Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members of the House, distinguished guests in the gallery, ladies and gentlemen, under the leadership of President Jacob Zuma, both as the President of our Republic and that of the ANC, and building upon the achievements of the ANC since 1994, education has been a declared Apex Priority for our country since 2009.
If Verwoerd and his criminal apartheid regime of 1948 had said that the black child must not study mathematics and no black worker must become a skilled artisan, President Zuma had emphatically said that the black child must indeed study and be competent in mathematics and increase the production of new artisans, including black artisans. President Zuma has not only said these things, but has led from the front through leading concrete interventions in education as part of inverting and destroying the Verwoerdian legacy. In 2009, President Zuma decided to split the former Department of Education into two. This was indeed a stroke of genius that is beginning to bear fruit.
We are all aware that education is our hope for reducing and eliminating inequality, unemployment and poverty. The ANC emphasises the significance of education in the Freedom Charter of 1955. The commitment was decisive and clear. The doors of learning and culture should be open to all. As such, education has remained an Apex Priority for our government since 1994. The ANC government has opened doors of learning and, to date, still continues with the commitment. After 19 years of democracy, the ANC is still holding onto its commitment to improve the quality of education by building upon its achievements and learning from its experience in government since 1994.
However, we remain conscious of the challenges still facing our people in our struggle to attain quality education for all. These challenges facing education in South Africa are well known. It is not a secret. Let me point out that the ANC has taken upon itself the task of making these challenges the substance of its debates, discussions, conversations, resolutions, and plans from Polokwane to Mangaung, in order to ensure that they remain in the mainstream of our discourse of transforming society. Conference resolutions of the ANC and President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address urge us to look at some of the essential priorities on which we can agree, including, but not limited to, issues of education, health, poverty, and the safety of our children.
The ANC presented the National Development Plan, NDP, as the embodiment of our shared set of objectives, a common vision for a different South Africa. In line with this, we need to develop a programme of essentials on which we can agree. The National Development Plan commits us as a nation to accelerate progress, deepen democracy, and build a more inclusive society. The NDP calls on South Africans to translate political emancipation into economic well-being for all. Most importantly, it strongly asserts that it is up to all South Africans to fix the future, starting today.
These resolutions of the ANC with regard to our vision of schooling are well represented in various policies of government. In our assessment as the oversight body, the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education has noted that the Department of Basic Education has drawn up a clear policy map that serves as a sector compass towards addressing challenges facing the system. We have often noted the efforts to align education priorities to the National Development Plan. However, we have learnt that the output results of these moves will depend on our understanding of education as a collective. There is a need for systematic efforts, where outward success is not measured by individual dominance, but by the contribution each and every one of us is prepared to make towards the achievement of our common goal. As a portfolio committee, our engagements in executing the oversight mandate have taught us a lesson about education as a societal endeavour that is strengthened by collective conviction.
We are considering the vote as we pride ourselves on being a nation that has achieved and progressed on many issues with regard to basic education. Over the years, government has progressively increased our education budget to support all our policy initiatives. Consistent and persistent efforts are being made to make education structurally accessible to all who were previously disadvantaged or who had limited access and, thus, to realise the ideal of compulsory education. South Africa is on track to ensure universal access to primary education. Equity in school funding has also improved substantially. The ANC government has introduced numerous policy- targeting policies, such as pro-poor funding in the form of no-fee schools. Our Minister alluded to it and gave the number.
She also said that the 2013-14 budget has allocated funding for equipment and utensils, because she spoke about the National School Nutrition Programme rolled out to quintile 1 and quintile 3 secondary schools. This will be progressively provided also to primary schools to address the backlog. She spoke about government that has extended its efforts and joined hands with private sector partners to enhance the impact of the nutrition programme. We would like to congratulate and applaud the department, as the ANC, on the workbook project and the expansion of Grade R. We would like to applaud the ANC government for initiatives that are positive and are contributing to ensuring that all of our children complete the full course of their schooling. [Applause.]
The Minister spoke about the Kha Ri Gude mass literacy campaign. She spoke about the number of adults - 4,7 million - over the age of 15 years who have the opportunity to become literate and numerate. From 2008 to 2011, this campaign reached 2,2 million adults. There is no doubt that the ANC government is on track towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals' commitments with regard to 2015.
The Minister spoke about the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements, Caps. She spoke about the mainstreaming of Caps. She spoke about the Grade 12 teachers who were trained. The other issues that were in our report from our oversight visits that we would like to repeat, Minister, include the shortage of textbooks, challenges regarding post provisioning, and the poor or non-existence of school infrastructure. We are of the view that these issues are the lifeblood of quality learning and teaching. Therefore, we commend you on resuscitating these issues in the 2013-14 budget.
Furthermore, the recent move by the Minister to set up a task team to review the National Senior Certificate, NSC, curriculum, gives confidence that we have taken a direction that will eventually lead to success. The ANC is hopeful that the findings will go a long way to assist government to streamline the NSC curriculum. The ANC applauds the Minister for the bold step she took. The National Senior Certificate, as the Minister alluded to, is in its fifth year. The ANC congratulates its government for achieving a pass rate of 73,9% for 2012, which depicts an increase. It is the ANC government's view that more can be done.
As the Minister has encouraged our matriculants ...
... wil ek ook graag al ons matrikulante van 2013 voorspoed toewens vir hierdie allerbelangrikste skooleksamen van hulle jong lewens. Matriek is die fondament van verdere beroepsopleiding, en ek wens die matrikulante net die beste toe vir hierdie jaar met hul voorbereiding in hierdie verband. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[... I would also like to wish our matriculants of 2013 success in this most important school examination of their young lives. Matric is the foundation of further occupational training, and I wish the matriculants only the best with their preparation in this regard for this year.]
With regard to the Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025, the Minister spoke about the results of the Annual National Assessments, ANA. She spoke about the shortcomings but, as the ANC, we are encouraged by the fact that the department's plans for 2013-14 are addressing these areas.
Chairperson, the issue of labour peace is at the centre of our efforts to achieve quality education for all, and we would like to congratulate the ANC, as the Minister mentioned, for brokering labour peace between the department and the SA Democratic Teachers' Union, Sadtu. [Interjections.] We urge all parties involved to always make sure that labour peace prevails and that we are able to work together, hand-in-glove, towards the vision of quality education for all. What is important - and I am calling on the educators in South Africa - when it comes to the teaching profession is that it is a professional profession. At all times, we have to remember that when we are in the streets or anywhere else, we are the people that shape the minds of those little children. We mould them, and there is a decorum that we, as teachers, should adhere to.
The ANC welcomes a host of interventions in the 2013-14 Basic Education Budget Vote, which propose the strengthening of the delivery of quality education, amongst others. I would like to single out a few. The Minister spoke about Grade R, and a substantial amount was made available to expand the intake when it comes to Grade R. However, we are acutely aware that the quality of Grade R provisioning in disadvantaged schools remains an issue of concern. Notwithstanding positive efforts by the Departments of Basic Education and Social Development, interdepartmental co-ordination with regard to the provision of early childhood development, ECD, education still needs to be enhanced. This is even more important given the targets set by the National Development Plan with regard to ECD provision. In this regard, we urge the ANC government to take the lead in ensuring that these issues find a place in the budget.
For four years, as the Minister mentioned, the President has been calling for our teachers to be in class, on time, with textbooks, teaching. [Interjections.] The ANC believes that ordinary teachers should not need to be instructed in this. This should be the norm. The ANC calls on all our teachers to ensure that our aspirations for quality education for all are realised, as the ANC is of the view that issues such as unauthorised teacher absence from school, teachers being at school but not in the classroom, teaching, insufficient curriculum coverage in a year, and insufficient and inadequate assessment given to learners have no place in our schools. The ANC government is committed to improving the accountability of individual teachers. For instance, the discussions at the Education Labour Relations Council on the Quality Management System are expected to be finalised before June 2013, and the training of teachers is anticipated to follow soon.
President Jacob Zuma has reminded us that education remains a societal issue and that we must take it more seriously and that we must begin to appreciate the fact that all successful societies have one thing in common: they invested in education. To this end, we are delighted by the fact that the ANC-led government has located the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign at the centre of its operations. We need to have every stakeholder in education actively playing their role in making education a centrepiece of our democracy. With regard to equalising allocations to no-fee schools, the ANC government has committed that by 2013, all provincial education departments will have equalised their provincial allocations to schools.
Evidence from the oversight work in provinces reveals a huge infrastructure backlog. However, we should all congratulate the ANC government for devoting the bulk of spending increases over the medium term to accelerating the delivery and improvement of school infrastructure. Through our interactions with the national and provincial departments, we have become aware that capacity, market and provider constraints are the main challenges in the provision of the improvement of school infrastructure. We have also observed that underspending of infrastructure budgets continues in spite of the huge need. People, don't let me say which other province, besides the Eastern Cape, is ranked at the bottom. We are standing in this province. We urge government and all affected parties to dedicate special attention to these challenges. Given the scale of the existing infrastructure backlog, it is our view that government alone cannot overcome these challenges.
We would like to congratulate the Minister for declaring 2013 the year of inclusive education. Flowing from this, government is planning to train district officials on guidelines for full-service schools and special schools. In addition, teachers will receive training in specialised areas of visual and hearing impairment, as well as the curriculum.
In conclusion, I would like to refer to the Auditor-General's report. [Interjections.] The Auditor-General's report has shown that some provinces continue to show signs of poor fiscal discipline. For 2011-12, we have to congratulate the Department of Basic Education for receiving an unqualified audit report, with some provinces receiving adverse audit opinions. [Applause.] The Auditor-General stated that there is a lack of accountability, action plans that were not specific in terms of indicators and targets, a lack of fixed timeframes, delays in the filling of posts, shortage of relevant skill sets, and limitations not addressed in financial reporting systems.
The Auditor-General further indicated that some provinces were persistently incurring over, unauthorised, irregular, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The ANC is encouraged by the fact that government is addressing these discrepancies. However, we are of the view that although some progress has been registered in this area, we can still do more to enhance our compliance with the prescripts of the Public Finance Management Act.
In conclusion, the 2013-14 Budget Vote ... [Interjections.] Yes, second - we like making second conclusions. The 2013-14 Budget Vote is an unequivocal response to our commitment to provide quality education for all. From where we stand, we are confident that this budget will yield positive spin-offs for our efforts of broadening access to quality education for all. I would like to convey my gratitude to the hon members of the portfolio committee - all of them - and the officials for the co- operation, professionalism and integrity projected by committee staff. I would also like to thank the ANC research person, Comrade Ntiza. That is what brought us this far and that provided a fertile space for the committee to work together and achieve more. The ANC proposes that this Budget Vote be supported. The topic of the speech was "Working together, we can do more in the basic education sector". I thank you. [Applause.]