grey, said the following:
If we leave the natives beyond our border ignorant barbarians, they will remain a race of troublesome marauders. We should try to make them a part of ourselves with a common faith and common interests, useful servants, consumers of our goods, contributors to our revenue ... The native races beyond our boundary, influenced by our missionaries, instructed in our schools, benefiting by our trade, would not make war on our frontiers.
If we consider that slavery had been abolished in the British Empire a mere 23 years earlier, we can see that from its inception formal education in this country was used as a tool to orchestrate better societal outcomes for the ruling elite and was primarily aimed at the subjugation of the indigenous people.
History records that education in South Africa existed well before the advent of some Dutch ships in 1652. The Khoi hunters and San herders lived around the Cape. Their young people were groomed and educated in a holistic sense, without formal classrooms. Their classrooms were the panoramic vistas of the Cape and the Kalahari. Their teachers would be the elders in their communities, and the knowledge that was passed from generation to generation was so rich that today those small remnants that have survived the virtual genocide of those earliest inhabitants form the subject of patents in the multibillion pharmaceutical industry. Similar sources of knowledge pertained in the Nguni-speaking tribes to the east of the Cape, as well as in the Sotho tribes of the interior.
Education was part of daily life in these communities. Children learnt by doing, and they continued to learn well into their young adult lives. Oral history stretching back hundreds of years was taught and carried forward into everyday life. The art of storytelling was rich, and cultural activities such as dance and other rituals held meaning in everyday societal practice. In this way, young people were able to find their individual place in society. Some who were good at remembering became the repositories of historical events and were often consulted to draw from the lessons of the past in matters of conflict and dispute resolution. They were, in effect, the lawyers and judges of their communities. Those who understood how to use the bounty of nature were the doctors and veterinarians who treated illnesses. Those who inclined towards the ethereal became spiritual guides. Those who were good with their hands became craftsmen who made weapons for hunting and tools. Those who were good storytellers were the entertainers, prized for their wonderful, dramatic renditions around the communal fires under the starry skies. Those who were good athletes were the best of warriors or hunters. In other words, everyone had the opportunity to excel in worthwhile pursuits of importance to society as a whole.
I don't mean to suggest that we should return to the hunter-gatherer lifestyles of the past, but I do want us to sit here today and use these thoughts to consider the meaning of education. I will allude to these images I have raised a little later in my speech. Let us now return to the formal schooling system of present-day South Africa. It is a historical imperative to reverse the legacy of a flawed schooling system. This is a colossal task. The layers of challenge in the schooling system are so many and so varied that they can fill the pages of many chapters in a book. Therefore, it is important to prioritise what, in the next five years, we as the governing party will do to maximise reform, and you have done so very ably this afternoon, Madam Minister.
In this regard, the ANC opted for a Ten Point Plan, which I will proceed to re-examine today. Point number one, which the hon Minister also began with, is that teachers should be in class, teaching. That this point is made first is no accident. It does not matter how qualified teachers are or how well equipped classrooms are, if teachers and principals allow ill discipline to set in, the enormous resources we have put into education will deliver a paucity of outcomes. The plan means for students to ensure that they arrive at school on time, and may I commend the organisation Equal Education for campaigning among the youth on this very important practice.
For teachers it means time on task, no late-coming and no unnecessary absences from the classroom. We have repeatedly seen the phenomenon of teachers absenting themselves during the school day, whether on wildcat strikes or to attend memorial services, etc. The message from us in the portfolio committee is that we will not tolerate this behaviour, and we will not let the Department of Basic Education tolerate it either. In this regard, it is heartening that all teacher unions have bound themselves to a social compact to enhance the adherences by their membership to these non- negotiables, and we commend each and every one involved in this initiative.
The second aspect of the plan is aimed at implementing the Foundations for Learning Programme and improved early childhood development, ECD. We are aware that many learners exit the foundation phase without the basic literacy and numeracy skills required to succeed later on. The focus on numeracy and literacy through the Foundations for Learning Programme is, therefore, timely and will no doubt yield positive results in the future.
In Parliament, our focus will be on implementation and ensuring that lesson plans are in all schools and that the workbooks that are planned for roll- out next year actually materialise. ECD will be addressed in greater detail by the hon Agnes Mashishi in her speech today, so I will proceed to the next point, which is external tests in Grades 3,6 and 9, something you also alluded to, Madam Minister.
This will essentially be a monitoring mechanism for the department's interventions aimed at improving literacy and numeracy. As the acting director-general said in the portfolio committee last week, these tests must not raise the stress levels of our learners the way the matric examinations do. We agree, and I would strongly urge that the results should not be allowed to determine in any way the eligibility or otherwise of young learners' entrance into institutions of higher education.
The development of teachers comes in at number four on the Ten Point Plan and reads as follows: "Teachers should be evaluated based on the extent to which learner performances improve, with results influencing occupationally specific dispensation pay for teachers." The plan also requires the department to put systems in place that will enhance the recruitment of quality teachers and strengthen teacher development.
There is some merit in the department's contention that one can't separate learner outcomes from adequate infrastructure, social problems, managerial issues, etc. Therefore, to evaluate teacher performance on learner outcomes is overly simplistic. The department has, therefore, decided to move away from linking teacher performance and pay progression, and I am very glad about the prospect of the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, Needu, coming to fruition in this regard. We keenly await its implementation.
I wish to make a few observations regarding teacher development. Firstly, we should differentiate between the issue of basic teacher performance and competence and further teacher development. We need teachers in our schools who have the required subject knowledge and the necessary ability to impart the curriculum to learners. We must admit that mistakes have been made in the recent past and that there is a big disparity between what student teachers are being taught at universities and the skills actually required in the classroom. This must mean that we need to get a massive, coherent and specific training programme under way, and soon.
The department should drive this process centrally, swiftly and decisively. There is no debate about what this entails. There is no confusion, because the department knows very well what it needs its employees to deliver as a core function in the classroom. I, therefore, strongly disagree that the issue of what teachers need as core competence (or basic teacher development) should be the subject of endless debate and consultation. Perhaps such discussion should focus on the manner in which such training is provided, and on the timelines we need to install.
In this regard, institutions of higher education must relook their outputs, which fail to address the needs of the classroom situation. I am of the view that it lies with the Department of Basic Education to design a practice-based teacher training framework against which universities and other teacher education institutions need to benchmark their teacher- training content. This sounds like a daunting task, but I believe firmly that we have the expertise to achieve much in a relatively short time. The department should focus its efforts on this area, and we are going to need the support of all stakeholders, including teacher unions and the Department of Higher Education and Training.
This also pertains to the issue of the development of basic managerial competencies in schools and in our districts.
I recently took the initiative to congratulate some schools that achieved a 100% pass rate in matric and invited those principals to share good practices with the rest of South Africa, as part of the public hearings the portfolio committee has embarked on. I wish to read one of those responses today. It was received from Horskool Goudrif, located in Germiston. It reads, in part, "Thank you for your letter dated 21 January, congratulating the school on our 100% pass rate. It was very special to receive a letter all the way from Cape Town. Aspects that affect quality outcomes in our case are the following: a general environment of learning and teaching, in which we try our best to ensure that our learners attend school, as far as possible, on a daily basis. We do this by phoning parents regularly and by sending letters of concern. We have extra classes during the year for all Grade 12 learners, from 14:00 to 16:00 on Fridays. We follow up on every case of nonattendance and put some pressure on parents as well. The educators are well prepared for every lesson. They have to be on time and on top of their work. The management team of the school spends hours checking up on the educators in their departments. Continuous assessment is of great importance. The pressure is on from day one, and we try not to interrupt the school programme. I hope that our contribution will be of some use. Yours sincerely, M Mills, principal."
The theme of discipline and dedication on the part of teachers and principals comes up again and again in successful schools, one of which is Sol Plaatje Secondary School in Mmabatho. Principal Sanassiee writes, "I have copied your letter to all members of my staff, who agree that your notice of their efforts and commitment to education has been appreciated. Your letter, now framed, occupies a place of prestige in the school foyer for all who visit us to read. We now venture into 2010 with the expectation of producing more quality results from our learners through our intensive Grade 12 revision programme for the year." Principal Sanassiee promises: "We will not cease in our quest for excellence."
I don't think, Minister, that I need to say more on the issue of good administrators. I have heard you before on this matter, and I know that you regard this as a major priority.
The Ten-Point Plan refers to delivering on infrastructure as an incentive for schools that deliver improved teaching and learning. Madam Minister, we promised a while back that we would be rid of mud schools and schools under trees, particularly in our rural areas. We are pleased that you and the President, as you've said, have discussed the unlocking of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup capacity and the momentum created in the building of stadiums and that you are committed to finding extra money to deliver on these infrastructural promises.
However, we must acknowledge that provinces are meant to provide for infrastructural needs in the first place. Alignment of provincial budgets and the budgeting process itself needs attention. We cannot say education is an apex priority and continue to work in the same manner we always have. This issue is also addressed in the Ten-Point Plan. It speaks about introducing efficiencies of education expenditure and improving national and provincial alignments.
We, therefore, need a countrywide audit of infrastructure backlogs, and we should ensure that the budget which the Minister of Finance says is available to education does actually go to education in the provinces. We have to monitor closely this aspect of the budget, and we will begin, Minister, by asking for this audit, which you have already spoken about today, as well as costing. We will do so, hopefully, with the support of the Speaker of this Parliament, in conjunction with the provincial legislatures and those committees of education. The rest of the Ten-Point Plan I will not speak about, as my colleagues in the ANC will be doing so in their speeches this afternoon.
In closing, let me return to the form of education that existed in the communities that the early Dutch settlers found when they landed at the Cape. As I said, young people were primed to become useful members of their community as the most fundamental priority. No one learning method or single academic mould was forced onto them. In this regard, we must look at the way in which we treat individual differences in our country and let it reflect total acceptance within our schooling system.
Internationally, there has been a rejection in advanced economies of a single academic stream in education. Germany, I am told, has only 20% of its schools in the academic mould, which is similar to the mould that South Africa is using, and 80% of their schools are vocational. This has long been identified as part of government's thinking on the broader issue of transforming our education system in line with constitutional values, particularly with the principle of equality. We are not all the same, so why should we all learn the same? The report of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, which was tabled today, refers to 2,7 million young people in this country who are unemployed.
Put simply, Minister, we need more options for our school-going children. We need a vocational stream of schooling that is more in line with the needs of learners, of society as a whole and with global trends. The portfolio committee will, therefore, be going to skills-based schools very soon, and hopefully we will be able to persuade the department to bring this sadly neglected issue back into central focus within the next few months.
To conclude, let me read from the very first White Paper on Education, which states the following:
An integrated approach implies a view of learning which rejects a rigid division between academic and applied, theory and practice, knowledge and skills, head and hand. Such divisions have characterised the organisation of curricula and the distribution of educational opportunities in many countries of the world, including South Africa. They have grown out of, and helped to reproduce, very old occupational and social class distinctions. In South Africa, such distinctions in curriculum and career choice have also been closely associated in the past with the ethnic structure of economic opportunity and power.
Successful modern economies and societies require the elimination of these artificial hierarchies, and I certainly, Madam Minister, want to echo these words today, because I do think it poses a particular challenge for us in the schooling system going forward.
Finally, let me take this opportunity, Madam Minister, to thank you and the Deputy Minister for a very good and heartening working relationship. To the acting director-general and the officials and leaders of the various institutions, the SA Council for Educators, SACE, the Education Labour Relations Council, ELRC, Umalusi - if I have forgotten anybody else, please excuse me: I would like to thank you for the professionalism you all displayed whenever we have engaged with you. I thank you all for your attention. [Applause.]
Order! May I take this opportunity to acknowledge the presence in the gallery of the former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Madlala-Routledge. You are most welcome. [Applause.]
Chairperson. "Pouring money into an education system that doesn't work is hardly making a dent." This was the subtitle of an article published in The Star on 22 February 2010 by Angelique Serrao, under the title "South Africa's trillion rand education scandal".
Evidence that our education system does not work can be found in the statistics on the performance of the Grade 12 class of 2009. Although the pass rate dropped to a shockingly low figure of 60,6%, the drop-out rate of this class should be our main concern. This figure indicates that our Department of Basic Education is in the main a malfunctioning department. At the end of 2009 only 335 000 of the 1,4 million Grade 12 learners who enrolled for Grade 1 in 1998 successfully completed their Grade 12 year. Therefore the real drop-out rate is 77%.
Mention is often made of a lost generation of learners. The Minister and her department are solely responsible for this state of affairs. Dr Mamphela Ramphele is quite correct in her observation that a whole generation of learners has been betrayed by the government. During her oral reply on 10 March to a question posed to her by an ANC Member of Parliament relating to the retention rate in our schools, the Minister of Basic Education tried to downplay the low retention rate by focusing only on the drop-out figures for Grades 10 to 12. She stated that "up to Grade 12 we have almost 100% retention". This is a serious misrepresentation. The government is lying with statistics.
Statistics on last year's Grade 12 class indicates a drop-out rate of 33% at the end of their Grade 9 year. The Minister also tried to explain the growing drop-out rate during the three final schooling years as follows:
Normally, when learners have reached Grade 12, some of them have branched off to FET colleges and some continue to matric. There is normally a misunderstanding when retention is calculated.
Minister, on the one hand I want to draw your attention to the fact that the number of learners who currently leave school to attend FET colleges is negligible when it comes to the calculation of the retention rate. On the other hand, Minister, you have to understand that the failure rate at the end of the Grade 12 year should also be taken into account when the actual drop-out rate is calculated.
During the oral questions session, the Minister also tried to give reasons for the high drop-out rate, such as learner absenteeism, discouraged repeaters, issues of criminality, teenage pregnancy and other social issues, which obviously include drug and alcohol abuse, school violence and sexual activity at an early age. Another reason, which the Minister failed to mention, is that thousands of learners are promoted annually to the next grade without having mastered the knowledge and skills required to pass the preceding grade, causing a significant number of learners to be functionally illiterate when they reach Grade 10 and to drop out before they reach Grade 12.
The problems mentioned by the Minister are caused by the department's failure to provide remedial education and specialised services to a significant number of learners with special needs. If the needs of learners with learning problems and disabilities are not addressed during their first four schooling years, those learners will also develop behavioural and personality problems.
The Department of Basic Education is in breach of section 28(2) of the Constitution, which states that:
A child's best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.
By doing away with educational aid centres in all its regions countrywide, as well as support classes and specialist teachers who were responsible for assisting and guiding learners with learning problems and learning disabilities, the department not only ignored the best interests of such learners, but also contributed to their high drop-out figures. Support classes with remedial work focused on supporting learners with spelling, reading and calculation problems in their mother tongue.
Credit should be given where credit is due. The implementation of the Foundations for Learning Programme in 2008 to improve learner performance in reading, writing and numeracy in all South African schools is laudable. Renewed focus on the basics in education was a step in the right direction, but the department is unable to implement the idea properly. The portfolio committee found that, within a year after the announcement of the campaign, a significant number of schools had not received the necessary documentation and training.
As far back as July 2001 an education White Paper was proclaimed under the title "Special Needs Education - Building an inclusive education and training system". The vision and goals of this 20-year developmental perspective died the day the document left the presses of the government printer. Today, and nine years later, this document remains a set of prospective plans. The national department has thus far failed to draft the necessary policy documents; to develop curriculums; to formulate norms for post provisioning; to provide the relevant training to educators; to appoint professional staff; to optimise the expertise of specialist support personnel; to establish district support services countrywide; and to budget for additional funding in order to meet all the necessary requirements to provide, on the one hand, for learners with special educational needs and, on the other, for learners with mild to severe learning difficulties.
Benewens die feit dat daar nie na behore voorsiening gemaak word vir die behoeftes van leerders met leerprobleme nie, word daar ook nie genoegsame aandag gegee aan die toekomstige beroepsbehoeftes van leerders met bepaalde talente, vermons en belangstellings nie. Tegniese skole gaan steeds mank aan vele gebreke. Die tekort aan fokusskole, soos byvoorbeeld landbouskole en kunsskole, het tot gevolg dat groot getalle leerders die geleentheid ontneem word om by skole in te skryf waarvan die kurrikulum op bepaalde beroepsvelde gefokus is.
'n Verdere leemte in die voldoening aan noodsaaklike onderrigbehoeftes is die gebrek aan moedertaalonderrig vir die meerderheid leerders in Graad R tot Graad 6. Dit is wetenskaplik bewys dat leerders alle vaardighede ten beste deur medium van hul moedertaal verwerf. Die department het verlede jaar aangekondig dat alle leerders tot en met Graad 6 voortaan in hul moedertaal onderrig sal word, wel wetende dat daar 'n groot tekort is aan onderwysers wat bekwaam en toegerus is om aan die meerderheid leerders onderrig deur medium van hul moedertaal te gee. Daar behoort ingegryp te word deur onder meer die beskikbaarstelling van beurse en salarisvoordele aan studente wat bereid is om hulle te bekwaam om onderrig deur medium van 'n moedertaal te gee aan leerders in die grondslag- en tussenliggende skoolfases.
Twee dae gelede het honderde leerders op Menseregtedag as deel van die gelyke onderwysprojek by die Parlement betoog met die doel dat die regering 'n biblioteek aan elke skool in ons land moet voorsien. Dit is 'n verdere wesenlike behoefte wat nie op dowe ore mag val nie, en waarvoor dringend voorsiening gemaak behoort te word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Apart from the fact that proper provision is not made for the needs of learners with learning problems, sufficient attention is also not paid to the future career requirements of learners with specific talents, abilities and interests. Technical schools are still suffering as a result of many deficiencies. The shortage of focus schools, such as agricultural schools and art schools for example, results in large numbers of learners being deprived of the opportunity to enrol at schools where the curriculum is focussed on specific professions.
An additional deficiency in meeting essential educational needs is the lack of mother tongue education for the majority of learners in Grade R to Grade 6. It has been proven scientifically that learners optimally acquire all skills by means of their mother tongue. Last year the department announced that all learners up to and including Grade 6 will in future receive tuition in their mother tongue, while being thoroughly aware that there is a great shortage of teachers who are qualified and equipped to teach the majority of learners in their mother tongue. Interventions should be made by, amongst others, making bursaries and salary benefits available to students who are prepared to qualify themselves to teach learners through mother tongue instruction in the foundation and intermediary school phases.
Two days ago on Human Rights Day, as part of the equal education project, hundreds of learners demonstrated at Parliament with the aim that the government must provide a library at every school in our country. This is an additional fundamental need that must not fall on deaf ears, and for which urgent provision should be made.]
Any amount budgeted will be wasted as long as grandiose visions and programmes are not implemented properly and competently. Given the deteriorating state of affairs in our schooling system, it is difficult to ascertain whether adequate funds have been allocated for basic education after the education portfolio was split into two departments. The DA believes that there is not enough money in this budget for basic education. More money is required to meet many educational needs. The DA provides for these needs in its alternative budget by adding an additional R1,4 billion to the amount appropriated for basic education. [Interjections.] In the final analysis, the success of a state is primarily determined by the ability of its education system to produce capable and productive citizens. The escalating unemployment and resultant poverty, the disintegration of public order and administration, the general collapse of morality and the growing culture of lawlessness and violence around us are the symptoms of a country in distress, mainly as a result of its dysfunctional education system. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson and hon members, you will have to bear with me. My voice is very hoarse; I have flu. Let me start by appreciating the presentation done by the Minister and wishing her well in the task that lies ahead.
Cope applauds the Department of Basic Education for having been allocated a budget that, we believe, is sufficient for all its needs. As Cope, we view this as a sign of government's commitment to ensure that education, as a critical, life-determining factor for all, is subsequently attained by all.
This week marks National Library Week. It is a week that may be viewed as having no significance to many of our learners, who should be celebrating their right to learn. Although it may be 16 years since the democratic dispensation, the fruits of this freedom, one of which should be the enjoyment by learners across this country of an intensification of reading and learning as libraries are made available to them, remain no more than a wish to many.
Cope believes that if the Department of Basic Education has thus far not been able to achieve this basic requirement, then the departmental deadline of September 2010 for promoting libraries means they remain a privilege to be enjoyed by a few while the majority of our learners remain on the periphery.
Cope wishes to propose to the department that having mobile libraries, which visit schools each week, may be a view that the department wants to take. We believe strongly that this will ensure that, at least for one week, each school will have the opportunity of having its learners interfacing with libraries, as they are supposed to.
The latest statistics, which reveal that of the 25 000 schools in South Africa only about 5 000 have libraries, are a serious indictment of this government. If our education system is to produce results that attest to a learning, reading and progressing society, this paradigm will have to change.
Cope is, however, concerned that where less than 20% of our schools have these facilities, many of the schools that cater for disabled learners do not have this facility at all. Minister, Cope believes that able and disabled people differ only in a particular area of disability but that, beyond that, everything our people are entitled to should be enjoyed by all, irrespective of their physical, mental or visual ability.
We are calling on the department to move swiftly to address this matter. The government has given acknowledgement to disabled people, so it cannot be that the same group of vulnerable people has their needs regarded as secondary or peripheral at other times.
Cope calls on the department to conduct research into the drop-out rate of disabled people, many of whom drop out not from choice but because conditions make education a living misery for them. This is one of the problems that must be addressed at the level of basic education in order to inform change at the level of tertiary institutions, which are also hard hit by this reality.
As Cope, we believe firmly that the Department of Basic Education should not rejoice seeing any of its learners getting out of the education system as a result of the department not having met its constitutional obligations. Through your will, this can be addressed too.
Cope agrees with most South Africans on the critical importance of education and building a prosperous country, as well as training being essential to meeting the challenges our country faces. If this is what many of us seated in this House believe, including the department, the critical question that must be asked is whether or not the department is working towards addressing this current challenge. This question is relevant because if government is to overcome the current shortage of skills in the labour market, this must be addressed by the matric results, which contribute largely to the nature of skills our tertiary institutions are likely to produce.
Cope believes firmly that the department should be worried about the degenerating standard of results which we see annually when the matric results are announced. This must worry us because if our interest as a government is to see a big intake at Grade 12 for statistical reasons without taking serious cognisance of the required outcome, namely that of producing results that will be labour competitive beyond universities and technikons, then we ourselves will be contributing immensely to the current demise that faces our country on the skills front.
In this regard, Cope pleads with the department to give much-desired attention to early childhood development, ECD. It can only be through a solid foundation that our country will finally overcome an unstable education system, as indicated by high drop-out levels, as well as the increasing levels of illiteracy that is overwhelming our society at the moment.
It is the view of Cope that as long as the needs of our education system's foundation phase are not adequately addressed with regards to being resourced, equipped and staffed, we will just continue awaiting better results, firing teachers and closing down schools, while the challenge will continue remaining as well.
With the budget of the department for curriculum policy, support and monitoring being R1,3 billion for the current financial year, Cope calls on the department to be mindful of the fact that there are kids in the villages of Ga-Maja and Ga-Chuene in Polokwane, Limpopo, who sit on the grass in an open space while being taught.
Hon Minister, in your own words and the President's state of the nation address, the department and the government are committed to dealing with this matter. Our belief as Cope is that, again, Minister, through your will and the available budget, this matter may and can be addressed.
Our determination as a people to leave a lasting legacy on the education front cannot be characterised by the above circumstances. The department must allocate sufficient funds to deal with these matters. We believe that the gap that exists between ECD centres in urban and rural areas has to be closed, and it must be closed now.
Cope says this fully conscious of the fact that, to realise this goal, a lot will need to be done and a lot will need to be taken into consideration.
In conclusion, I want to quote from James M Berry, and I quote ... [Time expired.]
Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, with regard to curriculum review, the R6,1 billion for education, workbooks for schools, and infrastructural improvement in twenty years, I myself don't think I will be around. All these are welcome, but I want to argue that they will come to naught if certain things are not done. These are small things but, like dynamite, they come in small packages.
I plead with you, Minister, to lend me your ears now. I will refer to my prepared notes to see how, together, we can bury some of the evils that are infesting our education system.
One, please do away with the policy of cadre deployment. The hon Minister must stand before the national executive committee, NEC, of the ANC and say the following: "Comrades, our policy of cadre deployment is failing us. We must start to appoint people on the basis of merit and not on political connectedness."
The youth of this country deserve no less than this. The policy of cadre deployment has resulted in incompetence because the wrong people have been put into managerial positions within the department. In fact, even Fikile Mazibuko of Nehawu admitted as much at an education indaba recently held in Gauteng.
The second evil is the quality of teachers. Quality education begins with quality teachers. There is no system in the whole world that is better than its teachers. In fact, recent surveys have shown that teachers who teach subjects for which they are not suitably qualified have a higher percentage of students who drop out of the system.
The number of unqualified teachers, particularly among Africans, stood at 7%, which translated to 22 621 unqualified teachers. In the budget before us, teachers and the human resources programme are receiving 8,3% of the allocation. I want to argue that this is far from sufficient when compared to the curriculum programme, which is receiving about 22%, if my calculations are correct. The IFP submits that this budgetary allocation is insufficient to bridge the gap between policy formulation and policy implementation. Currently this gap greatly favours the whites.
On classroom visits, we noted that our classrooms have become veritable black boxes - nobody knows what is taking place inside them. For historical reasons, teacher unions have resisted any efforts towards classroom inspections. I must argue that now is the time when teachers can no longer lock themselves in their classrooms. Efficient monitoring and teacher evaluation must become a sine qua non of this department. This cannot be achieved with 2,4% of the budget, which is all that was allocated to this programme.
The IFP wishes to see every child receive quality education and have equal opportunities to ensure that the learner has every chance of success.
Ngiyabonga ke mhlonishwa. Cishe sizwene njengoba ngicele ukuthi asilalelane. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] [Thank you, hon member. I hope we understood each other as I have requested that we listen to each other. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Chairperson and Minister of Basic Education, we know that education has been made an apex priority by the government, and that it has been elevated to the level of being a societal issue. This means we should not expect to see education happening only within the four walls of the classroom.
We would like to applaud the Minister of Basic Education who, through the school-enriching programmes that have been put in place, will make sure that education is indeed being enhanced in so many ways to make it a priority and give it the status it deserves.
There are so many social responsibility programmes that the department has come up with through the leadership of our hon Minister. First, I would like to talk about the National School Nutrition Programme, one of the programmes that is there to enhance education.
This is a key government programme and is based on three strategic goals. The first is to enhance the active learning capacity of learners through the feeding scheme. We know that many learners are going to school now and that the level of absenteeism has been curbed, because most of the time learners are absent from school because they don't have anything to eat. Through this programme we can now see that most of the learners are attending school, and it helps a lot in enhancing education. The second goal is to strengthen nutrition education for school communities. This promotes a healthy lifestyle and good eating habits. The third is to promote and support the implementation of food production. We will look at this to see how we can contribute to food production.
About 7,2 million learners in about 20 000 primary schools are benefiting and the majority of those schools are in rural areas, informal settlements and on farms. We know very well that those are the areas where our people have been greatly disadvantaged.
KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are the provinces that have benefited most from this programme, and we are proud and happy to hear that this programme has now been extended to secondary school level. Now we know that many more learners are going to benefit from this programme.
This programme does not only benefit learners at school, but also contributes to another one of the government priorities: job creation. In terms of this programme 2 355 small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs, have been contracted to do this job, as well as about 216 community-based co-operatives. This means that the vulnerable, mostly women, are given the opportunity to supply food to schools. In so doing, we are alleviating poverty in households. In addition, about 37 844 voluntary food handlers are being paid a stipend of about R500 per month, which really does contribute towards poverty alleviation. So, we would like to thank you very much, hon Minister. [Applause.]
We now come to another programme that is very important and for which we need to applaud the Minister of Basic Education. The Minister has reached an agreement with the Minister of Health to roll out a screening programme especially for Grade R and Grade 1 learners. As the ANC, we see that as a great step, because we believe that the earlier health-related barriers to learning are discovered, the better. This means that interventions can be made earlier to enable those learners to continue with their schooling.
This will help reduce the drop-out level caused by illness and also the level of school absenteeism because of learners having to go to clinics every now and then. Once this programme is implemented, we need to support it, and I applaud our Minister for that.
I am also glad to inform the House that this programme has been implemented in seven of the nine provinces. Learners undergo vision screenings, immunisation, oral health checks, height and weight measurements, and checks of their physical and locomotive functioning. They are also given deworming medication.
As Members of Parliament, we need to support this programme. We need to go out into our constituencies and make sure that parents and community members know about this programme and will support the screening of their children when it comes to their schools so that education will not be disturbed.
Okunye engithanda ukukuncoma kakhulu eMnyangweni Wezenfundo oholwa uNgqongqoshe M A Motshekga, ukubhekela othisha kanye nabantwana asebehhaqwe yilesi sifo esingumashaya abhuqe, ingculaza. Sithole kukhona izinhlelo ezinhle lapho othisha nabantwana benakeleleka khona.
Sinezinhlelo eziningi ze-Peer Education. Kulezo zinhlelo sibona uMnyango Wezemfundo usebenza ngokuhlanganyela nezinhlangano ezizimele futhi siwubona usebenza ngokuhlanganyela nezinyunyana zothisha. Konke lokho kuzobonakalisa ngempela ukuthi imfundo ibekwa phambili nokuthi futhi siyafuna ngempela ukuyisekela ngazo zonke izindlela. Lokhu kungezinye zezinto okufanele sizincome kakhulu. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[I also want to commend the Department of Basic Education, led by hon Minister M A Motshekga, for catering for teachers and learners who are already infected by this deadly disease, Aids. We found that there are very good programmes through which teachers and learners are being taken care of.
We have many Peer Education programmes. And in those programmes we see the Department of Basic Education working with private organisations as well as the teacher unions. All these issue will indicate that education is really an apex priority to this government and will also show that we really want to support it in every way possible. These are some of the issues that need to be commended by all of us.]
Another programme is school sport. There is a saying that goes, ...
Ingqondo ephilile nesebenza kahle yile enomzimba ophilile. [A healthy, well-functioning mind is found in a healthy body.]
That is true indeed. The programme in the Department of Basic Education confirms that. The year 2010 is a year of sport in South Africa - especially in South Africa. Everybody is talking about sport and, again, we thank the Department of Basic Education for making sure that learners at school are not left behind in the excitement of 2010.
They have come up with many good programmes. Competitions are taking place around the country, and we have seen our learners participating in those competitions. We are happy to say that 1 000 learners will win tickets to make sure they are part of the Fifa Soccer World Cup that is coming. They will be watching the games as a result of the competitions that have been organised by the Department of Basic Education.
Apart from that, the programme is also opening doors for learners. These are the options that we are always talking about. For example, if a learner is not capable of taking forward the "serious" education that takes place in a classroom, there are so many options for them through this programme. We know that we can come up with talented people. That is where we are opening doors: we have more options for learners to see and to discover their talents. We would like to thank the Department of Basic Education for doing that.
Another critical aspect of schools and social responsibility is the whole question of safety. The department has come up with another initiative on school safety. It has formed partnerships with the SA Police Service, SAPS, so that schools will have links with the police stations around them. As Members of Parliament, we need to support that, because it combats crime, which is troubling in our schools.
We are always talking about schools that are not protected. We want to improve our education system to the level of other nations, so we provide computers. But if we continue to have the level of crime that we have in our schools, the information technology systems that we want to introduce to our schools will be vandalised and stolen.
We are talking of school libraries now. If we don't support this school safety programme, we can have libraries, but we know that they will be vandalised and everything will be taken. So, for this good initiative, Minister, we are proud of you and we know that if we give our support to all our communities, our schools will be enhanced. We support the Basic Education Budget Vote. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
(Mr M R Mdakane): Hon members, I would like to remind you not to cross the line between the member who is speaking - hon Nzimande - and the presiding officer.
Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister and hon members, we welcome the large amount that has been budgeted for education. The UDM remains convinced that education is the key to our country's long-term success and prosperity. We are deeply concerned, however, that this huge budget does not translate into proper education, as we may expect.
Allow me to highlight some of the UDM's major concerns which, we believe, are the factors leading to overall poor education results.
Firstly, there is the issue of "quiet corruption", as the World Bank's Chief Economist calls the culture of absenteeism. This can only be addressed with the introduction of school inspectors.
Secondly, there is the issue of learner and teacher transport. Those schools with poor results are often schools that pupils and teachers have to travel long distances to reach. The lack of proper and reliable transport plays a role in the overall results of such schools.
Thirdly, we are concerned about the lack of school guidance and counselling in our schools. This is a very important aspect of education. School psychologists and counsellors will assist children with problems that can really not be solved by an ordinary teacher in the classroom. Coupled with this, we need remedial teaching to ensure that we give those pupils help when they need it, not after they have failed.
Lastly, there is the continued lack of genuine classrooms and facilities. Many current school buildings are dilapidated or built from mud and inferior materials. Again, this is a problem in marginalised areas, which means we are failing to provide an opportunity to improve the children born in poverty.
We welcome the introduction of additional tests at Grades 3, 6, and 9. It is a positive step, Minister - but only if correctly implemented. We should not have the problems we experience when matric students are writing exams. These tests shouldn't really be like matric examinations, but diagnostic, to assist teachers to help learners in the classroom. Once we run around delivering papers and such things, we are going to have a big mess.
To conclude, allow me to express our concern about the gap between good matric results and the same students failing dismally at the institutions of higher learning. This trend is an indication of an underlying weakness in the school system. We must ensure that our children leave matric with genuine skills and the knowledge to enter the job market or to continue with their studies at institutions of higher learning. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, the government has indicated that education is one of the top five priorities that it is committed to. The FF Plus welcomes it that education is a priority of government.
The President in his state of the nation address said that government has placed education and skills development at the centre of the government's policies - that's good and positive. Government's Ten Point Plan wants to improve the ability of our children to read, write and count in the foundation years. Unless this is done, we will not improve the quality of education.
The President also said: "We want learners and teachers to be in school, in class, on time, learning and teaching for seven hours a day."
This afternoon the hon chairperson of the portfolio committee emphasised this as point one, basically, of the Ten Point Plan of the ruling party. No one in their right mind can have any problem with this reality. The tragedy, however, is that it is necessary to say this in the first place, 16 years after the ANC came into power. How do we hope to compete globally in the year 2010 if teachers and learners are not at school or in class, on time, learning and teaching for at least seven hours a day?
The President also set specific measurable targets and goals. Those will have to be measured and it must be ensured that they are practically implemented. Teachers are to be provided with detailed daily lesson plans - what have they been doing until now? Students are to be provided with easy- to-use workbooks in all 11 languages; that's positive. From this year onwards, all Grades 3, 6 and 9 students will write literacy and numeracy tests that are independently moderated. This is positive and we welcome it. If only this was done when Julius Malema was still at school - just think what a lot of trouble it would have saved this country.
The other points - to increase the results from 30% to 60%; parents to track progress, etc - are all positive developments. However, the government's education policy will, unfortunately, still not pass the international guidelines for minority language and cultural rights. How serious are we about our constitutional provision of section 6(2) of the Constitution which says:
... ellipses the state must take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of these languages.
Is isiZulu a backward language? Of course not. Can isiXhosa never become a universal language? Of course it can. But we must take positive steps to bring us to that point. The Minister is on record that she is in favour of mother-tongue education - thank you very much for that. Let's work together to get a fair solution on levels of education.
The modern international approach to education is that Parliament will budget an amount for education. It is then calculated what will be spent on every child's education. The parents may then choose to take their child to the ... [Time expired.]
Chairperson, from the beginning, our history has been one of severing of unities; the breaking of tribal, racial and credo barriers. There remains before us the building of a new land, a home of men who are black, white and brown. There remains to be achieved our integration with the rest of our continent. Chief Albert J M Luthuli said:
Somewhere ahead there beckons a civilisation, a culture, which will take its place in the parade of God's history beside other great human syntheses - Chinese, Egyptian, Jewish, European. It will not necessarily be all black, but it will be African.
Chairperson, former Deputy President, former Deputy Speaker, hon Minister of Basic Education, Minister of Higher Education and Training, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, esteemed colleagues who are present, 50 years ago thousands of our people assembled, unarmed, peacefully protesting against the carrying of the dompas. This was in Sharpeville, and the protest was about the indignity of carrying a document that would circumscribe where a person lived, how he or she travelled, where their children would go to school, what the nature and quality of their education would be, and what the circumstances of their life would be.
It was for protesting against this indignity that scores of people were killed and approximately 170 injured. Yet, the struggle for our liberation, for a nonracial, nonsexist democracy, continues, and we have this legacy that we have to respond to.
As we celebrate Human Rights Day, we are reminded that 20 years ago we also celebrated the release of Nelson Mandela, the epitome of a veteran who struggled for our liberation, who sought to advance human rights and to affirm the dignity of our people. At the same time, 20 years ago, member states committed themselves to a declaration, an important declaration - Education for All, EFA - to ensure that basic quality education is provided to all learners.
I have listened very attentively to the discourse on education, to the various suggestions that have been made - many of them are legitimate and sound - to the concerns that have been raised in the context of education and what we could do better in terms of teacher development, better resourcing of our schools in terms of infrastructure, water and sanitation, and a range of other things. We have heard from experts, analysts, commentators, the media and, more importantly, from teachers. What emerges clearly from this is that, as we look at the challenges that we face as a nation, we should be cognisant of the fact that we come from a very difficult, fractured past, a past in which we were unequal citizens, the legacy and the consequences of which we will continue to carry with us for a long period of time.
That is the political context in which we must try to bring about change in the system of education. We cannot pretend that we could bring about significant change in 15 years, yet we take comfort from the fact that practitioners and educators are mindful of the challenges we face.
Take the situation of a young, committed, passionate, newly qualified foundation-phase teacher, Fazlyn Diedericks - and she is here in the audience - who has been teaching for two years. She says that in order to provide quality education, you require a competent and qualified teacher who is able to understand the needs and abilities of the learner. That says a lot. It says that the learner is at the epicentre of this new paradigm. It says that the educator must not only be qualified, but competent enough to understand the different needs, limitations and abilities of that learner. It says that, as a foundation teacher, sensitivity to the individual and special needs of each and every learner is critical and necessary.
We also have the views and response of a more senior educator who is also in the audience here. Her name is Roegshana Hendricks. She teaches in a city school, and she says 20 years ago things were somewhat different. Things have changed. The composition of learners within the city school has changed dramatically. Learners travel from different areas and different communities. They are primarily and principally from poor areas. They have different cultures, different languages and different practices. Many of the learners have to use more than two vehicles to get to school, so they are fatigued. Many of them are extremely poor and no nutrition is provided for them. All these factors provide what some would call a "toxic mix" for ill discipline in schools.
It takes a special and extraordinary teacher to realise that in our new dispensation, in our democracy, we are required to understand that the challenge of teaching in a heterogeneous environment is one we should celebrate. The challenge to teach in an environment where there is a diversity of cultural language and practice is something that is empowering rather than something that should erode our confidence. It is important that we recognise this particular challenge that comes to us as a nation, for if we were at all concerned about the struggle, the commitment of those who laid down their lives for us in Sharpeville and in Langa, we would recognise that we have a particular responsibility to this generation of learners and generations of learners in the future.
What Miss Hendricks is saying to us is that, unless and until we understand the context and are sensitive to this particular change in the diversity of our learning environment, we will not be able to bring about what the chairperson of the portfolio committee has spoken about - the kind of discipline that is necessary. Because learners would be frustrated and they would not be encouraged to respect the authority before them. As a result of this frustration and a lack of ability to communicate meaningfully, they would become disruptive in class. This, indeed, would militate against quality education.
As we think about the release of Nelson Mandela and as we think about 20 years of a commitment to education for all, we should sit back and reflect on how far we have come. I would like the hon Dr Kloppers-Lourens to pay particular attention to this, because it is no good saying that we haven't done much. It is no good reading the newspaper and saying South Africa has failed its nation. Before 1994, fewer than 50% of eligible learners were in schools. Within 16 years, we have universal admission and enrolment in primary school. We have near universal admission and enrolment in secondary schools, and this is borne out by a report, not by a South African, but by an independent panel of experts from the Southern African Development Community, SADC. South Africa has done the best among all developing countries in the SADC in the retention rates, even among those who are 15, 16 and 17 years of age. [Applause.]
The risk is to read a newspaper without interrogating the information that is there. If we were attentive to the detail, we would know, for example, that with regard to retention rates, South Africa has done reasonably well. In 2008, for example, the percentage of 16, 17 and 18-year-old learners attending an education institution was 92%, 87% and 73% respectively. It does not help, hon member, to say that the Minister was trying to mislead the House. What she was saying is that, as a result of the establishment of Further Education and Training, FET, colleges, we currently have more than 120 000 learners who are not in the mainstream of academic schools, but who are in FET colleges. That cannot be misleading. It is something that we should celebrate. It is something that the chairperson of the portfolio committee said.
What we should do is to look at other possibilities, post-school opportunities for our learners. We should not only look at academic excellence at institutions of higher learning, such as universities and universities of technology. Furthermore, it is not what is said, but it is what is not said that is critical.
I think we should be mindful of the fact that, indeed, with regard to special education and inclusive education, we have an enormous challenge. We have a responsibility. We cannot betray those who are vulnerable and those who have disabilities. Yet, as we do so, we must recognise that we have already converted more than 15 schools into full-service centres for learners with special needs. We must recognise that mainstreaming has, indeed, occurred and special training has been provided, yet more has to be done. But to pretend that nothing has happened for the past 10 years is a failure to recognise that there was a collective decision that we should not work on individual deficits, but look systemically at the issue of disability and ask, how do we deal with it on the basis of pilot studies that we carried out in rural and urban provinces. Now, we cannot ignore those realities. I think we have much to celebrate. With regard to the EFA goals, I will go through them very quickly, Chairperson. Firstly, it speaks about early childhood development. We have more than doubled the rate of learners in early childhood development, ECD, centres within the past 10 years. We can celebrate the fact that, in the past three years, we have increased the number of learners in Grade R from about 350 000 to 650 000. On this basis, we will be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and the EFA goals with regard to access to early childhood development. We can celebrate the fact that we have distributed resource materials, study guides and assessment guides in all languages to all our learners in Grade R. This means that, for the first time, we have resources in the hands of every learner in a Grade R class.
The expansion of Grade R in the school environment means certain things. The consequences are enormous. It means additional classrooms, a special environment, and additional practitioners. But what we can celebrate, and what we must, indeed, celebrate, is the fact that, for the first time, we have a National Curriculum Statement for Grade R learners. For the first time, we have special norms and standards for practitioners who are teaching in Grade R classes. This means that the foundations for learning that we spoke about earlier will be strengthened and supported by this important platform that we are providing.
The hon Minister, as president of the ANC Women's League, can take pride in the fact that with regard to gender equity and the EFA goals, we have done extremely well. There are more girl learners than boy learners in primary and high schools. The retention rate of girls is higher than that of boys. The enrolment rate of girl learners at universities is higher than that of boy learners. The pass rate of girl learners is higher than boy learners. Malibongwe! [Praise!] Let us celebrate the fact that our women are doing much better. [Applause.]
And this has occurred in a short space of time. In 16 years we have been able to turn around the realities of inequality between the genders. We are able to advance and promote the capacity and ability of learners. Yet more has to be done, and women have to participate more meaningfully in the sciences, where I think there is a critical demand for their skills.
With regard to the issue of skills development and of opportunity and access to quality and skills, the hon Minister of Higher Education and Training will be addressing the House on Thursday, and I do not wish to steal his script. [Laughter.] He will tell you that there will be an emphasis - I am telling him what to say to hon members on Thursday! - on post-school opportunities. He will say that out-of-school youth must be given an opportunity. He will share with the House the fact that our youth are, indeed, willing to learn, because just this year, a few weeks ago, 135 000 learners sat for their supplementary examinations. It makes a powerful statement about the commitment of our youth to acquiring quality education. What we have done, as Basic Education, is to increase capacity and opportunity. We have provided for funding of R500 million to 200 technical schools, so that they can improve their infrastructure and provide the practical training that the chairperson of the portfolio committee has been speaking about.
With regard to our commitment to the EFA goals, to halve adult illiteracy by 2015: I think we must take pride in the fact that we have Prof Veronica McKay in our presence. Their programme has won the Best Communicator's award as well as the Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB, award for the promotion of indigenous languages.
Resource materials have been made available to more than a million adult learners within two years. They have been assessed, and their ability and performance have been independently controlled. In the past two years, we have been able to train one million people, and we intend training 650 000 this year and another 650 000 next year. This means that we would, certainly, have achieved our Millennium Development Goals.
What we are saying is that, notwithstanding the enormous disparities, the huge differences, the legacies of inequality, we were able to move forward as a nation. We have done extremely well in terms of access. What we have to do is to emphasise the mantra of this Minister and the former Minister: quality, quality, quality. With regard to the last EFA goal, the Minister has spoken about it already. She has spoken about her commitment to make sure that the curriculum is implemented properly, to reduce the administrative burden on educators, to ensure that we do whatever is necessary to enhance better education and learning. And indeed, that is something that we can celebrate.
As I conclude, and given the fact that we are, indeed, a diverse nation with a history that is quite extraordinary, the ruling party, as well as government, has indicated that this year we should also celebrate 150 years of the arrival of Indians - and I do not say this because I am an Indian Deputy Minister, but I do so on very direct authority! [Laughter.] As we do so, we should remember the contribution of stalwarts and veterans, people such as Fatima Meer, who made an enormous contribution to the liberation of this country as an educator, activist and comrade.
Thank you, Chairperson. May I thank the Minister, the MECs for education, the heads of department present, the acting director-general, the former director-general, and all the senior management for their wonderful support. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Ministers, the ACDP applauds government's commitment to education, which remains the largest area of government spending. Education is clearly the single most important black economic empowerment strategy and its significance in reducing poverty and accelerating long-term economic growth cannot be overemphasised.
The additional R2,7 billion, which has been allocated to the Department of Basic Education to roll out easy-to-use workbooks in all 11 official languages to help to raise literacy and numeracy levels and to test all learners in Grades 3, 6 and 9 is a positive move.
The ACDP notes with approval the additional R9 billion over the next three years for teacher salary upgrades and the efforts by the government to refine the occupation specific dispensation for educators to improve the quality of teaching to retain and attract much-needed skills to the profession.
In 2008, 62 000 out of about 400 000 teaching posts at public schools were vacant and 32 000 were filled by temporary teachers. Hon Minister, what are the current statistics? Have we managed to improve on the situation or have shortages of skilled teachers increased?
Programme three, which aims to promote quality teaching and institutional performance has, as we see, only received R513,7 million, a 3,44% decrease in real terms. This is of some concern, considering the critical need for training in general and specifically for management training of principals. The ACDP would like to applaud the Gauteng MEC for Education for her campaign to utilise retired teachers and principals in classrooms and in the general running of schools. To use these services voluntarily or for a small stipend to cover local transport and lunch is, however, entirely unrealistic if not perhaps insulting, especially given the current economic situation. The ACDP urges government to support these efforts with budget provision for realistic salaries to ensure our children benefit from these valuable resource and wealth of experience.
Hon Minister, are you satisfied that the promised streamlining and simplification of the administrative system for teachers, which is necessary to free up their time for teaching, has been adequately addressed? Is the budget adequate in this regard? What about the laptops for teachers that were promised some time last year? Has provision been made for them in this budget? Are they still on the cards?
The ACDP is pleased to see that investment in infrastructure includes the building of libraries. Books are the source of great individual advancement and few schools in poorer areas have functioning school libraries. Does this budget make provision for posts for librarians at poorer schools?
Early childhood development, ECD, is not yet available at all schools and in all areas, despite legislation requiring provinces to prioritise spending on ECD in poorer areas. Again, does this budget adequately accommodate ECD needs? We need to know from you. Will it ensure access to quality ECD teacher training? Is ECD teaching being marketed as a viable career option?
Lastly, the ACDP would like to congratulate the department for the excellent work done through the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign. We support this Budget Vote, which will require close monitoring by the portfolio committee. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, we must not look at the pass rate and say that we are training our matriculants in large numbers. How many of these matriculants can become part of the professional middle class in South Africa? We must also ensure that many colleges, technical colleges and skills development centres are being built.
The former Minister who was in charge of the Public Service made the statement that there are hundreds of thousands of vacancies in the Public Service and that South Africans are not qualified to fill these vacancies. This is an indictment of our education system. It shows that our education system is not doing what is needed to satisfy South Africa's manpower needs.
The fault with education is that we have governing bodies, mostly unqualified, that determine staff appointments, promotions and the future of educators. It should be a number-one priority to amend the SA Schools Act, so that the future of professionals is handled by professionals.
Secondly, tell the trade unions that they can't jointly run the government. However, we agree that their task is to look after the welfare of the teaching profession.
Thirdly, all appointments should be made on merit and South Africans must abandon doing things according to race.
Fourthly, schools are left to fund security with their own resources. This means that in some instances they are left with no resources.
Lastly, discipline at schools is chaotic. No form of punishment has replaced corporal punishment. This issue is left to each individual school. Schools don't know what's happening and may land up in trouble. The government needs to provide some concrete policy directives.
Outstanding educators are leaving the country and getting excellent jobs in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, just on the production of their CVs. We must start something new, called the knowledge industry, which is very important. It knows no race, no barrier, no colour and no nationality. The MF is extremely concerned that the world is grabbing people with knowledge while South Africa is chasing away people with knowledge. I find it hurtful, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, when outstanding matriculants are paraded, only to be told a few weeks later, by the medical schools and universities, "Sorry, we can't take you because you are not black".
It is high time that South Africa realises it is going to pay a heavy price for this. It is very important that education determines this direction and education must have a proper focus. The MF will support the Budget Vote.
Mohl Modulasetulo, mohl Tona ya t?a Thuto ya Motheo, mohl Motlat?a Tona wa t?a Thuto ya Motheo, lefapha la thuto go t?wa diprofenseng, ba mphato e lego maloko a hlomphegago le baeng ba kgole le kgauswi, ke a le dumedi?a.
Ka Sepedi re re, kgole ke mo re t?wago, kgauswi ke mo re yago. Tsela ya thuto e nale mohlala, moo mmu?o wo o bu?ago wa go etwa pele ke ANC, o ka ipethago magetla wa re ke there?o. Le ge go ka ba le mo go sa nago le go ?alela morago, fela re re lesedi le a bonagala. Le bona bagadit?ong ba ba leng ka letsogong le, ba a le bona lesedi le bona.
Ge re gopola morago ka thuto ya kgatelelo, go be go sa kgonagale gore thuto ya dipalo le ya mahlale di rutwe bana ba batho ba baso. Ba be ba rutwa thuto yeo e sego ya maleba ebile e le ya maemo a fase. Seo se ile sa dira gore bana ba batho baso ba ?alele morago, ba seke ba itshepha, fela e se gore ba a palelwa, lebaka e be e le mmu?o wo o bego o le gona ka nako yeo. Thuto ya dipalo le ya mahlale di be di diret?we batho ba bohlale, e lego ba mmala fela. Sepedi se re, t?hiwana e sa hwego e leta monono.
A re lebogeng mmu?o wo o etilwego pele ke mokgatlo wo o bu?ago wa ANC ka lebaka la gore re re mma o tlile, tlala...ke t?haba go rogana ka Sepedi! (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[Ms A C MASHISHI: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Basic Education, hon Deputy Minister of Basic Education, provincial education departments, hon members and distinguished guests, I greet you all.
There is progress with regard to education in our country and the ANC-led government can attest to this by patting their shoulders. Even if there might be backlogs here and there, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Members of opposition parties can also confirm this.
During the apartheid era black students were denied the opportunity to learn maths and science in schools and they were only exposed to a low quality education. This led to lack of confidence in black students and their lagging behind as compared to their white counterparts. Quality education was meant for white students only. We should be grateful to the ANC-led government that makes quality education accessible to all the people.] We applaud the department for focusing on Grade R as a crucial preparatory period for a child's time in school. Participation in Grade R is thought to be a crucial determinant of success in the first years of primary school.
We also applaud the Department of Education for engaging Statistics SA in making more precise the collection of household data on Grade R and ECD participation in general. Our education system has the resources to assist those children in crches and preschools so that when the time comes for them to go to school, they will be well equipped.
This government has made education not only accessible but of quality ...
... go na le bothata? [... is there any problem?] ... we need to applaud President J G Zuma, who made education a number-one priority in his call for action. This is how things happen: you take one step, and then things go differently.
The department has started distributing literacy and numeracy workbooks in schools, especially for Grades R to 6, where schools will focus largely on preparing learners in Grades R to 6 for annual assessments. All schools will use the same textbook that our government is working on.
Re hlohlolet?a batswadi go ba karolo ya thuto ya bana ka go hlokomela me?omo ya bana ba bona. [We encourage parents to get involved in the education of their children by helping them with their school work.]
We applaud the department for its plans to support Dinaledi schools. The Department of Education, in collaboration with the interprovincial committee for maths, science and technology, developed a plan to support schools.
We also applaud the department for this initiative in that 23 of the 49 Dinaledi schools, overall, achieved a pass rate below 60% in the 2008 national senior certificate examinations. These schools were visited by subject specialists of the Department of Education as part of the programme of support for underperforming schools.
In 2009, the Department of Education set out to train mathematics and science teachers in Dinaledi schools on subject content. That is the effort that our government goes to, because education is of key importance to this government. We must see all parties singing the same song. As South Africans, together we can do more in education.
As the ANC, we support the Budget Vote. Ke a leboga. [I thank you.]
Chairperson, there is much in this budget and strategic plan to approve of. It appears there has been a shifting away in the thinking of the department from nave theorising towards actually getting the job done of educating our people as a means to lift them out of poverty. The bottom line should be that this department is not there to serve only some interest groups but to actually educate our kids to create independent-minded, thinking and capable generations of South Africans.
This plan provides for monitoring and accountability, which are vital to educational reform. But in order to fix our education system, this administration is going to need political courage.
To understand why, we need to look at how this department operates and what needs to be changed. How responsive is our education system to the needs of schools and the needs of pupils?
Let's look at the examples of some Port Elizabeth schools I visited recently. On the one hand there was Grey High School, a magnificent institution with extensive buildings and impeccably maintained grounds and facilities; a historic school producing superior results, supported by fees in the high school of some R21 000 per year. They have a payment rate on those fees of around 90%. It is, rightly, a quintile five school - the category designated as having the wealthiest parents and thus being given the least money by the state. It functions with very little assistance from the state and needs very little.
Across town, in the northern areas, is a school called Helenvale Primary. It has suffered so much crime in the past few years that the windows of the classrooms and offices have both burglar bars and mesh. The result is dim interiors - on cloudy days it is difficult to see. And there are no lights to turn on, because the electricity wiring has been stolen and not been replaced. The fees here are just R100 per child per year. There is only a 20% payment rate. That is not surprising because the community in which this school is located is very poor with high unemployment.
What is surprising is that this school is also designated a quintile five school. The department is treating these kids just like the kids who attend Grey High School. They are poor and should be getting more help. They are not getting help. Their school is obtaining very little assistance from government to buy textbooks, pay electricity bills, hire security and carry out repairs.
How does that school survive? How do they survive when their budget means that they cannot even buy all the textbooks they need?
Two things have happened. Firstly, the community has pulled together to provide security for the school and, secondly, the heroic efforts of the principal and teachers have secured private sector help. Companies have contributed money because they care about what the education department is being paid to care for - the future of our kids and that of our country - but seem not to. And Helenvale Primary is not the only school in that situation.
Not far away is Booysens Park, also a quintile-five school, where eight classrooms were damaged by fire three years ago. They are still not fixed. The upstairs classrooms are unusable. Rain seeps into the walls of the lower classrooms where the school has to conduct classes. If you stand and push against the walls, they give in.
What kind of a system is it where the state cannot distinguish between these two levels of schools? Is it in any way responsive? Is it in any way benefiting the pupils of the poorer schools? What kind of officials are sitting in that district office or in that provincial administration, unaware of the situation of Helenvale Primary? Do they care? Why are they not fighting to get the schools in their district redesignated? Is the bureaucracy so stifling that they cannot do anything about it? This lack of responsiveness by the department's officials is seen elsewhere.
Last year in Parliament, when the Minister was speaking about the importance of not disrupting class time, she said, and I quote, "In-service training will however not, under any circumstance, be allowed to disrupt teaching and learning." That's a fine statement; it's a pity the education bureaucracy did not listen.
I'm holding here in my hands a circular from the Umlazi District. It is Circular No 1 of 2010. It sets out workshops for subject advisors for which they are expected to report on schooldays from 8:00 in the morning. In this circular alone, which specified the workshops for January and February, there are 172 separate workshops. For 172 days, at least, one teacher from every school would be ordered out of their classrooms by district officials in the name of improving teaching. Perhaps these workshops have some value, but what about the classes that were without teachers for each of these 172 workshops?
Did these go ahead? Why was this allowed to happen in direct contravention of what the Minister has said? What will the Minister do about this? At the very least, the Minister should have made sure that it does not happen again. But more than that, those district officials who called teachers away from their classrooms to these workshops need to be held accountable.
I believe this lack of capacity, discipline and care extends to districts across the country, but why? I suggest the answer lies in who is appointed to lead districts. How can the local district not take up the cause of schools placed in the wrong quintile? How can a district official act in flagrant disregard of a policy spelled out in this Parliament?
A clue may come from the Fort Beaufort District in the Eastern Cape, where the head of the district was chased out by unions last year. Teachers in that district said a union official wanted the job for him or herself and enlisted the help of union members to literally chase the head of district away. The replacement was due to arrive in Fort Beaufort last week. Once again, this person was not approved of by the unions. As a result, Sadtu and Nehawu members did not turn up for school; they rather went to the district office, ready to give the new head of district a hot reception. As it happened, the replacement thought it wise not to come.
In this case, as in Gauteng, last year, the unions believed they should decide who gets jobs in the department. Does the Minister really think she can run a system like this? Does the Minister really think we can have a working system where teachers leave school at 10:00, as they have done in the past two weeks in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, to go to union meetings? The Minister cannot let this continue to happen without sanction.
At the same time Sadtu wants to become the only union recognised by the department - the one union, which time and again shows that it is utterly irresponsible about teaching. It strikes at the drop of a hat so that it can stop reform and protect the worst teachers in the system from the consequences of their failures. This union needs to be brought to heel.
We know this government owes a political debt to Sadtu and is thus reluctant to act against it. If it does not, education will not recover and future generations of our people will not be able to compete and will not be empowered to climb out of poverty.
This government needs political courage to act against Sadtu. If it does not, it will betray not just this generation of school goers but the future of our country.
Hon Chairperson, I thank you for this opportunity. Hon Minister, Deputy Ministers, chairperson of the portfolio committee, members, ladies and gentlemen, let me start by quoting from the Constitution of our country: "... to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person".
So declares the preamble to the South African Constitution to all entrusted with the responsibility of improving the quality of life of our people. The link between the quality of education and the quality of the lives they lead cannot be disputed.
A casual look at the legacy of apartheid tells a tale of life embedded with opportunities for one section of society and another for whom the capacity to exploit these opportunities has been limited through exposure to poor- quality education under apartheid.
In order for us to improve the quality of life and free the potential of South Africans, the quality of education must improve. What constitutes quality education for the ordinary folk of the Republic is a schooling environment that provides opportunities for learners to read and write, to count and solve mathematical enquiries, to speak with confidence and to be eager to participate in all activities.
The expectation of the populace, legislatures and government is, simply, to have an education system that provides basic and advanced skills that empower all citizens to lead productive lives and be active participants in the economy.
To put this matter into the proper context, any mandate deriving from the Constitution is indisputable. Accordingly, and in view of the information at our disposal, it is irrefutable that our mandate seeks for us to achieve the following: successful schools that have quality leadership, management and governance practices; quality teachers who create quality teaching and learning environments, and who do quality planning and preparation of lessons; quality structures, systems and processes; and quality intervention programmes by department officials, which include the training of educators and accelerated curriculum delivery.
One of the biggest challenges - and, at times, an obstacle - is the belief that funding will resolve the challenges that face education, hon Mpontshane and hon Kloppers-Lourens. I want us to consider the example of a newly constructed primary school with proper buildings, adequate staffing in terms of the current educator provisioning model of 1:4, and monetary allocation adequate to pay for teaching support material. In this case, government has put in place the necessary funding. If such a school underperforms, what is the cause of such underperformance? Many such examples exist in all our nine provinces, which is an indicator that the attainment of quality education is not limited to funding.
Cha, ayisebenzi. [No, it does not work.]
According to the SA Quality Institute, the SAQI, a quality school or institution must develop a quality model based on the following: values, leadership, improvement plans, communication, and tools and techniques.
Further, the characteristics of a quality school are as follows: a school that focuses on learner needs; invests in people; treats complaints as an opportunity to learn; encourages creativity and innovation, where everybody has a leadership role; and does not use fear to motivate performance.
Therefore, we can't go back to the old system of inspectors. We have to try to find a way ...
... Ntate Kganyago, gore re kgone go humana batho. Re oket?a maikarabelo go motho o mongwe le o mongwe, gore batho kamoka ba kgone go ?oma, e sego fela gore re boele morago re dire t?ela t?a aparteite, ga di ?ome. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows)
[... to access the right people, Mr Kganyago. We will appeal to each and everyone of them to work efficiently and not just use the methods that were used during the apartheid era - those will not work.]
The ANC held an event at Kliptown in Soweto, at Walter Sisulu Square, to launch a mass mobilisation campaign in education. The message on the distributed pamphlet read, "The power to improve education lies with all of us. We call on all department officials, teachers and students to work ..."
We see that this has been copied by the Premier of the Western Cape, who has been launching a mass mobilisation campaign in education. We thank the DA for working together with us in promoting quality education, because we can see that you understand the message clearly. And that is what we are talking about as the ANC: working together, we can improve the lives of the children out there.
If we talk about the promotion of mother-tongue languages, it must not be limited to Afrikaans. Let this apply to all the other languages. It's correct to speak about this issue in that context, and not only to promote and protect Afrikaans. So we agree about the context.
I think the public is also confused: Julius Malema has been mentioned so many times in Parliament I might start thinking he is a Member of Parliament. He is not a member. [Interjections.] So when we discuss matters here, we need to understand ... If you want to provide such lessons, you must remember the legacy of apartheid some of us suffered. For instance, that's why I can't speak Afrikaans. I was born at the time when Afrikaans was banned in Soweto. So we have to remember those experiences. We have to remember where we come from, before we can start judging.
The other issue - hon Bhoola - is that we are Members of Parliament. So let's not talk as if we were on the street. I am a member of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training. We never had the problem of students saying they have been denied access because they were white, not black. We would love to go and have hearings as the portfolio committee in order to understand this.
Let's not mislead the public. There are provisions and there are laws. It would be odd if an individual were not able to go to court. Many people have been to court if they encountered such a problem. Let's not mislead the public and say such institutions exist. I have not seen one. I'm still waiting to see one, if it does exist in South Africa. But I don't think so. When we took over in 1994, it was the ANC that promoted equal access in everything that we were doing. We promoted this because we understood that we couldn't stand exclusion. So we can't promote such policies today. If such an institution exists - and the Minister is sitting here - we would love to know about it. We would love to deal with it because ... ayikho vele. [It does not exist.]
There is also the issue of unions joining and wanting to run government. We've got to understand this. Let us be factual: when the President announced the non-negotiables, it was the unions together with student leaders who signed to say they were committing themselves.
We acknowledge that there are weaknesses in pockets of the country, where certain levels of leadership in respect of the SA Democratic Teachers' Union, Sadtu, are not doing well. But nationally and with regard to many provinces, there has been a commitment by Sadtu to ensure that there is an environment where teaching and learning can take place. So let us not generalise. Where there are pockets of problems, let's address them. Where a contribution is being made by union leaders, let's acknowledge those so that we work together to improve the quality of education of our kids in this country. We need to improve that.
Mhlonishwa Mpontshane, uyabona baba wami i-cadre development baba ayisho ukuthi umuntu akanawo amakhono. [Hon Mpontshane, you see, sir, cadre development does not mean that a person does not have skills.
We deploy people, it's true, and we cannot be apologetic about it. We are running the government; we do not co-own the government. We are governing as the ANC. We won in the elections and we will run the country in the best way that we understand. The cadres to whom we have given the mandate, have the skills and capacity to do the work. [Interjections.] They are not ... Baba uMpontshane. [Mr Mpontshane.]
They are deployed to do the work. They understand the policy. [Interjections.] Go and see everywhere. In the DA they are doing it. In Cape Town in the Western Cape, you must go to see. You were doing this in KwaZulu-Natal when you were governing as the IFP, baba uMpontshane. [Mr Mpontshane.] We have also learnt from you. So we have to understand this.
I want to say that as we work together to ensure that education is the number one priority in our country, we need to continually ensure that all of us play a role. I am going to make an appeal - even to the Congress of SA Students, Cosas - not to allow disruption with regard to what is happening in the Protea magistrate's court. We need to support what the President has called for in teaching and learning. Let us allow those learners and teachers to go back to school. I am appealing to members of the national executive of Cosas to let teaching happen so that we secure the education of our kids. An African child needs to learn continually.
In conclusion, working together we can do more in educating an African child and ensuring that this child has a better future. Ndza khensa [Thank you,], Chairperson. [Applause.]
Chairperson, I rise on a point of order. If I am not mistaken, the hon member sitting right here referred to white people in a derogatory manner just now, saying that they won't understand what has just been said. I want you to ask the hon member if that is correct and, if so, I would like her to withdraw what she said.
Well, we don't know which hon member you are referring to. Could you be specific?
I can assist you, Chairperson. It is this hon lady right here. Chairperson, the lady knows who she is. There she is. You can ask her.
Hon member, is this correctly attributed to you?
No, Chair. I don't know what he is speaking about. [Interjections.]
Could you repeat what you said?
I have just entered, Chair. I don't know what he is talking about. I never spoke about any white people here. I spoke about African children going to school. That's all. Unless white is African, I'm not sure. We are all African, by the way.
I just want to check whether you said what has been attributed to you. You say that you don't know.
It is not true, Chair. I did not say that.
We didn't hear, unfortunately. I think this is a matter that is difficult to make a ruling on. However, be careful that the utterances you make in the House from time to time are not unparliamentary. So whatever it was, there is no ruling for now, because no one heard. Please let's ensure that the House has order.
A point of order, Chair ...
Chair, on a point of order ...
Hon Chauke, I have not yet recognised you. Could you sit down. Both of you stood up, and I'm not sure if you are rising on points of order, or what's happening.
It is a point of order, Chair. You see, what is funny is that two members here did not hear what the hon member said. The hon member here rises all the time when ... [Inaudible.] So I think this is a problem that we should be addressing. [Interjections.]
Hon Chauke, that is not a point of order. This matter is closed. Apologies for the interruption, hon Minister.
Chair, in closing I want to again thank the hundreds of principals and teachers out there who continue to make our schools work. As I said earlier, we even invited the principal of Dendron, a school deep in a rural area. It is a top ten, quintile 1, no-fee-paying school which has been producing outstanding results consistently. We want to thank those principals and teachers for their dedication and hard work. [Applause.]
This takes me to the point made by the chairperson. I fully agree with her that the quality of education depends on schools that work. Schools that work are schools under capable managers and dedicated and committed teams. I fully agree with her.
On the issue of infrastructure, as I have indicated, we are in agreement with the Department of Public Service and Administration, DPSA, and we will confront the infrastructure backlog. We are working hard to make sure that we build schools now and pay later. The idea is to begin to remove noncore functions from the Department of Basic Education in order for education to focus on learning and teaching. Things like infrastructure must be managed elsewhere to ensure that we focus on our core business. We will start with the programme. The DPSA will be paid from Treasury. Provincial departments will be tasked with improving the quality of learning and teaching and will not deal with an issue that is a noncore function.
In responding to the hon Kloppers-Lourens, I want to say that I highly respect her for her skills and articulation. It is, however, sometimes quite sad that a person of her calibre in the official opposition is unable to give an alternative voice and cannot see the wood for the trees. All she and the opposition do is spit venom and respond to rumours and newspapers. What I am interested to hear, as a Minister, is what her constituency is saying. She has a sizable constituency. It would be very useful to hear what their views are because it will enrich the work we are doing. To respond to rumours and spit venom all the time is not useful because it kills the importance of having an opposition party. I think it is quite regrettable.
Mr Lorimer, I respect and note the things you have said about the fact that schools are still disrupted. We will follow up on that. You have mentioned the fact that there are still challenges about quintiles. According to our information, those quintiles are being reviewed. If there is still a problem, we will continue to review it.
What we are looking at, Dr Kloppers-Lourens, is what the issues are, in order for us to address them. We are not scared to address them. Don't give us what is in the newspapers. Tell us what your constituency is saying. We cannot function on rumours. Don't you have a constituency? Let's hear what your constituency is saying.
In responding to Cope, I really want to thank the member of Cope and want to reiterate and agree with her that libraries continue to be central in our system. It is very sad that the system has collapsed. We are doing all we can to revitalise libraries. According to our norms and standards, libraries are one of the main priorities. We have interim measures. When things change, we will inform you.
I must say to hon Mda that she is still showing her true colours. She is still a product of the real Congress of the People. We can hear from her input that she is indeed a child of the congress. Thank you very much for your contribution. We have taken up most of the things you have said. We will follow up and if we have the opportunity, we will report. [Interjections.] Baba uMpontshane ... [Mr Mpontshane ...]
I don't know about the cadre policy. We will look into it. Let me give you an example.
... ukuthi ayikho le nto.[... that this does not exist.]
Tomorrow we have interviews to appoint a head of department. We have advertised the post. We have Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, KPMG, to audit all the applications and to do the screening. I don't even know the three people I am going to interview tomorrow. There will be two Ministers, two heads of department, the Deputy Minister and it will be "cadre development".
Ikuphi i-"cadre development" kulaba bantu abathathu. Uma kuyinto kaKhongolose sizothi yi-cadre. Akuyona i-cadre development. Uma bekhona abantu bakaKhongolose bayekeni nabo baphathe. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Where is the "cadre development" in these three people? If it were the ANC's people we would say it was a cadre. It is not cadre development. If there are ANC people, let them be in positions as well.]
Where I agree with you, hon Mr Mpontshane, is that education depends on the teachers. Unfortunately, on your point that we should get funds for teacher development, I want to say that it is in provinces and it is quite abundant. What we have to do as a national department is to monitor that funds are properly utilised and that the current programmes give teachers the necessary skills to implement the existing policies. As the national department our core function is around the curriculum. Hence, even the budgeted money that remains at the national department is to assist us in dealing with curriculum issues.
Most of the issues around the running of schools are done by provinces, and ably so. Ms Gina made a good point about the way in which we measure education. It is quite right that a successfully educated person is not a person who is only literate and numerate - which is very important - but also a holistic individual. It is a person who is socially, emotionally and politically balanced. That is why we have a very intensive social programme to ... [Interjections.] Otherwise, they will respond to rumours. After being educated, they will give you rumours instead of facts. We want facts and not rumours or things in newspapers.
Ms Gina, we have the screening programme and we are working with the Department of Health to ensure that we reintroduce school nurses. We are working with the Department of Social Development to provide school counselling and social-work services. We want to ensure that all challenges concerning the emotional wellbeing of children are addressed in order for them to be holistic and rounded children. On the issue of school inspectors, I don't know. During the apartheid years, I taught for more than seven years and an inspector came once. That was my first experience. He wrote and said I was a promising teacher. That was the end of the inspectorate. Is that what you want to do? We are not bringing it back because it did not work. We will use the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, Needu, to evaluate and develop our education outcomes, not to evaluate teachers to see whether they teach well. We will not evaluate teachers in the way we used to.
The aim is to visit classes and schools and to look into the bureaucracy, which you are talking about, that is sometimes non-functional. The aim is to support learners, not to find mistakes. The aim is to visit classes in order to find what is needed to support learners and teachers. That is what Needu is doing. On 1 April we are opening the offices of Needu. The inspectorate - the one that says you are a promising teacher - is going to be a small part of what Needu will do. I am bringing in a more advanced, modern, progressive and positive institute that will enable us to visit classrooms and schools and look at the bureaucracy in its totality. Let's not speak about an inspectorate. It is archaic. This is the real thing.
Hon Alberts, I agree with you that, 15 years down the line, we should not be saying, "Teachers should be ...". It is really demotivating to have to be telling teachers to be in class on time. However, the reality is that they are not. I can't pretend that they are in class on time. I went to a school last week that scored zero. It was the third visit. On a Friday at 10 o'clock in the morning, I found that the principal was not there. [Interjections.] I have. We agree. [Applause.] The fact of the matter is that we are still confronted by managers who are not committed to their work.
We have committed ourselves to addressing this problem, not to pretending it is not happening. We are committing ourselves to getting rid of it and fighting it with all our strength. This does not undermine the fact that there are hundreds of teachers and principals who run our schools quite well and even go beyond the call of duty. [Applause.]
You and I cannot continue to agree! We are agreeing completely on mother- tongue teaching. The results in our schools confirm it. The fact that African children don't perform to the best of their ability is sometimes not due to poor teaching. Sometimes it is because of the language dilemma for African kids. The problem is not only due to the dysfunctionality of schools. There are also policy issues, like the language policy, that cause problems, especially as they affect African children. The language issue still needs to be addressed. We agree. We are working quite hard to ensure that we can confront this.
I don't want to leave any member out. On the issue of laptops, provinces have made provision for teacher laptops in their budgets, but it is a provincial competency. We will follow up on it. Our job is only to monitor it and to follow up. It is not our job to ensure that the laptops are bought. We will monitor it. The provisions and budgets have been made available to provinces.
Hon Bhoola, I am going to speak to Premier Mkhize to give Rajbansi something. Maybe we will then have peace. I am really not sure what you are talking about. I don't know what this race story is about suddenly. But let's sort out this Indian story at the KwaZulu-Natal level because perhaps it is about Rajbansi and has nothing to do with race. I will speak to my chairperson of the education portfolio to do something. I think we will then go back to being happy, like we were when the year began. It is getting sour now. I think it might have something to do with Rajbansi.
Hon Mashishi, indeed the Dinaledi schools constitute only 9%, but you'll be glad to hear they contribute more than 24% of passes in general and 50% of passes in maths. We intend to increase their numbers, but one mustn't bite off more than one can chew. You cannot go beyond that.
Mr Lorimer has already spoken about the fact that we should look at quintiles and at the challenges we have in that respect. I heard him talk about subject advisors. Subject advisors are not class teachers. If the circular calls teachers to be out of class, it is a problem. If it is addressed to subject advisors, then it is not a problem. Subject advisors can be trained during working hours because they are not school teachers.
I did not have the opportunity to elaborate on issues that are nonfinancial with regard to our plans. The fact is, we have a district organisational plan aimed at strengthening the capacity of districts to support schools. It is quite important that we not only focus on schools but that we get our districts to ask such questions as "What kind of manager will not be able to argue for a quintile?" We are working very hard and we are changing the structure to ensure that our districts can indeed support schools. We are working on a plan to do a district reorganisation.
In conclusion, the Deputy Minister and we have taken notes and will follow up. I want to thank members for their good contributions. I appeal to the opposition to not politicise education. [Interjections.] It is a national issue and asset. Let's not work on the basis of rumours but on facts and build this country together. We have a responsibility. You cannot spit venom all the time and not give alternatives. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.