Chairperson, with regard to the policies and in terms of our constitutional arrangement, provinces have concurrent competencies. In fact, education falls within the purview of the provinces. As a result, there have been variations. That is why we have norms and standards to guide provinces in terms of the appropriate allocation.
What we are saying is that we provided an environment where there are standardised norms - standards which would guide provinces in terms of the allocation of resources. Such norms and standards did not apply in the past, but do apply now.
The reality, however, is that even though the provinces - the MECs for education in collaboration with the Ministry of Education - agreed to the allocation of resources for a particular purpose, say, transport in a province, the provincial treasurer could allocate those resources which are received globally from the National Treasury and utilise them for other purposes.
The unfortunate reality is that instances do occur, from time to time, where monies that have been allocated for a particular purpose by National Treasury are used for other purposes by the provinces. What we are trying to achieve as a government through our Performance Monitoring and Evaluation unit and the National Planning unit, which is led by the Deputy President, would be to ensure that where monies are allocated for a particular purpose in relation to a particular plan, those resources are spent in a particular way. It might well be that some resources should be spent centrally in order to ensure that it reaches the target. This might very well occur in relation to transport.
With regard to the norms, they apply to primary schools and high schools as well. Certainly, we are more sensitive to ensuring, where little children are concerned, that there should be absolutely strict compliance and adherence to those norms. Thank you very much.
Particulars regarding timeous disbursement of funds for no-fee school system
14. Mr B A Mnguni (ANC) asked the Minister of Basic Education:
(1) With reference to the no-fee school system which was introduced with the intention to address the plight of parents who could not afford to pay their fees, how will she inculcate the culture of learning and teaching when the administration has ground to a halt due to the unavailability or late arrival of funds;
(2) whether she will intervene to ensure that funds are disbursed timeously; if so, what are the relevant details?