Thank you, hon Speaker. Just to ease the minds of those here, the hon Minister is in Mauritius representing South Africa at a regional conference. So, that is why she is not here today. The hon Meshoe is not present, but he requested ... [Interjections.] ... Oh, all right, I see him there now. Thank you very much. My apologies.
There are three issues. The first is with regard to the destruction of textbooks, the second is in relation to the dumping of textbooks, and the third is in relation to another incident of dumping that has occurred.
An official in the department of education in Limpopo has been arrested on three charges of dumping. He was arrested on two counts of dumping in the Limpopo province and subsequently rearrested and recharged on a third count. The dumping was in relation to workbooks. I would like to explain to the House that there are 52 million workbooks that are distributed countrywide in all 11 official languages. These workbooks are basically sent to each and every school. However, in order to prevent difficulties and challenges in relation to shortages or the delivery of workbooks, the Department of Basic Education provides for some 20 000 workbooks to be stored in each district warehouse to enable easy access where there are shortages or where books in the wrong languages have been supplied.
The official concerned - from the information at our disposal - utilise an opportunity to acquire, firstly, the use of a vehicle; secondly, to be remunerated for the purpose of delivering books to a school, which he did not do. In other words, it is a fraudulent activity on his part. The information is that he confessed to the misdemeanour and, indeed, was arrested. We have requested the Special Investigating Unit and Special Anti- Corruption Unit, as well as the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, to look at any element of collusion in this regard.
With regard to the second issue, that is, the destruction of textbooks, the information at our disposal is that this was carried out by an agent we had contracted with the government of Limpopo. We would like to say clearly and unequivocally that we do not condone any form of destruction of textbooks or workbooks, and certainly, it goes against the grain of what we represent and the interests that we promote. However, the information at our disposal is that she illegitimately acquired the authority to procure these textbooks. The procedure that is followed in the department of education in Limpopo is that district and provincial officials are responsible for the assessment of any textbooks which they wish to dispose of. Where a textbook is obsolete in terms of the curriculum, the procedure is that it would be redirected to a library or a resource centre. It appears that, in this particular instance, the authority was illegitimately provided. The contract has been cancelled and the Special Investigating Unit, the Special Anti-Corruption Unit and the NPA have been requested to investigate the matter on an urgent basis.
On the last issue, regarding the most recent arrest concerning the textbooks, from the information at our disposal, these are not textbooks that belonged to the department of education or any particular school or entity of government, but to a publisher. The person who has been arrested is an agent of the publisher, who has, indeed, disposed of these textbooks. Investigations have been carried out and he has, indeed, been arrested and has appeared in court. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, I thank the hon Deputy Minister for his elaborate reply. Fingers have been pointed at EduSolutions. According to reports, on 17 January Pat Ellis, who is a senior legal advocate, decided to discourage government from being in partnership with EduSolutions. He advised that, because the company got the contract which is invalid, alternative suppliers should be sought. There are many who believe that, had that advice been taken, we would not have the mess we have in the department today.
So, my question is: If this advice was indeed given to the department, why did the department choose to ignore such legal advice? Will the department or government consider recovering the millions that were lost from those people who took part in the destruction of the books? Many of them, we are told, came out of overpayments. [Time expired.]
Hon Deputy Speaker, I thank the hon Meshoe for raising this question, because it does give us an opportunity to clarify the situation. Firstly, as far back as 2011, a service level agreement was concluded between the department of education in Limpopo and the service provider, EduSolutions. It is, indeed, correct that we received information from Treasury, which is responsible for the overall administration, that there are elements that are noncompliant in terms of this particular exercise and we should basically seek to cancel the agreement. Thereupon, the Department of Basic Education did, indeed, cancel the agreement.
Now, this is a very interesting situation, because if we had not done so, the question that the hon Meshoe is asking would be that, notwithstanding the fact that we had information or were requested to cancel the agreement, we chose to proceed. On the basis of strong legal opinion, what the department then did was to cancel the agreement. EduSolutions then launched an application to court, seeking to enforce the agreement. The matter was opposed and the application was dismissed with costs. So, the service providers that supplied the books after the interventions were not EduSolutions, but the publishers.
What we can convey to this House is that the cost at which we procured the textbooks was about one third of the cost that was originally projected. So, it was a huge cost-saving exercise. Yes, there was a delay, but, on the other hand, certainly, we contributed very directly to a more efficient pricing of these commodities.
We can also assure the House that, in terms of next year, there have already been negotiations with the publishers and, certainly, the rate at which we are going to be procuring in Limpopo will be far more competitive than it has ever been before. So, that will also amount to a saving to the fiscus. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, the textbook crisis has exposed the lack of performance and accountability within senior management ranks in the Department of Basic Education. There were many requests for the Minister to resign, but it is clear that the Minister had been let down by some officials. Will the Minister consider replacing the captain of the team? Will the Minister ask the head of department and some of the heads of departments in the provinces to resign? Thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, as the hon Deputy President has previously indicated, the President had indeed appointed a task team to look into the matters of the Limpopo debacle. It had elaborate terms of reference and a report has been submitted to the President. The President will make the appropriate decisions based on the findings and recommendations of the report. Thank you very much.
Deputy Speaker, having a task team does not mean there is proper administration. There is still no administration. Therefore the question is: Are they prepared to replace the present administration that is there at levels of the head of department, etc? Neither the Minister herself nor the Deputy Minister has done well for many years. Are they prepared to step down? [Interjections.] If they are not, is the Presidency in the country prepared to ensure that that is dealt with? If the Presidency is not prepared to do so, then the people of our country have got to be responded to when they raise this particular question. Thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, I suggest that the hon Madisha refers the matter to the hon President who is responsible for my appointment and that of the Minister of Basic Education. Thank you. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, I thank the Deputy Minister for his response. What I was going to ask, he has clarified. We can now see systems in place in Limpopo so that, in future, we do not encounter the textbook destruction that we have seen there.
Further to that, could the Deputy Minister elaborate on the policies, for example, regarding the shredding of books, which is a worrying factor to all of us? Can we still continue with that policy, and how best can we make sure that it is being followed, so that we avoid a recurrence of what happened in Limpopo? Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, with regard to the first part of the hon Gina's question, indeed, the Department of Basic Education and Treasury are working very closely in relation to the procurement of textbooks for next year. Resources have been identified and set aside for that particular purpose. The necessary business process with regard to the procurement, acquisition and ordering of textbooks is on track.
With regard to the destruction of textbooks, or any book that belongs to the state, this amounts to malicious damage to property and it is criminal. If books are in such bad shape and certainly cannot be used, then there should be a proper system in terms whereof an assessment and evaluation should take place.
Firstly, my view - in fact, this has been the recommendation - is that all principals in each and every school, not only in Limpopo, but countrywide, must be notified that under no circumstances are they permitted to destroy books or hand them over for destruction. Secondly, the provincial departments of education must take central control for the monitoring and assessment of books that they wish to dispose of. Thirdly, wherever possible, libraries and resource centres must become the beneficiaries of textbooks that are not aligned to the curriculum. Lastly, only if a book is totally unusable, should it then be destroyed.
These are policy initiatives that should be taken into account, and we are going to have a comprehensive discussion on this matter at the next Council of Education Ministers' meeting to refine this particular position so that it is uniform, countrywide. I thank you.
Introduction of performance contracts for school principals and deputy principals
239. Mrs A T Lovemore (DA) asked the Minister of Basic Education:
Whether she intends to introduce performance contracts for (a) school principals and (b) deputy principals; if not, why not, in each case; if so, (i) when and (ii) what are the relevant details of the proposed contracts? NO2738E
Hon Deputy Speaker, it has been the intention of the Department of Basic Education and the Ministry to introduce performance agreements for school principals, deputy principals and heads of department, so we confirm that. Secondly, the intended date for the implementation is January 2013, after an agreement reached in the Education Labour Relations Council. I thank you.
Deputy Speaker, through you to the Deputy Minister, the lack of accountability is at the very core of most of the problems in our education system. The SA Democratic Teachers' Union, Sadtu, is determined to avoid accountability at all costs. It refused to accept the performance contracts in 2008, and it referred them to the bargaining council. Four years later, Sadtu still refuses to accept these accountability mechanisms.
The Minister has been public in her support for these contracts. Also very public has been reporting that the President has forced her to back down to avoid alienating the unions ahead of Mangaung. [Interjections.] How exactly are you and the Minister going to persuade the President and Sadtu of the dire need for meaningful performance monitoring and accountability mechanisms in our schools? [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, firstly, to have a better understanding of the performance agreement, it firstly deals with issues of the employment data of the employer, the nature of the job, the description of the job, the qualifications and skills. The second element, which is a very important element particularly for purposes of performance, is a work plan containing key responsibility areas, KRAs, outputs, activities and resource requirements. The third element, which cannot be ignored, is the element of personal development, a personal development plan. The hon member is correct: the agreement was not accepted by Sadtu in 2009 and, ever since, there has been discussion between it and the Department of Basic Education.
The good news is that beyond the performance contracts of principals, deputy principals and heads of department, we now have an agreement. It is in its informal stages where performance agreements would be concluded with all educators, irrespective of whether they are teachers, principals or deputy principals. Secondly, the agreements would no longer be bifurcated, that is, between senior management, or principals and deputy principals on one hand, and teachers on the other hand.
The argument of Sadtu is that all educators should be treated under one agreement, and performance agreements should basically inform each and every element within the education system. Now, the discussions have reached an advanced stage and, to all intents and purposes, have to be formalised in the Education Labour Relations Council, ELRC. Basically, the intention is still to conclude this task by January next year.
What Sadtu has argued for is really the most important element of the work plan that is critical for performance agreement. In other words, what kind of elements should you have in the work plan? It would be the performance standards, the key activities, the targets, the timeframes within which they should be achieved, and the performance indicators. It would also have due regard to the contextual factors.
These discussions, as I have indicated, have advanced extremely well and to all intents and purposes, we are going to get more than we bargained for, not on performance agreements only with the principals, deputy principals and heads of department, but also with all educators. The indications are that this will be supported by all unions. As I have indicated, this falls outside the ELRC and what is, indeed, outstanding is the formalisation of this particular process within the ELRC. I do hope that the hon member takes heart at the enormous strides that have been made and not the pressure that we were subjected to, as alleged or alluded to.
Deputy Speaker, through you to the Deputy Minister, what do you see as the major challenges facing the department and the Minister in introducing the contracts? Secondly, considering that external factors also affect learners' results, how will the contracts ensure that principals are not focused only on statistics and targets to the detriment of learners as individuals, and has this been looked at in any depth?
Deputy Speaker, through you to the hon Dudley, the key challenge basically is to ensure that we have a collective agreement that is concluded at the ELRC. In other words, all labour unions should be part of this agreement. The phenomenon of performance agreements is not unique to this country. In America and in Europe there is still a huge debate, and not even an agreement to the incorporation of performance agreements for educators. In fact, there is discussion and discourse in this particular regard and, in my respectful opinion, we have advanced considerably in ensuring that we are able to persuade the unions to agree to performance agreements. So, I think that is a step in the right direction.
The difficulty would be really to ensure consensus, and I do believe that the critical element is basically the implementation of the curriculum. So, the performance of educators must be measured against the ability to implement the curriculum. In order to do so, we would have to look at the outputs and the key performance indicators which indicate whether, indeed, the educator or the principal had done so. The principal, for example, would have to show leadership in the implementation of the curriculum. The principal would have to be able to show an ability to liaise effectively and efficiently with the community. The principal should be able to promote the spirit of democratic governance within an institution. The deputy principal would have similar responsibilities.
The teacher or the head of department would basically have an advisory role to ensure that he or she supports the educators entrusted to that person with the necessary support for development and better management of the curriculum challenges that he or she faces. So, it is very diverse in nature, but at the heart of the performance agreement must be the effective and efficient delivery of the curriculum, which is the core business of the Department of Basic Education. Thank you very much for the opportunity.
Hon Deputy Speaker, we were listening to the responses on the textbook problem earlier, and on this specific problem there is a grave concern developing in that we are battling to get these performance contracts in place. As a result of lack of performance contracts and lack of agreements, etc, basic education is not delivered to the poorest of the poor, because there is a severe growth in teacher absenteeism, which is resulting in South Africa performing poorly against our neighbours.
I would like to mention some of the statistics in a recent survey: 27% of all Grade 6 learners are functionally illiterate, and 40% are functionally innumerate. We have higher levels of functional illiteracy than Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia. We are contributing from the state 15 times more than Mozambique does. What is wrong with our system? Is there a lack of accountability? Is there simply a lack of acceptance by teachers that they have a responsibility to teach the children of our country? We are growing a two-nation model. Thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, I think the last remark is perhaps the most pertinent one - that we are indeed a two- nation model. We have the more affluent communities in better resourced schools, where they have the ability and capacity to have better educators, and we have those in the remote rural areas with fewer resources in terms of amenities, laboratories and libraries. Those are the realities that we cannot ignore. You have made the comment, I have not, and I am saying I endorse it. It means the challenges are far greater.
There must be recognition of the fact that a large number - in fact, millions of our learners - had been excluded from the system of education in the past. As a result of democracy, we can now celebrate the fact that more than 99% of our learners who ought to be in primary school are, indeed, in primary school. However, that does not detract from the responsibility of ensuring that we promote literacy and numeracy. To that extent, we now distribute more than 52 million books on literacy and numeracy between Grade R and Grade 9 annually, because we recognise the problem. No country on this continent has ever gone to the extent that we have where we have tested six million learners from Grade 1 to Grade 6 in terms of literacy and numeracy.
This year, from 18 to 22 September, in the second year of the programme of annual national assessment, seven million children are going to be tested - that includes the Grade 9s - on literacy and numeracy, because we have a diagnostic assessment, a baseline. We can determine precisely whether they progress or regress, where the areas in need of intervention are, and what avenues of intervention we should be exploring in terms of enhancing literacy and numeracy.
We are not pretending that we have a literate community, but we should look at statistics elsewhere. We should look at Tanzania, for example, where less than 50% of its eligible population goes to high school because they are selected on the basis of merit. We have almost universal enrolment in our high schools. Tanzania has less than 50%, so what you see in terms of those results are that the best among the population is at high school.
I think in terms of access we have done extremely well, but I think in terms of quality we have huge challenges, and we have not pretended that we do not have these challenges. We are affirming that, but we are saying that we are doing something positive. Certainly, all political parties and parents should mobilise and ensure that their children utilise these workbooks because they are recognised as being of an extremely high quality, to the extent that the private schools want to procure them from the Department of Basic Education. Thank you very much.
Madam Deputy Speaker, my follow-up question relates to whether the developmental needs of the school principals, deputy principals and heads of department, as identified in their personal development plans, will be addressed by the Department of Basic Education or by other institutions outside the department. I thank you.
Hon Deputy Speaker, I really sincerely apologise. I did not catch the entire question, but if the question was whether there is something being done in relation to the development of principals and deputy principals, indeed, it is so that more than 4 500 deputy principals and principals have received training. The identified areas of training in terms of a curriculum that has been established within the institutions of higher learning include curriculum implementation, fiscal management, communication, liaison with communities, governance elements, and expertise in terms of leadership and management.
These have contributed significantly to the improvement in the quality of leadership in schools, and the empirical evidence is that where principals and deputy principals have, indeed, been provided with these opportunities, there has been enhanced efficiency in those particular schools. I thank you.
Accessing and lapsing of beneficiaries' grants, pursuant to reregistration process
256. Mrs Y R Botha (ANC) asked the Minister of Social Development:
(1) With reference to the reregistration process undertaken by her department through the Social Security Agency of South Africa (Sassa), (a) how long do beneficiaries have to wait in order for them to access their grants and (b) when will the benefits of those who have not yet reregistered lapse or expire;
(2) what are the (a) benefits to the grant beneficiaries and (b) security measures that are in place with regard to the new smart card system? NO2766E
Deputy Speaker, the reregistration process does not require beneficiaries to wait to access their grants, as the reregistration process is done in phases. Beneficiaries who have not yet been reregistered continue to receive their grants using their old payment cards. Reregistration takes place after the payment of grants, and the new smart card issued on reregistration is then used to effect payment during the following month's payment cycle. The payment of grants is therefore not impacted on by reregistration.
The benefits of those who have not reregistered will be dealt with once the reregistration process has been concluded. Those beneficiaries who have not reregistered will be identified, and letters of notice will be sent to them requesting them to present themselves for reregistration within a period of 30 days. Should beneficiaries still not reregister within this specified period, the grant will be suspended and another notice will be issued to them. Failure to respond within 30 days will result in the cancellation of the grant.
The benefit to the grant beneficiaries is that they can access their grants through various channels, namely, cash pay points at any ATM. We should also note that normal ATM withdrawal costs apply at any of the identified merchants. The SA Social Service Agency, Sassa-branded smart payment card is accepted at all ATMs and merchant stores that have a point-of-sale device which forms part of the national payment system. A further benefit to beneficiaries is that the grant is available from the first day of the month at ATMs and points of sale that form part of the national payment system. Furthermore, beneficiaries can determine the amount of money they want to withdraw according to their own specific requirements when withdrawing from ATMs and points of sale.
The new Sassa-branded smart payment card has a chip that contains the biometric information of the beneficiary. In addition, the card is PIN protected to allow withdrawals at ATMs and points of sale where biometric identification is not possible. The card further provides an electronic certificate which confirms proof of life, amount paid, time paid and the recipient paid, including the procurator. A receipt is generated after each payment, verifying proof of payment to each beneficiary, as well as the amount of money withdrawn. The system also enables a one-to-many search to identify duplicate beneficiaries, thereby eliminating ghost beneficiaries. Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, I would like to know from the hon Minister whether any fraud has been detected so far. If so, could the Minister share with the House the number of those cases?
Deputy Speaker, 13 000 cards were given up. Those cards given up are being investigated. It does not mean that if someone brings a card, you will just be left and it will not investigated, because some of the cases involve the officials. About 8 000 beneficiaries that have been reregistered were not on the population register, and more than 400 beneficiaries withdraw their money out of the country. Nine people were arrested, and one of them was charged. Last year, out of the 37 people that we arrested, 16 people were charged.
In other areas around Umzimkhulu and Matatiele, those who had twins and triplets registered have come to report that they are no longer there. Thank you. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, we welcome all investigations into and revelations of fraud in these matters, and hope that people are charged if they commit fraud. However, we also want to ask the hon Minister what she is going to do about the fact that the North Gauteng High Court ruled yesterday that the R10 billion state social grant tender awarded by Sassa was in fact illegal, invalid and against the principles of the Constitution.
The judge also ruled that the chief executive officer and the winning bidder, Cash Paymaster, must pay the legal costs of the applicants, including the Absa-owned AllPay. There was a very serious concern with regard to this, in that people in the successful bidding consortium, who were very well connected politically, were, in fact, behind the scenes operating to cash in on one of the government tenders. The question is: What will the hon Minister do to clean up this mess, which is again emphasising concerns that the ordinary people have, that the state is used as a cash cow for corrupt people? Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, perhaps I should mention here in this House that four Child Protection Services, CPS, workers died in a bus accident in Kranskop, KwaZulu-Natal, en route to reregistering grant recipients today. I also want to thank Sassa workers for trying to ensure that we have a footprint throughout the country.
There is a second judgment that the hon member did not concede - that the award of the tender to the third respondent has not been set aside. For us, that is a victory for the people, because this whole matter is about justice and about trying to protect the human rights of the vulnerable. The third issue that we would like to raise is that we agree that there were administrative flaws. There were also flaws in terms of the issues of a single bid out of nine bids, the irregularity in the scoring and the challenges in the supply chain management.
What is important is that the key areas that were contested are the areas of the bidder's second notice. With bidder's notice number two, the judgment favoured Sassa, and the issues of conflict of interest on the part of Ms Nhlapho could not be proved. Other issues of connections were thrown out of court by the judge from the start and regarded as hearsay, because no evidence could be produced. We continue to ask people to come forward with the evidence.
Another important issue is that of biometrics, which ensures that the system is clean. The judge recognised that the clause has always been there, so it is not as if the whole thing has always been problematic. One of the issues that we need to raise here is that when all these rumours erupted and some people were implicated ...
Hon Minister, I think you have answered the question. I have allowed quite a big chunk of time for you to do that.
Deputy Speaker, through you to the Minister, the entire reregistration process has been clouded in controversy, culminating in yesterday's High Court judgment that declared the R10 billion tender as illegal and invalid. These are very strong and very harsh words from a court. No matter how you try to justify it, it is illegal and invalid, which is surely an embarrassment to you, personally, and to your department.
Now, you have said that you want this to be a victory for the people. If you want that, hon Minister, what steps would you take to ensure that those individuals that are guilty of making this tender illegal and invalid are brought to book and held accountable for their actions? [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, firstly, I need to say that the judge asked for alternatives to the proposals from the applicant for dealing with the matter. In point number eight of the judgment in the response to those remedies, the judge says the remedy proposed by the applicant is not just and equitable in the circumstances, as it does not ensure that there will be no interruption in the payment of grants. That is a victory for the people. Certainly in my view, it also practically says that it does not require the setting aside of the agreement that Sassa has entered into with the CPS.
Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: My question was not answered. I asked the Minister what steps she is going to take against guilty officials that have brought the contract into disrepute, and she has not answered it.
But she ...
I take it that no action will be taken.
Hon Deputy Speaker ...
... ngiyabonga Ngqongqoshe ngezimpendulo osusinikeze zona. Ngisukumela ukubuza ukuthi njengoba sazi ukuthi ukuphinda ukubhalisa ngenkathi kuqala akuqalanga ngasikhathi sinye kuzo zonke izifundazwe. Ngicela ukubuza: Ngabe yiziphi izifundazwe ezisasele ukuze zibhaliswe noma mhlawumbe kukhona yini izifundazwe esingasho ukuthi sekuqediwe kuzona ukuphinda ukubhalisa? Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... thank you, Minister, for your responses. I want to know which provinces have already completed the reregistration process and which ones are still lagging behind, since it was not started at the same time in all provinces. Thank you.]
Thank you, Deputy Speaker.
Ngiyabonga kakhulu umbuzo oqhamuka kukaMakhuba. Okwamanje sisabhalisa zonke izifundazwe, sibhalisa isifunda ngasinye. [Thank you for your question, Ms Makhuba. We are still in the process of reregistering all districts one by one.]
We reregister per district. In all the districts, 75% of the people register and we register 30 000 people per day. By the end of December, we will reregister banked recipients, and during that period we will round off all the districts that we have been to, because we want to ensure that everyone is part of reregistration. We do not want to exclude people.
Okunye engifuna ukukusho Somlomo, akuzange kube khona into ekhulunywayo mayelana nenkohlakalo kuso sonke lesi sinqumo. Ngiyabonga. [Another issue to be considered is that nothing has been decided in this House about fighting corruption. Thank you.]
Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: May we ask why the Minister of Higher Education is not here either ... [Interjections.] ... given the fact that at the previous oral questions for the Social Cluster, he was not present in that instance either, and this has been on the parliamentary programme for the entire year. Thank you.
Thank you, hon member. I do not have the reasons in front of me. I am sure there is an apology from the Minister. I would not be able to answer that. Can we allow the Deputy Minister to respond? All I have is the information that the Deputy Minister will respond to questions.
Madam Deputy Speaker, may I address you on a point of order with regard to what you have just said? It is a convention or a courtesy for the Minister to forward an explanation for absence. We received one this morning from one of the Ministers but we did not receive any with regard to the Minister of Basic Education and the Minister of Higher Education. May I request that this convention be resumed?
I note what you are saying, hon member, but my response is that I did not receive an apology, either here, in front of me, or in my office. It does not necessarily mean that it was not submitted to the Speaker, perhaps, but I am saying I cannot answer you right now because I did not get any apology. That is why I am saying the Deputy Minister must respond.
Implementation of central application system for registration at higher learning institutions
252. Mr B M Bhanga (Cope) asked the Minister of Higher Education and Training:
Whether his department is ready to implement the central application system aimed at streamlining registration at higher learning institutions; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NO2762E
Deputy Speaker, the planning process for the development of the central application service is well under way. However, due to the conflict in acronyms, there was a need to rethink the naming. The Career Advice Service, a Department of Higher Education and Training project being developed in partnership with our implementing agency, the SA Qualifications Authority, Saqa, has used the acronym, Cas. Therefore, the name that will be used henceforth is the National Information and Application System, Nias.
The first phase of Nias will be implemented for learners intending to enter universities in 2013. This will be done through the introduction of a clearing house. Applications for 2013 will still occur through individual institutions, with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal, where the Central Applications Office is up and running. However, a new clearing house service will be put in place to assist the process from national level.
In terms of timelines, it is envisaged that the Nias IT system, which will be developed from October 2012 to June 2013, will be piloted in 2013 at selected institutions. This will benefit the 2014 intake at these institutions. Once the IT systems have been piloted and tested, the full implementation across all 23 universities will be phased in. It is therefore envisaged that the full implementation will begin in 2014 for the 2015 intake.
In the interim, while we are waiting for the full introduction of the National Information and Application Service, let me highlight that I have been leading the very progressive Apply Now campaign. Its main objective is to promote the message that matric learners should apply early for their post-school learning, thereby ensuring that there is sufficient time to look for alternatives should the first application be unsuccessful. The campaign is also meant to reduce the queues that have proven to be fatal at our universities. So, this campaign is indeed the genesis of the progressive introduction of the central application system. I hope I have answered the question. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, firstly, if this were a press conference, the Minister of Higher Education would be here. That it is not a press conference is unfortunate, because he only attends press conferences. He does not attend committee meetings. [Laughter.]
We are unable to run and provide seats for our kids in our education system. Is this what we want in South Africa, Deputy Minister? To date, we have been unable to provide better accommodation for our students. The department is unable to fill vacancies. Does it have the capacity to run a nationwide system that will also accommodate students with the problems that we have had during the year in terms of registration?
In KwaZulu-Natal, which the Deputy Minister talked about, this system is not working. Is this Minister not trying to centralise everything so that he has more power, obsessed as he is with a Stalinist approach of doing things in this country? [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, on the contrary, the central application system is working in KwaZulu-Natal. In fact, we have drawn lessons from the KwaZulu-Natal model, including a study that we conducted in the United Kingdom, and we believe that it will assist in dealing with some of these backlogs. Indeed, the hon Bhanga would also appreciate that that is the reason we are establishing two universities - in order to accommodate as many young people as possible into universities. We do believe that, with these two universities, we will be able to address the problems he is raising.
Lastly, as I sit down, we are trying as a department to promote further education and training, FET, colleges as institutions of choice. We do believe that the focus must not only be on universities because, if we focus on universities, then we are going to run out of space. The FET colleges are institutions where young people can really source the necessary and scarce skills that we require as a country. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, the Deputy Minister has referred to this whole system being phased in and that, eventually, 23 universities will be part of it. Do all the universities, in fact, support this system? If they do not support it, will they be obliged to participate in this? Thank you. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, we met the vice chancellors through their forum called Higher Education SA, Hesa. Initially, they had raised concerns around implementing this particular system, but I can assure the hon member that, in our ongoing discussions with vice chancellors representing the 23 universities, indeed, we are getting buy-in from all 23 universities. They are agreeing, because this will not just help the students, but it will also assist the universities in dealing with applications and admissions. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, I thank the Deputy Minister for the replies. We are quite concerned about the confusion that is going to be created by this system. One of the issues that we are worried about is the different criteria set by different universities. They are autonomous and they can have criteria whereby they can select their students. There are different study directions and subjects that they need to pursue. There are students living some distance from the different centres and it is easier for them to apply to the closest university.
So, my question is about the alternatives to the centralised application system. Does the Minister not think that having an information system run by the department as well as the universities with criteria set on closing dates, and so on, would be a better solution to the problem?
Deputy Speaker, the central application system speaks to exactly what the member is raising - there should be criteria that all universities use in order to draw applications, process them, and place students in universities. In fact, the reason we are getting buy-in now from these 23 universities is that it is speaking to having the same criteria that students will respond to. I hope I have answered the question. Thank you very much.
Deputy Speaker, could the Deputy Minister allay the fears of the Hesa members? In the joint workshop between Higher Education South Africa and the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, Hesa raised the concern that they feel this process will disadvantage institutions. For example, institution B, the second choice of a student, will have to wait for institution A, which is the first choice, to look at the applicants and accept or reject the student before they have an opportunity to consider the student. According to Hesa, this process will create many delays in terms of the admission processes for the institutions. What measures will the department put in place to ensure that this service will work for the benefit of students and institutions, and not against them?
Deputy Speaker, we are very confident that this system or service will actually improve the experience of many students during the application process. The system will further assist in ensuring that there are no long queues and stampedes, as was seen at the University of Johannesburg, where a parent tragically lost her life.
I think I attempted to respond to this question earlier - that there was unease or some form of discomfort on the part of Hesa, which is the body of these 23 vice chancellors. It may have existed, but it is what we are trying to settle through our ongoing discussions with the vice chancellors. To this end, I am saying we are really getting buy-in. I am certain that by the time we fully implement this system, we will all agree to this particular approach of a central application system. Thank you very much.
Fegarding financing and impact of survey on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
265. Ms B T Ngcobo (ANC) asked the Minister of Health:
With reference to the survey that has been conducted by the Medical Research Council (MRC) on the Prevention of Mother-to-Child- Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV Programme, what (a) were the findings of this survey and (b) was its impact on the programme as a whole?