Chairperson, I hope hon members have been encouraged by the previous debate to pay far closer attention to the sentencing practices of the judiciary.
The Bill before the House today has been endorsed by many stakeholders. It seeks to strengthen the statutory measures that support quality in education, sets out the roles and functions of school principals as key managers in schools, and provides measures directed at curbing the scourge of drugs in our schools.
The key features of the Bill are the following. The first key feature concerns the bodies that the Minister is required to consult in the formulation of policy. The National Education Policy Act currently has two sections - section 5 and section 11 - that seem to contradict each other. They are not elegant in formulation and tend to cause confusion in interpretation. To remove that confusion, we have offered a simpler formulation that makes it clear that the Minister of Education may establish a National Education and Training Council and other bodies to advise on any policy matter.
Concern has been expressed in some of the submissions as it is believed that the Minister will want to determine policy alone. I wish to assure hon members that the Minister does not make policy without consulting the public and relevant stakeholders. Currently, trade unions and other bodies engage with the Minister in a wide range of bodies and institutions, for example, the Education Labour Relations Council, as mandated by the Employment of Educators Act and the Forum for National Governing Body Associations, as key examples. I am also pleased to inform members that I have already taken steps to establish the National Education and Training Council.
The second key feature of the Bill is the setting of norms and standards for capacity and infrastructure in schools across the country. Section 5 of the Bill is designed to guide implementation in the provision of infrastructure for learning. It is our intention to alter the character and quality of school facilities in South Africa.
The three Parliaments of our young democracy have played a vital role in ensuring that resources are made available for the provision of education. Much has been done to redress past imbalances. We have come a long way, as the recently published National Education Infrastructure Management System report has revealed.
In terms of success, the report states the following: The number of overcrowded schools has fallen from 51% in 1999 to 24% in 2006; the number of schools with electricity has increased from 11 174 in 1996 to 20 713 in 2006; the number of schools without water has fallen from 8 823 in 1996 to 3 152 in 2006; and the number of schools without on-site toilets has fallen from 3 265 in 1996 to 1 532 in 2006.
Clearly, despite these achievements, a great deal still has to be done. The challenges we have to attend to are the following. It is clear from the Neims - National Education Information Management System - report that even as we built new schools, we continued in some cases to perpetuate the apartheid design of education facilities. Clause 5 of the Bill on norms and standards for schools clearly sets out our demand that all schools must have libraries, laboratories and other learning facilities.
Neims also revealed that we have hundreds of very small schools in South Africa and that this is often an inefficient use of the human resources in education. Furthermore, we have some severely crowded schools that make learning and discipline difficult if not impossible. The Bill, once signed into law, will allow us to set minimum norms for class sizes in a particular phase or quintile. We plan to ensure that we relieve teachers of overcrowded classes and create conditions for effective teaching.
There is no point in setting norms and standards if there is no mechanism in place to enforce them. Clause 58 of the Bill, therefore, requires an MEC and a head of department to comply with the norms and standards relating to schools as prescribed in the legislation. It also provides that MECs shall report to the Minister annually on the progress made in complying with the legal norms and standards.
The third key feature of the Bill is a section that authorises school principals or persons they delegate to search pupils for dangerous weapons and illegal drugs and to seize them. I am certain that given wide community concern about drug trafficking and drug abuse in our country, all members will support this Bill and these particular measures.
In the Bill we also do address that the searching of pupils must be on the basis of reasonable suspicion of finding an offensive weapon or drugs. Such laws exist in other jurisdictions in the world, and we are merely acting as has been provided in other systems and responding to a real concern in education in our country.
The fourth key feature is that of setting out the responsibilities of school principals and the functions that they should execute within the school setting. Many persons, when we referred to an intention to craft such legislation in 2005, suspected that we intended in some way to deny school governing bodies proper powers in terms of school principals and their governance roles in schools. I had nothing of the sort in mind. I intend to assist school principals to execute the role of school manager and education leader within the education system.
The Bill gives attention to school leadership and to the key role of the principal in the promotion of quality learning and teaching. We have made it clear that the principal is in charge of a school on behalf of the state and not on behalf of the school governing body.
The fifth and final key feature of the Bill is the clause in which we address the steps that should be taken in order to turn around an underperforming school. I am sure hon members are aware that we have often had schools that have underperformed for five years or more with no direct action being taken by administrators of education. We have now ensured that there should be formal steps that must be taken to support a school towards a path of recovery. These steps will include putting principals that cannot perform to terms in accordance with the appropriate legislation and, of course, providing them with assistance and support to come up to the mark in terms of ensuring that the school removes itself from the underperformance list.
The clause provides the basis for evaluating schools that are failing. It is a process that we have lacked for a number of years, and I am very pleased that we have now been able to put this in legislation in order to ensure that we support schools to improve and do not allow them to continue in a state of perpetual mediocrity.
We are about to establish a national evaluation unit that will support provinces in identifying underperforming schools and setting them on the path to recovery. I am pleased to note that some provinces have already begun to provide the building blocks for such a process of external evaluation. Secondary schools have begun development plans and are working at targets to improve the performance of learners and support for the development of teachers in their education function.
This Bill we believe provides an essential framework for achieving quality education in our schools and I trust that hon members will support the Bill. [Applause.]
UProf S M MAYATULA: Mandibulele Sihlalo naMalungu ePalamente, lo Mthetho uYilwayo, siwuphetheyo namhlanje, uzama ukulingisa imithetho emithandathu, emibini kuyo inezinto ezininzi ekufuneka sizijongile. Le yokugqibela mine imiba ibalulekile, kodwa ke phaya ekomitini sivene ngayo sonke.
Mandiqale ngayo kuqala. Le mithetho inento yokwenza nelinge likazwelonke lokuzama ukuncedisana nabafundi ngemali yokufunda okanye i-national student financial aid, iSouth African Council for Educators okanye i-Sace ngamafutshane, kunye ne-Adult Basic Education okanye iAbet.
Zonke iinguqu esizakuzenza apho zilungiselela abantwana bethu ukuba bakwazi ukufunda kumaziko azikholeji zemfundo ethe vetshe okanye ii-further education and training colleges okanye iiFETs. Niyakukhumbula ukuba sikwiphulo lokuba abantwana bethu bakwazi ukusebenzisa iizandla zabo, ingabi ngabo bonke abafuna ukubheka ezidyunivesiti. Ithi ke loo nto umntwana esakuliphumelela ibanga lesixhenxe okanye igredi yethoba makazi ukuba unelungelo lokubheka kwi-FET college.
Ingxaki yeyokuba aba bantwana ababinayo imali yokuya apho, kuba zisembalwa zona. Urhulumente kule minyaka mithathu ubeke ecaleni imali engangezi-R600 million. Ukuze ke abantwana bakwazi ukuyifumana le mali sifuna i-National Student Financial Aid Scheme okanye i-Nefsas ikwazi ukuncedisana nabantwana ize iqinisekise ukuba bayayifumana. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Prof S M MAYATULA: Thank you, Chairperson and members of Parliament. The Bill we are discussing is going to amend three laws of which two have a number of things we need to look at. The last four issues are important and the committee agreed on them.
Let me start with them. These Bills go hand in hand with the National Education Policy, which is trying to assist students with funds to pay their fees through the national student financial aid scheme fund, South African Council for Educators, Sace in short, and Adult Basic Education, Abet.
All the changes which were done here would help our children to go and register in further education and training colleges, FETs. You will remember that our aim is to empower our children with skills so that not all of them have to go to university. That means a student who passes standard 7 or grade 9 can register in a FET college.
The problem is that these learners do not have enough money to register and the number of FET colleges is still limited. Government has put aside an amount of R600 million for three years. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme, Nasfas, must make sure that learners enjoy this benefit.]
Let me go now to the National Education Policy Act of 1996, sometimes referred to as Nepa. With Nepa we are making a few amendments here, one of which, among other things, declares that the Minister shall establish a National Education and Training Council, and what we are going to be doing today in this Bill is to try to amend that Bill in, mainly, three ways.
The first way is that we are changing "shall establish" into "may establish". This is in line with other bodies and the experience we had, for example, with the National Board for Further Education and Training. Because it had outlived its importance, we were able to do away with it.
The second way relates to another Nepa amendment and has to do with consultation. When the Minister makes policies, he or she is supposed to consult with the National Education and Training Council. But there has been confusion in some of the submissions we received, because they took this to mean that when making laws you need to consult with the National Education and Training Council, when in fact it is solely for the Minister when he or she is making policy.
We found this in the same Bill, part of which we did not change. Section 6(a) of the Nepa Act reads: Legislation on a matter referred to in section 3, which has to do with the determination of policy, shall be introduced in Parliament only after consultation between the Minister and the council. Some submissions were saying that since there was no consultation in terms of this Bill with the NETC, it is null and void and unconstitutional. But, as we see it, they interpreted this reference to "council" incorrectly as if it related to the National Education and Training Council when, in fact, it related to the Council of Education Ministers.
The third amendment as far as Nepa is concerned relates to the structures that need to be consulted. The original Bill listed these structures: the council, the organisations representing college rectors, the organised teaching profession, and many others. In terms of experience, for example, with Gauteng, which already has such a structure, the officials there said: The problem with this unwieldy body, which is supposed to give advice to the Minister, is, one, that this structure is very big; two, these structures go there and they need mandates in order to be able to give advice, which becomes impossible.
They say that the NETC tends to forget that it is an advisory body with the intention to provide impartial advice on request and focuses on insisting to take on the role of an organisation with executive or regulatory powers. Because of that, we have had to expand that list so that the Minister can bring around people who are going to be advising her on expert issues that relate to education.
The other part that is part of this has to do with the violence that is happening in our schools. We want to arm our schools so as to be able to do something, and what is important is that this does not do away with the principal calling the police when necessary. Let me read what this says: Clause 7(8)(1):
Unless authorised by the principal for legitimate educational purposes, no person may bring a dangerous object or illegal drug onto school premises or have such objects or drug in his or her possession on school premises or during any school activity.
This gives the school something in law to prevent anybody bringing these things into the school. Over and above that, we are arming the school to be able to search for and seize these things. The hon Van den Heever will deal with this.
We also find that our principals' functions have not been defined, and they become confused, especially when it comes to how they relate to school governing bodies. There is a difference between a governing body of a private school and a governing body of a public school. In a private school, the buck stops with the principal and the governing body, but in a public school the buck stops with the MEC, or Minister, or head of department. This means that at any point when the principal is in the school governing body, he or she is there in his or her capacity as representing the MEC.
If it was possible, the MEC and head of department would be in that school governing body. That is why, therefore, this Bill says that if the principal is representing the MEC in the school governing body, how is it possible for him or her to stand against the MEC or head of department. We are trying to prevent that. This Bill goes a step further in that the principal must now, through this Act, be able to report on a yearly basis on the performance of the school.
It also goes a step further to say that in case the performance is bad, what it is that needs to be done pertaining to the principal and educators generally. This Bill is also telling us about the norms and standards of a school. Currently, we do not have one picture when we talk about schools.
Izikolo zethu zingamatyotyombe, uyakufika isikolo singamagumbi amabini, ingekho indlu yangasese, singabiyelwanga, kwaye kungenzwanga nto. Lo Mthetho uYilwayo uthi makubekho into esiza kuthi ukuba uthetha ngesikolo nokuba kuphi na kukho izinto ekunyanzelekileyo ukuba zibe khona. Ukanti ke nalapha ngaphathi esikolweni iSGB mayibe nendlela yokwazi ukuba zikhona na iincwadi apha esikolweni. Kuphindwe kujongwe ukuba igumbi lokufundela lona liza kuba ngakanani.
Ootishala abaninzi kunye neenqununu ukuqala konyaka bamkela wonke umntu esikolweni besenzela ukuba babe namanani amakhulu ukuze babhatalwe, kodwa ufumanise ukuba ngoku abakwazi ukufundisa ngoba abantwana baninzi kakhulu. Lo Mthetho ke uza kukwazi ukunqanda loo nto ukuze sazi ukuba egumbini ngalinye sinabantwana abalinani elithile, nabangenakugqitha kulo. Siyakucela ukuba lo Mthetho uYilwayo wamkeleke. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Some of our schools operate from shacks, others have only two classrooms, no toilets, no fencing and are without any amenities. This Bill emphasises that each and every school must be developed. The SGB must monitor the delivery of school books as well as the size of the classrooms.
Teachers and principals have a tendency to admit large numbers of learners to their schools at the beginning of the year, because they want the Department of Education to allocate them big budgets and one cannot help but notice during the course of the year that they cannot cope with the large number of learners. This Bill will prevent that situation and through it we will know the number of learners in each classroom. We therefore ask members to support this Bill. Thank you. [Applause.]]