Chairperson, if I could begin with the last question. The initial administrative problems we had with the allocation of funds to schools by the 30 September deadline have been addressed. We have changed administrative measures in order to ensure that provinces indicate allocations well in time and disburse money to schools. Some of the problems were not related to the department but arose from the fact that several schools did not have bank accounts or gave wrong information and so on. These were initial glitches which we have addressed.
The matter of quality is not dealt with only through the no-fee policy. There is a range of other measures that seek to address our intention to improve quality in schools. For example, we have over R1,4 billion that is allocated to provinces for the Quality Improvement, Development, Support and Upliftment Programme, Qids Up, for schools. This directly addresses infrastructure, the need for additional teaching and learning resources, teacher development and other areas that are identified by the district in consultation with the province and the national co-ordinating office as needed in 15 000 of the poorest schools in the country. In addition, we have the Foundations for Learning Campaign. So, there is a multifaceted range of interventions that seek to address the issue of quality.
The no-fee school policy adds a nonpersonnel infrastructure to schools. Therefore, it gives schools some greater flexibility in purchasing additional resources for teaching and learning or other needs that the school might have. So, it is not just a quality improvement. It also, of course, addresses the exclusion of many poor children from school in the past, in the absence of such a provision, because schools had a fee-raising right. Therefore, it often excluded poor children whose parents could not pay any fees.
The criteria for determining the allocation is elaborated in the national norm which you are fully aware of - the norms and standards for financing schools. Certainly, it is needs-based. But remember that the additional allocations which relate to personnel and other matters are addressed through alternative funding methods.