Speaker, the question relates to the President's announcement of the Remuneration Commission. The reply is that the review of the remuneration and conditions of service of teachers will form part of the work of the Presidential Remuneration Commission.
It is premature to discuss whether the salaries would go up or down or in any other direction, or whether they would be adjusted, and other related norms. So, we have to wait for the commission. That is why we have a commission to be able to advise us otherwise.
The second question concerns absenteeism. Following the study on teacher absenteeism that was done in 2009, all provincial education departments have focused their attention on leave management. Particular emphasis is on improving the management and administration of normal sick leave and temporary incapacity leave, given that sick leave was found to be one of the areas accounting for significant incidents of absence.
This also includes strict application of leave without pay in instances where educators are absent without a valid reason or are unable to produce the relevant documentation. As a department, in conjunction with the Department of Public Service, we are considering improving the current paper-based system to monitor and to improve attendance through an ICT system which will be more reliable and effective, providing information timeously. Thank you.
I would like to state the following. To date, government was largely bullied by the SA Democratic Teachers Union, Sadtu, not to assess teacher performance in public schools and not to take action to stop the shocking South African teacher absenteeism rate; the highest in the Southern African Development Community region, with South African mathematics teachers running at a rate of 19,4 days absent compared to 6,4 days in Mozambique.
Furthermore, this occurs while 78% of the education budget goes to personal expenditure, mainly teachers' salaries. The question is: Will government this year have the guts to stand up for the millions of learners in public schools, who are desperate for quality education, whose parents cannot afford private education, or will it again side with Sadtu, their alliance partner, because it is a pre-election year?
To emphasise the point that I made, very informative recent study found that, on average, maths teachers in the North West province in South Africa taught only 15 lessons of the scheduled 130 for the period under the review. Will the Minister agree that we have to reverse this shocking trend in our country? Thank you.
The member is throwing back what we have already taken to the public arena. That is the reason why I am not sure what new information I am supposed to provide when we are having this discussion. These are the things that I have said before. We are taking the relevant steps, and I am not sure what it is that I must say that is new, because this is the information that I took to the public. Hence, we are acting.
Speaker, can I ask the hon Minister if she would reply to the question that I posed to her directly. That is, the relationship with Sadtu, who is clearly not in favour of an assessment system of teachers in our public education system. How will the hon Minister ensure that we reverse this trend?
Yes!
Minister, you cannot manage what you cannot measure. You have admitted that the teacher absenteeism was last measured in this country during an audit in 2009. The system of registers which should be signed daily by teachers when they arrive at and leave school is widely abused. By your own admission, it is not entirely reliable.
You have now moved to the biometric clock-in system, which should not be necessary if all our teachers were professional people with high levels of integrity. They should be people whose word can be trusted. Not surprisingly, your alliance union, Sadtu, has stated that it would not co- operate with you on the implementation of the system. They complain that they have not been consulted. Minister, how do you intend exactly to overcome this hurdle?
By following the necessary procedures, which I will spell out when we are done with them. [Interjections.]
Speaker, clearly, the Minister did not reply to the question that was put to her. This is oral question time after all. Please! [Interjections.]
Hon Minister, it is a truism that teacher performance assessment has been held to ransom by teacher unions. For instance for over four years now, performance agreements for principals and deputy principals have not been signed. They are lying somewhere in the council offices. The National Development Plan proposes that a teacher paid a salary should be linked to learner performance improvements. I know that this has been a contentious issue, but my question is: When do we envisage the department implementing the proposals as contained in the National Development Plan when it comes to linking teachers' salaries to their performance?
UNGQONGQOSHE WEMFUNDO EYISISEKELO: Somlomo, angibonge Bab'uMpontshane, njengoba ngisho nje omunye umsebenzi wale khomishana yaMongameli ukuhlanganisa noma ukuxhumanisa imiholo yothisha kanye nomsebenzi wabo - yiwona umsebenzi ozobe wenziwa yile khomishana. Njengoba usho nje izinkulumo zikhona emkhandlwini wezingxoxo ezizohamba ngenqubo yakhona zize ziphothulwe.
Thina singuhulumeni sesiwuvezile umbono wethu wokuthi sifuna uhambe kanjani. Njengoba usho ukuthi izindaba zisemkhandlwini wezingxoxo ngakho-ke ngokomthetho kufanele ngilindele leyo nqubo iphele ngaphambi kokuba kuqalwe. Sesizibekile iziphakamiso ezichazayo ukuthi sifuna le nto yethu ihambe kanjani. Uma seyiphothuliwe emkhandlwini wezingxoxo sizoza sizonicacisela ukuthi seyiphumelele nokuthi kuhambe kanjani. Imibono yethu sesiyibekile njengoba usushilo ukuthi kuyadingeka ukuba sikwazi ukuthuthukisa lolu hlelo olukhona lwe-IQMS. Akusho ukuthi alukho uhlelo kuhulumeni lokuhlola othisha. Into engekho ukuhlanganiswa kwemiholo yothisha nokusebenza kwabo. Ngithemba ukuthi uma le khomishana yaMongameli isiphuma nesisombululo lokho kungokunye okusemqoka okuzocaca. Uma sikhumbula ngenkathi kukhulunywa ngezimali uNgqongqoshe wemiSebenzi yoMphakathi ushilo ukuthi njengoba sinesivumelwano seminyaka emithathu kuzofuneka kusetshenziswe lona uhlelo lokuxhumanisa ukusebenza kothisha nemiholo yabo. Sisaqhubeka nomsebenzi kuzothi ungaphela ngibuye ngizonicacisela ukuthi siphothule sathini. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Speaker, I wish to thank Mr Mpontshane. As I have already said, one of the tasks of the president's commission is to link the salaries of teachers to their performance - that is what the commission has been tasked with. You said yourself that discussions are being held in the proper forum and they will continue according to the normal procedure until decisions are arrived at.
As the government, we have already made our proposals on what should be done. You said yourself that the issues mentioned are under discussion and it is only proper that I wait for the outcome before taking any action. We have made our proposals regarding the procedure we envisage. We will inform you of the outcome after the discussions are completed.
We have made our proposals on how the IQMS could be improved. We have an assessment system for teachers in place, as we all know. What we still do not have is a system that links the performance of teachers to their salaries. I hope that the president's commission will devise some means to achieve this since it is also an important issue. The Minister of Public Service and Administration said that we should use the three-year salary agreement we have in place as the basis to link teachers' salaries to their performance. We are busy developing ways and means to address the issues concerned and we will inform you of the outcome in due course.]
I thank the hon Minister. Let me restate what I said earlier. Take your seat, sir; I will recognise you. The Speaker will not dictate how the Minister responds, except that I would urge the Ministers to stick to the issues raised in the question. What is your point of order, sir?
In this case, hon Waters, the Whip, asked you to rule on a point of order, because clearly it was not even some description. She just did not reply to hon Lovemore's question, and we ask you to rule on that. It's not rocket science; she just did not reply to it.
Who is the "she" that you are referring to?
My apologies, I withdraw! The hon Minister did not reply.
Thank you very much! Hon Minister, they say you didn't reply to the question.
Unless she wants to repeat the question. As far as I am concerned, that is the reply I had in terms of understanding what I was being asked. So, if a question requires a "yes" or "no", I am going to say yes or no. That is the reply I had. It is not out of disrespect; it is simply the reply I had.
Thank you, hon Minister, for the response. My question is: When will the commission be reviewing the remuneration of teachers and have workers release their results to the public? You gave the response in part, but forgot to mention when that would occur?
LETONA LA THUTO YA MOTHEO: Mme Mashishi, ha ke re ke itse ena ke khomishene ya Mopresidente ya Ditefelo; le nna ke tshwana le wena hoba re tla shebella re bone hore na ba qeta tshebetso ya bona neng. Ha se komishene e thehilweng ke nna; ke komishene e thehilweng ke Mopresidente. Ke batho ba Ofisi ya Presidente ba tla re hlalosetsa ka tsamaiso. Ha e matsohong a ka, jwale ha ke kgone ho o fa karabo. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Hon Mashishi, I have indicated that this is the Presidential Remuneration Commission. Just like you, I will also be awaiting the finalisation of the process. The commission was not established by me but by the President. Officials in the President's Office will explain the process to us. The fact that I am not in charge of the process makes it impossible for me to respond to your question.]
Measures to discourage patriarchal practices that are gender oppressive and abusive
69. Mr D W Mavunda (ANC) asked the Minister of Arts and Culture:
In view of the important role that arts, culture and heritage play in nation building and that they are contributors in addressing key economic, social and environmental challenges, what measures has he put in place to discourage all patriarchal practices (details furnished) which are in their nature gender oppressive and abusive to women and children? NO440E
Speaker, thank you very much, hon Mavunda for asking the question. I agree with you, hon Mavunda, that arts, culture and heritage play an important role in nation-building and contribute to our overall efforts to address economic, social and environmental challenges.
In promoting section 31 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the Department of Arts and Culture has established a directorate or a unit that addresses issues of women and children. The directorate is currently supporting the 16 Days of Activism Campaign For No Violence Against Women and Children. There is a programme that promotes social dialogue on these matters. The directorate also works with civil society bodies such as the Moral Regeneration Movement and the Arts Therapy Centre.
The directorate also implements programmes in collaboration with several other partners to empower women, girls and boys with life skills. Within the context of our Constitution, we continue to discourage patriarchal practices, which in their nature are gender-oppressive and are abusive to women and children.
The rights in section 31(2)(1) of the Constitution may not be exercised in a manner inconsistent with any provision of the Bill of Rights. Thank you very much, hon Speaker.
Deputy Speaker, I wish to thank you, hon Minister. You have adequately responded to that question. Let me take a little part of it and say, as part of widening the net, people involved with the Department of Arts and Culture, Minister, are also participating in issues affecting women, youth and people living with disabilities by conducting and running the arts, social development and youth programmes. Could the Minister also elaborate and share with this honourable House how this programme will assist those marginalised groups? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr Mavunda. Our directorate is fairly new, but already, as I said, we are working with various partners. Some of the programmes that we support are initiated by civil society organisations, because we know that in supporting these initiatives, we will also be able to provide job opportunities and employment to women and youth, as well as people with disabilities. So, we call upon civil society organisations that are involved in these programmes to work with us so that we may be able to increase our support to these initiatives. Thank you very much.
Deputy Speaker, thank you, Minister, for the answer. I just want to ask if you would not agree that Parliament, as the organ of state charged with promoting the values of human dignity, equality, nonracialism, nonsexism, and the supremacy of the Constitution, should be an example of discouraging all patriarchal practices, especially in light of the fact that our President has himself had a hand in patriarchal behaviour in Parliament by referring to our leader as "tombazana", which in isiZulu refers to an ordinary young girl. Thanks, Deputy Speaker. [Interjections.]
Hon member, I believe that Parliament does discourage patriarchal practices and I don't think we should be asking Parliament to do that, because I know they do that.
With respect to the issue referring to the President, I am sure you will have an opportunity when the President is here to address that question to the President. But if I remember the day in question correctly, I don't think that was said in a way that is disrespectful. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Minister's intentions regarding implementation of centralised application system and oversight committee to advise on national higher education policy
59. Dr A Lotriet (DA) asked the Minister of Higher Education and Training:
Does he intend to continue with the implementation of the centralised Central Application System for Higher Education Institutions and the Oversight Committee of the Transformation of South African Universities that will advise him on national policy?