WEDNESDAY, 21 APRIL 2010 __

          PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
                               _______

The Council met at 14:03.

The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

                             NO MOTIONS

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon members, I have been informed that the Whippery have agreed that there will be no motions today.

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

                           (Policy debate)

Vote No 14 – Basic Education: Vote No 16 – Higher Education and Training:

The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Nzimande and Deputy Minister Surty, hon members, guests from provinces, MECs present, my colleague from the Western Cape - I’m not sure if you understood that we had to pray when we were standing – ladies and gentlemen and senior officials from the department, as Basic Education we really pride ourselves on the fact that huge strides have been made in education since the establishment of our new democracy in respect of ensuring access to education for the majority of our children.

Given what we have achieved, we are nevertheless determined to address those challenges that continue to detract from how far we have come. We are now focusing on ensuring the delivery of quality learning and teaching in all our schools in order to make sure that South Africa’s learning outcomes will improve. In order to do this, we must all work together as a nation and all take responsibility to ensure that we achieve our goals.

Education is indeed a societal issue. Each one of us, as members of this House, national and provincial officials, principals, teachers, parents, learners and members of the community, must make quality education a priority. We need to turn the system around with bold targets and initiatives that are carefully crafted and executed and pay due attention to the already fragile nature of the system and people who work in it.

The outcomes approach adopted by this government seeks to improve service delivery by ensuring that the work of government is measured according to outcomes. These performance outcomes are politically determined positions of government to achieve greater and more focused development. The outcomes approach enables us to set measurable targets and deliverables, against which we and all South Africans can monitor our progress in addressing the challenges that remain in education. Government has made education a priority, and so should we.

Our targets are ambitious and will require a lot from us. Both budgets and priorities are informed by the ruling party’s ten-point plan and election manifesto commitments. And we will be working closely with the provinces to ensure that there is alignment between strategy and structure. The provinces play a vital role in the delivery of quality education. While the national department is responsible for policy and monitoring the system, the provinces have a very important role in the implementation thereof.

I have spoken before of the legislative mandate of the Department of Basic Education that sets out the key responsibilities of the department to develop and maintain national policies for the basic education sector. It is the responsibility of the national department to work closely with provinces in order to ensure that provincial budgets and strategies support national policies.

As regards the allocations for the 2010-11 financial year, I am pleased to announce that we have received an increase of R2,23 billion, which takes us to R6,166 billion allocated to Basic Education. From 2009-10, with the increased budgets, we will be able to implement school feeding in quintile 2 secondary schools. From these allocations we will be able to provide workbooks worth R750 million, reaching R1 billion in 2012-13. This year we were also allocated an amount of R11,031 million to establish the National Education and Evaluation Unit. Funza Lushaka bursaries were given an additional amount to reach R422 million, and then R471 million in 2012-13. We have also received an increment from R5 million to R80 million to recapitalise our technical schools. Finally, money for Kha Ri Gude, our literacy programme, has increased from R468 million to R520 million.

Our targets are specifically focused on improved learner achievement. By setting these targets, we are committing all levels of the education sector to deliver on them. This requires our national and provincial departments to plan around these identified targets, to which we will all be held accountable. The clear targets that we have established must be achieved by 2014 and they are as follows: The number of Grade 12 learners who pass the national examinations and qualify to enter a Bachelor’s programme at a university will increase from 105 000 to 175 000. The number of Grade 12 learners who pass mathematics and physical science will be 225 000 and 165 000 respectively. We are also looking at increasing the outcomes in our foundation, intermediate and senior phases, with an increased performance in literacy from 27% to 60% by 2014; and increased numeracy from 38% to 60% by 2014. We have also established the following priorities in order to meet our targets: By 2014, there will be universal access to Grade R for all age- appropriate children. Adequate learning and teaching materials will be developed and distributed, particularly to those schools we have identified as underperforming institutions. Standardised national assessments of the quality of learning will take place in Grades 3, 6 and 9 on an annual basis. I did say the last time that we already had assessment tests taken in literacy and numeracy at exit points, which is at the end of your foundation, intermediate and senior phases, so that children don’t get tested only when they reach Grade 12.

I also announced the development of a national Basic Education action plan. This long-term plan for the basic education sector will be known as Schooling 2025. The Department of Basic Education’s action plan will allow us to monitor progress against a set of measurable indicators covering all aspects of basic education, including, among others, enrolment and retention of learners, statistics on teachers, infrastructure, school funding, learner and teacher wellbeing, school safety, mass literacy and educational quality.

This Basic Education action plan will co-ordinate and guide all interventions in the basic education system in order to turn the system around. The plan will establish key outcomes and performance deliverables for the entire education system, including the national and provincial departments. It will commit provinces and provincial education departments to clear, agreed-upon outcomes and ensure that all in the system are accountable for attaining these outcomes. I shall very shortly make this plan available for public comment.

Regarding the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, Needu, in the National Education Policy Act of 1996, section 8(1) compels the Minister and the National Department of Basic Education to monitor and report on the implementation of education policies as well as the progress of the system. The additional funding that we have been given will help us to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of our whole education system.

We have investigated the mandate, scope, name, location and modus operandi of the proposed structure of Needu and, on this basis, we have commenced with its establishment. In this regard, I will shortly announce the outcome of our recruitment process for the staff who will head and direct its work. Needu will be a professional facility dedicated to the purposes of monitoring, evaluation and support. I would like to emphasise that all issues and concerns regarding the inspectorate will be accommodated under this unit. It will be a unit that will evaluate school quality and present regular reports to the nation on such quality. Its role will be to assess and develop strategies for improving the quality of educational outcomes and supporting schools to achieve this. It will monitor and evaluate performance across the entire system, including the national department, provinces and districts.

Because we have become solutions-orientated, it is the responsibility of the Minister of Basic Education, in terms of the National Education Policy Act, to monitor and evaluate the performance of provinces, districts and schools. To this end, my department will shortly establish a delivery support unit to be known as the implementation unit. This unit will be staffed by multiskilled, highly effective individuals who will be deployed at short notice to find solutions to any obstacles that arise in schools, districts and, indeed, in provinces. This unit’s primary role will be to fast-track delivery and to ensure that every school is able to function optimally.

Credible and up-to-date information on how our learners perform is valuable for a number of reasons: First, it helps identify systemic weaknesses that might impact on the quality of learning and teaching in our schools; second, it enables the tracking of progress towards the measurable learning outcomes and targets that we have set for ourselves; and third, it holds the system accountable to the citizens of South Africa.

As mentioned earlier, we have been given R10 million, which is available for this year, and it will increase to R18 million over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period. We have decided that performance at Grades 3, 6 and 9 will be improved from the current average attainment level. Approximately 3 million of the learner population in basic education are in these grades. The external assessments will focus on the critical foundational skills of literacy and numeracy.

I’m intimidated by your words, Chairperson, so let me jump to further sections, otherwise I might not finish my speech.

From 2010, the results of these assessments will be reported to parents. They will not only be informed of the school’s literacy and numeracy scores, but also provincial and national scores. We are committed to not making a hype of Grade 12, but we do believe that schools, communities and parents need to know the performance of all schools at all levels and how their children compare to children in other areas.

Regarding the improvement of the curriculum, during the last meeting I attended here we did report on the recommendations that we had received on the curriculum review and assessment. We have acted on the main recommendations of the report prepared by the ministerial committee established in 2009, which was tasked with reviewing the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement.

Curriculum reform is not something that anyone in the system takes lightly. At the same time we need to quickly and efficiently iron out the difficulties that exist. We need to work differently and we need to work steadfastly, but with speed. For this reason I have made and will continue to make changes on an ongoing basis where they can be made with minimal disruption in order to create relief and improve the system. We are not considering changing everything for change’s sake. What works will stay and perhaps be improved on, but what does not work will be changed immediately. Indeed, the longer-term change to the curriculum requires coherent action and it needs to be done properly. All stakeholders will be kept properly informed at all times.

To provide short-term relief, we have reduced the number of projects for learners and done away with the need for portfolio files of learner assessments and common tasks of assessment for Grade 9 learners. I have established three committees to enable the smooth implementation of the curriculum. They are being led by three able people who have the experience and qualifications to do so. The first committee’s task is to provide clear guidelines of what teachers ought to teach on a grade-by-grade and subject- by-subject basis. The timeframe for this committee has been extended from one year to two, different from what the review committee recommended to us. Its work is supported by two other committees, one to plan for the implementation of the recommendations of reducing learning areas in the intermediate phase from eight to six. We have taken the decision that we will indeed reduce the number of learning areas. When children leave the foundation phase and go to the intermediate phase, they won’t do eight subjects anymore, but only six.

The curriculum challenge is a comprehensive one. It requires ongoing research and development. For this reason, we will continue to build capacity for curriculum research and review within the national department to ensure that we strengthen the implementation of the curriculum. We must remember that what happens in classrooms defines the existence of the education sector.

I have reported that we have allocated R750 million to help us allocate books that will assist us in meeting our challenges in providing support on the curriculum. We are also distributing lesson plans in literacy and numeracy for Grades 1 to 6. If this intervention is to achieve its objectives of supporting teaching and learning in schools, it is important that our support materials reach schools on time.

Regarding the human resource and development aspect, we acknowledge that our teachers and principals are key to a quality education system. We recognise that there is a need for coherence and synergy across the system. We recognise that there are many role-players who have a stake in the development of teachers and school leaders - not least of all the educators themselves have a key role to play in their own development.

To address the supply-side challenges, the Department of Basic Education will, through the development of human resource management information systems, provide provinces with credible data on the supply, demand and utilisation of educators in the system to inform planning. We need to ensure that they are properly distributed across the system and that we have the right teachers, with the right qualifications and skills, in the right schools, at the right time.

This year we shall also introduce a new distribution model of posts for schools. We will use this pro-poor model as a planning tool to determine actual utilisation and future demand for teachers with regard to subjects or phases. This model will be adjusted to address changes in the curriculum.

A key deliverable in this sector for 2010 will be the action plans emanating from the multistakeholder workshop that was held in Johannesburg in 2009. We are completing all the details and will soon implement the recommendations that came from the stakeholders after consulting with colleagues.

Regarding school governance, much evidence suggests that proper learning requires functional schools, or schools that provide an enabling environment for teachers. Even the best teachers will find it difficult to do a good job if the school does not have a timetable, colleagues arrive late and there are no regular meetings with parents. At the heart of a functional school lies a good principal. For the period 2010-11 to 2014-15, we are targeting at least 8 000 principals and deputy principals to complete the training that we will provide for them. In addition, all school leaders from underperforming secondary schools and their feeder primary schools will complete a special programme. We also acknowledge the importance of districts in supporting our schools in monitoring and helping us with the monitoring.

Regarding infrastructure, we will continue our efforts in tackling our immense infrastructural challenges. The backlog is currently estimated at R140 billion. In 2000-01 provincial education departments spent R553 million. Currently the budget for infrastructure is at R5,5 billion - so it doesn’t even match the backlog that we have. As a result, we have agreed with the Development Bank of Southern Africa, DBSA, and the Treasury that we have to use a different model to begin addressing our infrastructure backlog. Again, we are consulting with our provinces to make sure that when we do implement the programme it will have the full support of our provinces.

At the same time, while we are focusing on improving infrastructure, I would like to call on all our communities, and in particular parents and learners, to commit themselves to safeguarding school infrastructure and school property. I am disturbed by reports that existing school classrooms are wantonly burnt down or school property such as computers are removed – as we heard recently, in the Western Cape there were learners who burnt down their own school. We find this highly unacceptable and as communities we need to raise our voices against such practices. There are far more responsible and effective ways of raising issues around education without destroying property or disrupting schooling.

We will never eradicate backlogs or ensure that all schools have adequate facilities if schools continue to be targeted by the criminal actions of community members. Schools, like churches and libraries, should be treated as sacrosanct. It is necessary for our learners and their parents to take responsibility for their education and to ensure that government’s expenditure is not in vain.

In conclusion, we have an enormous responsibility to ensure that our funds are well spent on the purposes for which they are intended and that we see results. Our democratic mandate is to deliver on the right to education, and this means the right to be literate and numerate when leaving school. We are fully focused on delivering on this mandate.

Let me end by thanking all the members of the executive council - I see some colleagues from the Western Cape here, but I can’t see any members from other provinces – who are responsible for education in their provinces and who have assisted and continue to assist us in defining the agenda. I would like to thank my colleague, Deputy Minister Surty, for his strong and capable support at all times. My thanks go also to the acting director- general, Mr Bobby Soobrayan, the provincial heads of departments, as well as chairpersons of provinces who are here and the members of the National Council of Provinces.

I am proud that I stopped myself before my time ran out. Thank you. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Le feditše Tona, nka se le emiše. [You are finished, Minister. I will not stop you.]

UNGQONGQOSHE WEMFUNDO EPHAKEME KANYE NOKUQEQESHA: Ngiyabonga sihlalo, ngithathe leli thuba ngibingelele kuwena njengobaba wekhaya owuSihlalo wale Ndlu ebaluleke kakhulu emele izifundazwe zethu. Ngibingelele nakuzakwethu uNgqongqoshe Wemfundo Eyisisekelo, umama uMotshekga kanye neSekela lakhe ubaba uSurty, oNgqongqoshe bezemfundo bezifundazwe abakhona lapha kanye nabaphethe iMinyango. Ngibingelele amalungu ahloniphekile ale Ndlu, ngibingelele nezimenywa ezibalulekile ezikhona lapha nabo bonke abanye abethamele le ngxoxo kanye namaqabane onke akhona lapha endlini.

Ngiyafisa ukusho lokhu, ngikusho kahle ngolimi lwami bab’ uMahlangu ngoba ngiye ngizwe kahle ukuthi siyakujabulela uma ngabe nisimemile ukuthi sizoba yingxenye yezingxoxo nenkulumompikiswano kule Ndlu ngoba le Ndlu ibaluleke kakhulu ekutheni ibhekelele ukuthi ngempela ngempela lezi zinto esizikhuluma lapha kuzwelonke ziyenzeka yini laphaya phansi. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Thank you, Chairperson. I would like to take this opportunity to greet you, as the man of this House, the Chairperson of this important House which represents our provinces. I would like to greet my colleague the Minister of Basic Education, hon Motshekga, and her Deputy Mr Surty, provincial education MECs and the heads of departments. I greet the hon members of this House, our important guests and everyone present as well as all the comrades who are present.

I would like to say this — I say it very well in my language, Mr Mahlangu, because I can feel that we get very excited if we are invited to be part of the debates in this House because this House is very important as it ensures that things that we talk about here at national level really happen at the grass-roots level.]

Tomorrow we begin a landmark Stakeholder Summit on Higher Education Transformation which, for the first time, will see all major stakeholders in the university sector, including students, workers, academics, management and nongovernmental organisations, NGOs, gathering to engage on issues such as equity, access, curriculum transformation and increasing academic success rates in the higher education sector. I believe this summit, which we are holding over the next two days, will be groundbreaking, not only for the higher education sector but in realising government’s commitment to listen and engage. We expect close to 400 delegates who will be gathered at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology tomorrow and on Friday.

Chairperson, this summit will be among many engagements my department is convening to confront the challenges we have in structuring and defining the higher education and training landscape. We aim to create a new regimen of stakeholder relationships, draw on knowledge, ability and experience in the sector, and engage in an atmosphere of trust. We believe there is a unifying common public good, an informed and critical citizenry and the desire for a reduction of economic inequalities and for human development. Therefore we want to harness South Africa’s best brains to develop South Africa’s best brains.

Ngizocela ukubonga kubo bonke laba ababamba iqhaza kule mizamo yethu yokwakha uhlelo lwemfundo ephakeme nokuqeqesha. Abanye babo yizifundiswa ezisemaNyuvesi, abasebenzi balelizwe, osomabhizinisi ikakhulukazi-ke namalungu ePhalamende okuyiwona asibonisayo ukuthi cha, sibona engathi ningahamba kanje sikwazi ukuthi sixoxisane ukuze senze imfundo itholakale kubo bonke abantu bakithi. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[I would like to thank all those who participated in formulating the programme for higher education and training. Some of them are the academics at the universities, workers of this country, businesspeople and especially the Members of Parliament who gave guidance and held discussions so that everyone in our country gets an education.]

Hon members, the programmes of our department must interface with the range of social and economic development strategies across all spheres of government. We are creating the necessary synergies with the National Industrial Policy Framework, the Industrial Policy Action Plan, the antipoverty strategy, the rural development strategy, and the technology and innovation plan. The overarching framework for all our work in the Department of Higher Education and Training is the Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa, which is led by the Deputy President and managed by our department.

The Human Resource Development Council of South Africa, HRDCSA, which was launched on 30 March this year, will improve alignment and ensure that all players in human resource development from government, civil society sectors, organised business, labour, professional bodies and research communities reinforce and complement the work of others. Central to the realisation of the goals of the Human Resource Development Strategy is the alignment of its subordinate strategies. One of these is the National Skills Development Strategy, NSDS, which directs the skills levy that is collected by government for purposes of promoting training and skills development. As I have reported before, I have extended the National Skills Development Strategy II for a further year and requested the sector education and training authorities, Setas, to closely align their programmes to the further education and training colleges and placement of these students through learnerships and apprenticeships.

Sikwenza loku Sihlalo, ngoba inkinga ebesingathi sinayo ama-Seta ebezihambela ezibhekele le, ama-FET kolishi ayazihluphekela ngapha. Uma sifuna ukwenza ukuthi lama-FET kolishi athandwe yintsha nabantu abadala abakithi kufanele senze isiqiniseko sokuthi izingane eziphuma khona noma ezifunda khona ngobuningi bazo ziyawathola amathuba okuthi zibekwe emisebenzini la zingakwazi ukuthi zithole khona ulwazi ukuze ziqasheke kalula. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[We are doing this because we had problems with the Setas which were doing things their way and, on the other hand, the FET colleges are poor. If we want our youth and adults to love these FET colleges, we must ensure that those who finished or who are studying at these institutions get the opportunities by being placed where they will be able to get jobs easily.]

My department has submitted a draft National Skills Development Strategy III framework to the National Skills Authority, NSA, which will shortly be released for broader consultation and action before I finalise the strategy in the third quarter of this year. I invite the NCOP to engage with this proposed strategy. An inclusive process of consultation will assist us to develop a good strategy. This process will include all economic sectors, all key constituencies, and will take into account the need for key government priorities at national and provincial levels and action plans, including a skills strategy for rural development. This strategy will set priorities for both the Setas and the National Skills Fund.

We expect our public sector colleges and universities to become more responsive to this skills strategy. We have to assist learners to move between learning and work. This strategy will be used to incentivise companies to open up structured workplace learning for college students, as well as for university and university of technology students. The state- owned enterprises and other large employers have a special role to play in this regard.

Siyazi ngesikhathi esingaphambili lezinkampani zikahulumeni zabaqeqesha kakhulu, zabanika amakhono abamhlophe, kodwa kubukeka engathi kwehlile lokhu, muva nje sisafuna ukubuyela kuzona ukuthi ngoba nanikwenzile lokhu ngalesiya sikhathi. Ake nikwenzele nezingane lezi zendlu emnyama manje. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[We know that in the past state-owned enterprises for qualified people gave skills to white people, but it looks like that has decreased. Now we want to go back and tell them that they must do what they did but for black children this time.]

We have strengthened the capacity of the National Skills Authority to meet this challenge. Chairperson, I am also pleased to say that I am taking a special interest in driving artisan training in this financial year. We are determined to increase the numbers and the quality of skilled artisans, particularly in priority trades, through a synergy, as I have said, of strengthening FET colleges, the work of the Setas and business initiatives. A key priority will be to expand access to structured workplace learning and to develop partnerships to address the scarcity of artisanal skills.

In the course of this year I will also address the long-outstanding challenges of trade testing. There are long queues for apprentices to take trade tests and the pass rate is barely 50% for those who actually write the trade test. As the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, QCTO, has now been launched, we are able to begin work on establishing the National Artisan Moderating Body, NAMB, and take forward the various regulations that are required. The aim of NAMB is to monitor the performance of accredited artisan trade test centres and develop a national databank of instruments for assessment and moderation of artisan trade tests.

Sikwenza lokhu Sihlalo ngoba sifuna ukuqeda labo qhibukhowe abadla izimali zabantwana bethu bethi bayabaqeqesha kanti akukho makhono ababanika wona. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[We are doing this, Chairperson, because we want to get rid of these fly-by- nights who are taking our children’s money pretending to be training them, only to find out that they are not given any skills. [Applause.]]

Hon members, you may be aware that 19 of the 23 Setas received a clean bill of health from the Auditor-General’s office. The effective functioning and governance of the Setas are essential to our efforts to meet our skills development goals. For those Setas that failed the audit, action will be taken to remedy the problem. In the next few weeks, after consultation with the National Skills Authority, I will release the proposed new Seta landscape which we aim to adopt by the third quarter of this year.

Expanding and improving capacity at further education and training, FET, colleges, is a vital part of the mission to create a comprehensive and differentiated post-school system in which universities and colleges are the key providers of the education and training needs.

Sifuna lamakolishi amakhono ukuwenza siwaqinise ngalendlela yokuthi siwakhulise, nabantwana bethu baye laphaya ngoba bewathanda bengayi ngoba bethi bahlulekile eNyuvesi bese bethi bafuna ukuya ekolishi. Sifuna ukuthi kube khona abantwana abazothi, mina angifuni ukuya ndawo kepha ngifuna ukuya ekolishi ngiyothola amakhono. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[We want to strengthen and expand the skills development colleges, so that our children go there because they love them and not because they failed at the universities. We want to have children who will say, “I do not want to go anywhere else but the college to acquire skills.” [Applause.]]

It is intended, of course, that they will no longer be a concurrent competence. I have convened a Council of Education Ministers with the co- operation of my colleague, Minister Motshekga, and we will work closely with provincial MECs to ensure that these colleges move from being a concurrent competence to becoming a national competence. The Cabinet has mandated us to explore, in consultation with the Ministers of Justice and Constitutional Development and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the quickest way of effecting this move. All the MECs have expressed willingness for the colleges to be moved into being a national competence as speedily as possible.

Siyabonga nala Entshonalanga Kapa, sasithi mhlawumbe kuzoba khona umsinjwana. Cha! Ngqongqoshe siyabonga ukuthi niyayibona indlela njengezinye izifundazwe eziyisishiyagalombili. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.) [Here in the Western Cape we thought that there was going to be chaos. But no! Minister, we appreciate that you also do things like the other eight provinces.]

In the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement of 2009, the Minister of Finance announced that the funding of FET colleges will shift from provinces to national government. The department concluded arrangements with the Treasury to manage the budget of Programme 5 of the provincial departments of education as a Schedule 4 conditional grant as of 1 April 2010. This arrangement will be kept in place until the process of moving the FET colleges from a provincial to a national competence has been completed. We invite the NCOP to pay close attention to this and provide oversight with regard to all these processes.

The difficulties that we experienced in this sector, the FET sector, are being confronted honestly by us. We can only make the urgent progress required for these institutions to play the role our country needs if we have the full and frank participation of all stakeholders in identifying problems and finding solutions. This process has already begun, I am pleased to announce, and I will receive a report in September, on concrete steps we need to take and a comprehensive implementation plan. On 9 April we convened a round table of all stakeholders in the subsystem to address immediate challenges and assess what actions can be taken to support colleges. That round table agreed that a comprehensive plan will be completed by August.

In summary, the outcomes of the round table are that we now have a collective understanding of, and agreement on, what needs to be done in the short, medium and long term to address current challenges. Ownership of the process to develop this through key stakeholders and role-players has been achieved. An FET summit steering committee has been set up to guide processes leading to the summit.

A matter that we are also paying urgent attention to, one that is threatening to destabilise the FET college sector, is the long-standing negotiations by the Education Labour Relations Council to address the conditions of service of college staff. We want this to be concluded before the end of April. However, this may not be achieved, but I am taking a personal interest in facilitating a resolution of the outstanding issues as soon as possible. We are aware of the concerns and issues raised in regard to the transfer of state-paid employees to the employ of college councils.

Unfortunately, this has had the unintended consequences of shedding 36% of the college lecturers that we had before. It is our intention to begin consultation immediately to explore reabsorbing college staff on a differentiated model, and there is strong support for this from stakeholders.

The adult education and training sector is a key component of our postschool education and training system. We will take forward the implementation of the Adult Basic Education and Training Act together with our partners, the provincial departments of education. One of the most important tasks for the department this year is to pursue the establishment of a senior certificate specially geared to the needs of adults.

Singafundisi abantu abadala kwangathi sifundisa izingane okusafanele sizifundise O-aeiou. [We should not teach adults the basics as if we are teaching children.]

We believe that adults who wish to achieve Grade 12 equivalence have many reasons for doing this, and our system must respond to the different needs and be linked to training opportunities and for those adults to skill themselves. We will continue to offer and improve on the general education and training certificate for adult basic education and training. In the year 2009, 89 290 candidates wrote this examination, an increase of 29 000 on the 60 000 candidates registered in the year 2008.

It is also important to understand the profile of these candidates. As many as 46% of those adults writing the adult basic education and training general education training certificate examinations were between 20 and 29 years of age. This is an age group which we still consider as the youth, and all of these young people would have spent a considerable part, if not all, of their school years in a postdemocratic South African education system. Whatever the reason for their not having completed school, the success of their “second chance” must be applauded. It is a great source of pride to us. We must continue to encourage young people as well as adults to continue with postschool education and training and make it accessible to them.

The Skills Development Act of 1998 requires that we set up — and this is something that is of particular importance to this House — provincial skills development forums. As a department, we are taking this requirement seriously and will be engaging the provinces on how these forums should be set up and operate. The primary functions of these forums will be to identify skills development priorities in provinces and to provide platforms for all stakeholders to engage on these priorities. It is important that business, labour, FET colleges, universities, universities of technology and the Setas are all represented on these forums, which we intend establishing by the next financial year.

Much more critically, the NCOP and provincial legislatures will also have to assist us to ensure that what these provincial skills development forums do is actually aligned to the provincial growth and development strategies. That is a wonderful opportunity to try to align our skills development thrust with what has been identified as priorities by the provinces. Indeed, all of this will be guided by the overall key priorities of government.

Another thing that I think I need to say is that one of the key elements of trying to create an integrated system of education and training is not only to ensure that there is a synergy between what the Setas do and what the FET colleges do, but also to ensure that there is a relationship and articulation between programmes in the FET colleges and the universities of technology in particular.

Akakwazi umntwana ahlale iminyaka emithathu noma emine esekolishi kwi-FET enza ubunjiniyela kodwa uma eseya eNyuvesi ayoqala phansi engathi akazange enze lutho ngoba siyamosha uma senza kanjalo. Simosha imali kahulumeni, simosha imali yabantu bakithi abahluphekayo, abadinga ukuthi sisebenze ngendlela eyiyo. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[A child cannot do three or four years at an FET college studying engineering and when she or he gets to the university she or he starts at entry level as if she or he had done nothing, which is just a waste. We are wasting government’s money; we are wasting our poor people’s money, who expect us to work properly.]

The NCOP has a particular role to play in how all our programmes serve provincial and regional development priorities. Therefore, we invite this august House, as well as the provincial legislatures, to play an active role so that we achieve these objectives. Obviously, this is not everything that the department is going to be doing. We thought that in our Budget Vote we needed to highlight those areas of immediate interest and importance to a House like the NCOP.

Sibonga kakhulu baba uMahlangu, engathi kungabanjalo nakusasa. [Ihlombe.] [Thank you very much, hon Mahlangu; till next time. [Applause.]]

Ms M W MAKGATE: Chairperson, hon members, hon Ministers, Deputy Minister and the public at large, as stated clearly in the Polokwane resolution document, “the overarching vision that informs ANC education policy is ‘People’s Education for People’s Power’”. It is for that reason that the ANC made education one of the five key priority areas for the next five years. It is also for that reason that the ANC split the Education department into basic and higher education in order for Basic Education to focus on improving the quality of our education and for Higher Education to focus on skills development and training issues, which shall lead to the creation of more jobs, decent work and sustainable livelihoods for our people. It is therefore not surprising that the education sector continues to walk away with the biggest slice of the national Budget.

It is encouraging to note that in the previous financial year the department of Education received an unqualified audit opinion from the Auditor-General. We hope that both the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training will continue to utilise resources allocated to them in a responsible and accountable manner.

The key strategic policy priorities of the Department of Basic Education in the current financial year, as identified in the 2010 to 2013 strategic plan, includes the following: First, the curriculum will be streamlined by amending parts of the existing curriculum in order to remove certain administrative burdens and make it easier for teachers to teach.

Second, a detailed and integrated strategy on the assessment of learners will be developed, demonstrating how the assessment of learners in Grades R to 9 will be taken forward. This priority aims to address, among others, the challenge of low levels of literacy and numeracy skills among our learners, as has been shown by several studies, the formulation of a national plan on teacher development and ensuring that the goals of the strategic plan are achieved through collaboration with key education stakeholder organisations, including teacher unions, universities and other training providers, as well as the SA Council for Educators.

Third is the distribution of workbooks to all Grades R to 9 learners in all public schools in order to facilitate the implementation of the curriculum and, in particular, to ensure that learners perform sufficient practical exercises in the year. It is important, however, for the department to ensure uniformity in terms of the books that are distributed to all the schools, so that all learners are examined based on the same books.

Fourth is the development and effective implementation of education management training in order to ensure that the management and governance capacity of school principals are improved and school functionality is enhanced. This priority aims, among others, to address the challenge of dysfunctionality of some schools, as shown in the findings of several research studies.

Fifth is the strengthening of the department’s web presence and the promotion of the e-Education strategy, catering for the information needs of all education officials, principals, teachers and learners. However, the question of access, especially for deep rural provinces, is still a challenge which the department should address as a matter of urgency.

Lastly, there is the establishment of a long-term plan for the basic education sector to be known as Schooling 2025: An Action Plan for the Improving of Basic Education.

The budget for the Department of Basic Education for the financial year 2010-11 is R6,1 billion. It has increased from R4,4 billion for the 2009-10 financial year. This year’s budget has increased by 37,81% in nominal terms and by 29,16% in real terms from the 2009-10 financial year. Sixty-three per cent of the 2010-11 budget goes to social responsibility, which includes the following objectives: improving gender equity in schools; improving quality education and promoting access to 450 rural schools; and reducing teenage pregnancies.

It is an open secret that South Africa is haunted by the problem of skills shortages, especially of scarce skills, which impacts negatively on economic development and reducing unemployment rates. Importing skills from other countries is a short-term solution. The question is, where is the long-term strategy for South Africa on the issue of scarce skills?

The key strategic policy priorities for the Department of Higher Education and Training in the current financial year, as identified in the 2010 state of the nation address and affirmed in the 2010 Budget Speech are, first, to place education and skills development at the centre of economic development. However, it is crucial for the Department of Higher Education and Training to identify all the specific skills needed by our economy in order to motivate students to acquire these skills.

Second is facilitating the training of 16- to 25-year-olds in the further education and training band, and providing a second chance at education for those who do not qualify for university education. It would be advisable for the department to expand the engagement with the private sector for purposes of greater exposure on the part of trainees.

Third, the department has to work with institutions of higher education to ensure that eligible students do obtain financial assistance through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, in particular those students who are academically able but socioeconomically poor. However, the challenge for the department is to improve its monitoring functions so that the allocations and utilisation of National Student Financial Aid Scheme funds are prioritised for learners who are the most needy.

An amount of R23,7 billion has been appropriated to the Department of Higher Education and Training, excluding direct charges against the National Revenue Fund for the sector education and training authorities and National Skills Fund. The bulk of the department’s budget is allocated to the University Education Programme, which takes up to 82,4% of the budget, while the second-highest allocation goes to the Vocational and Continuing Education and Training Programme at 16,4%. In terms of economic classification, 98% of the budget goes to transfers and subsidies.

It is interesting to note that both budget allocations for Basic Education and Higher Education and Training are actually in line with the policy priorities as clearly outlined in the state of the nation address and the Medium-Term Strategic Framework for 2009 to 2014. It is also interesting to note that both budget allocations confirm that education must remain the country’s number one priority.

Members will note and hopefully appreciate the increases in the budget allocation for both Basic Education and Higher Education and Training. These increases are a clear indication of the commitment of the ANC-led government to ensure quality education for all.

This goes to show that the ANC has a clear understanding of the fact that education is a useful instrument in the fight against poverty and inequality and that it is indispensible in the reversal of past social and economic imbalances. Indeed, working together, we can do more. The ANC supports both Budget Votes. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr M J R DE VILLIERS: Hon Chairperson, Ministers, members and the public at large, education is the most important sector of any government. For this reason, government must ensure that both basic and higher education outcomes are of a high quality and effective standard. If this is achieved, then we can be assured of a good citizen of quality, employment opportunities will be better, infrastructure development will progress, the standard of living will improve, etc. A better South Africa and environment will be our future.

The strategic plans and goals of these two departments do seek to address the aims and goals of the educational outcomes, but in certain aspects they fail to address the problems effectively.

Early childhood development, ECD, has to be the key priority of the Department of Basic Education, and not the function of the Department of Social Development. The department focuses mostly on Grade R as per their service delivery during the 2010-11 financial year. We do have the infrastructure for accommodation of these learners, although it is not adequate. Therefore there is no need to establish new centres for ECD now. We can invest more and better in the development of teachers’ learning materials and other educational support, and funding in ECD. The development of a child starts here, followed by the foundation phase, primary phase, and others. If we strive to get value for our money then the decrease from R11,3 million in 2009-10 to R4,4 million in 2010-11 is unacceptable. This does not speak well of the state of the nation address regarding the prioritisation of ECD.

Effective supply and development of human resources available within the department to promote quality teaching and institutional performance plays an important role, but this programme received a decrease of 3,44% in real terms. Whole school evaluation, WSE, is good, but the question that arises is whether there is a system and instrument in place in the department, or is the department still developing it? This must be clarified. The allocation to the Examination Administration Support line item also decreased from R32,7 million in 2009-10 to R26,5 million in 2010-11. The security of examination papers can be at stake and must be cushioned.

A huge concern is the numeracy and literacy standards of learners. The concern is increased by the fact that the department is silent on the type of tests, and how they will ensure the quality and the empowerment of teachers to achieve these targets.

The Department of Basic Education is proud of a new state-of-the-art building — understandably so, because everyone is state-of-the-art happy about new things. However, bear in mind that R126,742 million is spent annually, with a yearly increase of 4%, on this amount for 25 years. Then we must ask: was this money well spent? Over 25 years the department will pay more than R3,3 billion in a PPP agreement. Would it not have been better if the department spent the money on their own infrastructure development, or now on more pertinent priorities? This is an open discussion and debate.

Higher Education depends on the quality outcome of learners from basic education. If they elaborate on these products, then we can also be assured of a better-quality and competitively skilled workforce. All agree that the Setas did not properly perform their functions and duties for the best outcome in skills development. The Department of Higher Education must make sure that human resource development, planning and the monitoring co- ordination mechanism work smoothly and effectively to achieve their goals in higher education.

The investment in historically disadvantaged higher education institutions is mostly welcomed. The decrease in the administration programme of a nominal amount of 3,64% and a real amount of 9,69% is of concern for a new department, although other savings on other items make up for this decrease. The department is lean but must also be mean on their delivery performances. Under the Department of Education, problems were experienced on the quarterly reporting of performance information delivery. So reported the Auditor-General in 2008-09.

In conclusion, there are a lot of challenges for both Basic and Higher Education, but the challenges can be overcome if we stick to the plans, priorities, targets and goals we have set for ourselves. I thank you.

Mr M QOBOSHIYANE (Eastern Cape): Chairperson, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members of the House, firstly let me take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister on the bold and courageous initiatives that she introduced as part of her 2010 Budget Vote speech. For us, it resonates with our acceptance of the challenges that have been presented to us by the myriad gaps that require departmental astuteness, commitment and renewed zeal to contribute meaningfully to our province’s desire and dire needs. It is indeed high time that all of us take responsibility for providing meaningful solutions and interventions to our own generic and site-specific challenges that continue to deter our capacity to provide quality teaching and learning for all our schools, in particular the perennial underperforming township and rural schools.

As the Eastern Cape we are committed to realising the required systematic overhaul that will enable us to source all the necessary support from education stakeholders. For us the commitment has been concretised in the form of the upgrading learner attainment improvement strategy that has been fashioned this year into a master plan for total learner performance and school management improvement. The plan mainly focuses on strengthening governance and management, improving the content knowledge gaps of educators through education learnerships and providing basic school resources.

It is the province’s intention to continue to emphasise and strengthen the resolve reflected by both the President and the Minister that our stakeholders have an added responsibility to fully partner with the department in the realisation of its comprehensive refocusing on the delivery of quality teaching and learning. As provincial education, the executing authority will personally take charge of the implementation of this instruction through a co-ordinated programme of launches and the introduction of the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign throughout the province in all 23 districts, with massive events that are attracting all the various layers of education stakeholders.

In pursuit of the realisation of maths and science targets, the department has established a maths and science academy that will spearhead the strengthening of teacher training and resources for successfully improved teaching of maths and science. Furthermore, our training regime for this academic year includes 494 maths and science teachers from underperforming schools being trained in content gaps; 50 science teachers enrolled for the advanced certificate; and 276 maths teachers enrolled for the advanced certificate.

The province is still on course to ensure that we meet the target to provide all our primary schools with Grade R classes. Over the last three financial years we have substantially increased fiscal allocation for Grade R and that has resulted in a marked increment in the number of children accessing these key facilities. We achieved this with a significant improvement in the remuneration and skills level of our ECD practitioners.

As a province we welcome the honesty and candour behind the delivery changes being gradually introduced in the mechanism of curriculum delivery. The feedback from our educators actually does attest to relief and acceptance of the initiatives by all sections of our educator corps. In this regard the province is also at an advanced stage in the delivery of a training regime for all managers and school management teams of underperforming schools in the province. We are also midstream in our advanced workshop for principals and their deputies of the 494 identified underperforming high schools. In the next term our focus will shift to the 2 500 feeder schools whose limitations have also been identified as a significant factor in continued subprime performance.

In conclusion, the province fully supports any initiative that will result in an accelerated assault on the infrastructure backlog, which remains a significant marker of underdevelopment in our largely rural province made up of former homelands. The scourge of mud and unsafe schools remains the single most visible morale dampener to our post-independence education project. Indeed, the road towards the attainment of people’s education and people’s power is always under construction. I thank you. [Applause.]

Ms D Z RANTHO: Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister and MECs, the Constitution of this country states the following categorically and clearly:

Everyone has the right —

  (a) to a basic education, including adult basic education, and


  (b) to further education, which the state, through reasonable
      measures, must make progressively available and accessible.

The manifesto of 2010 commits itself to prioritising education. The state of the nation address by the president of the ANC and the President of the country made commitments to improve education and skills development; to improve the ability of our children to read, write and count; for learners and teachers to be in class on time, learning and teaching for seven hours a day; to assist teachers by providing detailed lesson plans and all the other commitments in the statement.

The ANC, at its congress in 1912, stated in the Freedom Charter that the doors of learning and teaching will be open. As a terrain of struggle, basic education has historically been subjected to a tug of war in terms of resource allocation. Resources, as a variable, have been scientifically proven to be directly proportional to the quality of outcomes.

In that regard, where education is concerned, resource allocation does not only affect the contemporary daily operation but shapes future outcomes. Actually, the quality of life of future generations is dictated by their access to and the quality of education. Unequal resource allocation not only offends and weakens the vision of the ANC, but also denies posterity its right to freedom from poverty, unemployment and inequality. According to Polokwane, the overarching vision that informs the ANC’s education policy is “people’s education for people’s power”. In following this vision, the ANC has advanced in ensuring that education is becoming more free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children. The budget should therefore enhance the implementation of, inter alia, the following ANC decisions towards the realisation of the overarching vision: promoting and supporting maths, science and IT inclusion through bursaries offered to teachers of these areas – with the manifesto committing to making provision for incentives for mathematics and science teachers; recruiting scarce skills such as maths and science teachers from foreign countries; the expansion of no-fee schools; ensuring that schools serving the poor are adequately provided with basic education resources; expanding the provision of adult basic education and training to ensure achieving the target of eliminating adult illiteracy from our society; expanding the provision of early childhood development, ECD – with the manifesto committing to training and employing 15 000 ECD trainers per year, with emphasis being placed on rural areas; developing information, communication and technology skills in and through education; promoting the status of teachers; ensuring the employment of adequate numbers of teachers and improving their remuneration and training; assisting teachers by providing detailed daily lessons and providing easy-to-use workbooks for learners in all 11 languages; conducting external tests for all Grade 3 and Grade 6 learners every year; strengthening public school management; improving national- provincial alignment and efficiency of education expenditure by procuring textbooks nationally; and allocating resources to improve district capacity.

In the previous year, the department received an unqualified audit opinion, with emphasis of matter, from the Auditor-General. Expenditure increased from R1,6 billion in 2006-07, to R4,5 billion in 2009-10, at an average rate of 41,7%, and is expected to grow at an average of 21,9% over the medium term. The growth in both periods is due to increases in the National School Nutrition Programme conditional grant, the Mass Literacy Campaign and the Workbook Project.

Sixty-three per cent of the 2010-11 budget goes to social responsibility. That includes the following objectives: improving gender equality in schools; improving quality education access to rural schools; reducing teenage pregnancy; improving learning capacity through the National Schools Nutrition Programme; reducing health barriers to learning by rolling out health screening; and strengthening HIV and Aids programmes in schools.

While the importance of social responsibility goes without saying, it should, however, be asked whether social responsibility is the core business of basic education. In that regard, it can be argued that teaching and learning, as the core business of education, should have received the highest budget allocation. However, in the same vein, social responsibility enhances a favourable environment for teaching and learning to take place, as it effectively removes most of the learning barriers which are caused by objective conditions which tend to affect learners, while learners themselves are not capacitated to deal with them.

The Department of Basic Education has a detailed programme on its five strategic objectives and targets to make this department efficient. These are as follows: administration; curriculum policy support and monitoring; teacher and education human resource development and management; planning, quality assessment, monitoring and evaluation; and social responsibility.

This department, to a certain extent, did make progress in service delivery over the past financial year.

Hon Minister, the ANC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you.

Mr D GRANT (Western Cape): Madam Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Malema, hon Minister Nzimande … [Interjections.] Memela? Sorry, did I not say that? [Laughter.] My complete and humble apologies; it was completely unintended.

Hon members, officials present, ladies and gentlemen, we welcome the commitment by the national Minister of Basic Education, hon Minister Angie Motshekga, to enhancing the culture of learning and teaching in our schools for better education outcomes and the improvement of quality learning in our schools. A number of the initiatives the Minister outlined are being rolled out in the Western Cape. This includes the Quality Teaching and Learning Campaign, which was part of the Education Labour Relations Council summit with Basic Education held in Gauteng last Saturday.

Investment in quality public education is one of this administration’s top priorities and is arguably the best investment any government can make. That is why I am especially pleased that the Western Cape education department will receive an allocation of R11,8 billion in the current fiscal year and R38,2 billion over the following two years of the Medium- Term Expenditure Framework. This budget is fully aligned to our overarching goal of providing quality education to all the learners in the Western Cape, which is the cornerstone of our vision for an open opportunity society for all.

The provision of quality education is fundamental in ensuring that none among our young people should have their path in life determined by the circumstances of their birth, including both their material and demographic circumstances, but that their future is determined, rather, by their talents and their efforts. Given that quality education depends primarily on the quality of teaching offered, our educators are the most important asset we have. In order to improve learner outcomes, it is imperative that teachers are able to properly convey their subject to their learners. Therefore we will focus on improving teacher skills and increasing the levels of job satisfaction.

We have fundamentally overhauled teacher development by applying the principles of “fit for purpose” in practice. Instead of generic training workshops, each session will be designed and tailored to suit and target individual teacher needs by placing personnel from head office and the districts in teaching posts. We have created an additional 134 teaching posts on top of the total teacher allocation to alleviate overcrowding and provide support to struggling schools.

In order to ensure that our teachers are happy in their jobs, we have reduced the administrative and curriculum workload on teachers as well, as outlined by the Minister, and we are limiting other distractions that undermine learning activity to an absolute minimum, but quality teaching can only take place in a text-rich environment. That is why we will spend an extra R100 million on providing text to schools. This spending is in addition to the norms and standards allocation to schools, and we will target the foundation phase specifically.

The additional R100 million has been funded in part by embarking on a number of cost-saving initiatives. For example, we have saved R16 million by simply cutting out business-class flights, launches, gifts, parties and other unnecessary expenditure. [Applause.] Through simple cutbacks and the redirection of resources, we believe we can make text-rich classrooms possible.

Providing the necessary teaching materials is only half of the equation. We need to know where our learners’ strengths and weaknesses lie. Therefore, we will spend R30 million this year on testing in order to target individual learning needs and improve learner outcomes. While much of our focus is on learner outcomes at lower grades, we are also fully committed to improving the top end of the system in order to help more learners pass Grade 12. We are, for the first time, spending an amount of R10 million on learner support packs, winter schools, tutors and mentor principals.

Practical steps such as using experts in their respective fields to teach complex sections of the syllabus are precisely the kinds of hands-on interventions which will make a real difference in the classroom. However, we can invest as much as we like in improving learner outcomes through teacher development, textbooks and testing, but we cannot expect the learners and teachers to be happy if the classrooms they are in are overcrowded or in poor condition. Therefore I am pleased that we will be allocating, over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, R1,9 billion to improve the quality of our school infrastructure. This amount will pay for four schools currently under construction, six schools currently out on tender, 25 new schools, 20 replacement schools, 350 new classrooms that will expand access to our more successful schools and alleviate overcrowding, 100 new Grade R classrooms and the provision of 126 mobile classrooms to deal with immediate pressure points before the end of the second term in 2010. [Applause.]

We do also recognise that some of our schools are in desperate need of maintenance, be it leaking roofs or proper sanitation. We will therefore spend R330 million on planned maintenance in the next three years.

While our infrastructure and maintenance allocations will contribute significantly to improving learning outcomes through the creation of a safe and decent learning environment, we also need to ensure that our learners are not scared or hungry. In 2010-11 we will spend R22 million on a safe schools programme, which will contribute towards improved physical security measures such as metal detectors, fences, alarms and safety gates, as well as the implementation of behavioural and attitudinal programmes in our schools. In order to ensure we have no hungry children in our schools, our School nutrition programme will receive R174 million this year and will help feed 345 000 learners every school day, placing special emphasis on providing more nutritious meals to poor and vulnerable learners.

An essential part of our vision of an open opportunity society for all is allowing greater access to educational opportunities for children with special needs. Therefore we have allocated R688 million in the provision of special needs education, representing a 17% increase.

We also remain conscious of the tough current economic climate. To assist parents in financial need, we have increased the percentage of learners in no-fee schools from 38% to 40%. This is an increase of 23 schools, bringing the total number of no-fee schools in the Western Cape to 676.

It is evident from the above that we have aligned our 2010-11 budget with our strategic priorities of improving learner outcomes and providing quality education to the learners. There is no doubt that we have an enormous task ahead of us, but we commit ourselves to working tirelessly as a team to achieve the strict targets we set ourselves in our November 2009 strategic plan, which we started to implement from 13 January 2010 onwards. Thank you. [Applause.]

Mr T A MASHAMAITE: Mohlomphegi Modulasetulo, Tona ya rena ya Lefapha la Thuto ya Godimo le Thlahlo, le Mme Motshekga wa Lefapha la Thuto ya Motheo, ke a le dumediša mathapameng a lehono. [Good afternoon hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Higher Education and Training, and hon Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Motshekga.]

The ANC has all along, since its formation, been a champion of change. That is why today the ANC-led government is one of the pillars of the national democratic revolution, with the mandate to concretise and implement ANC policies. Implementation of these policies hinges on the equitable distribution of resources according to the priority areas of the ANC. Education is now the Apex Priority of our government because of the realisation that education is a useful instrument in the fight against poverty and inequality, and indispensable in the reversal of past social and economic imbalances.

In his foreword on the strategic plan of the department, the Minister of the Department of Higher Education and Training, hon Nzimande, said, and I quote:

Never before in the history of our democracy have we been better positioned to advance the vision of a truly comprehensive and differentiated postschool system, which is capable of contributing to the lives of individuals, to the economy and to broader society.

He went on to say:

The establishment of the Ministry of Higher Education and Training will result in far-reaching changes to improve the provision of postschool opportunities, especially for the youth, but also for adults.

The further education and training subsystem has grown and changed over the last 15 years. And further changes are anticipated over the medium term, most notably the transfer of responsibilities of the colleges from provinces to the national sphere of government.

As the Select Committee on Education, we are happy to welcome the decision of the department to administer conditional grants towards promoting scarce skills and producing the artisans, plumbers, engineers and electricians that the economy needs for its development.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, has not been adequately assisting poor students in universities in achieving their desired educational needs. That is because of the poor administrative capacity. We are saying, in order for the NSFAS to carry out its mandate adequately, the following must be attended to: First, its strengths and weaknesses need to be assessed; second, needs analyses of students who will require financial aid in the short, medium and long term need to be conducted, taking into account the government’s commitment; third, changes to the governance, management, operational capacity and systems of the NSFAS should meet the needs of the new policy framework; and fourth, the feasibility of student financial aid being linked to priority fields of study and levels of academic performance must also be investigated.

The sector education and training authorities, Setas, are facing many challenges in their efforts to implement their programmes. These include the following: first, the need to align themselves with emerging industrial strategies; second, poor research underpinning sectoral skills plans and, finally, the role of government departments in Setas.

In conclusion, working together, we can do more. As the Select Committee on Education, we support this Budget Vote.

Setšhaba seo se sa rutegago, ke setšhaba se se timetšego. Thuto ke kotse ya bophelo. Ke a leboga. [Legoswi.] [Education is the basic foundation of nation-building – it is the key to success. Thank you. [Applause.]]

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Deputy Chairperson, Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Minister of Basic Education and hon Minister of Higher Education and Training, the MEC for the Western Cape and distinguished and eminent members of the NCOP, on Tuesday next week we will be celebrating the 16th anniversary of our freedom and democracy. It is important that we reflect on this event and on the long and arduous journey that we have travelled in relation to our achievements and in recognition of the challenges that we still face. I thought it would be appropriate for us to reflect on that event because we must, in assessing where we are and what our challenges continue to be, reflect also, honestly, frankly and candidly, on the wonderful achievements and enormous milestones that we have achieved as a constitutional democracy.

Our Constitution, which we also celebrate on 27 April, speaks about the founding and pre-eminent values of human dignity, equality and freedom. In that context we have to recognise that the issues of equality and equity are central to the transformation agenda of the ruling party as well as the nation and government.

Prior to 1994, less than 50% of the learners who were eligible to go to school were in our schools. Today, 16 years down the line, we can celebrate the fact that there is universal attendance in our primary schools. Between 1994 and 1996, R25 million was set aside for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. Today, more than R1,2 billion is being set aside for tertiary education. In 2002 we had 220 000 learners in early childhood development. Today we can celebrate the fact that more than 620 000 of our children are in early childhood development in our schools, our public institutions. I am not talking about community centres.

These are remarkable achievements and they come at an enormous cost. To be able to accommodate and house children in our schools would mean that we have to build additional classrooms in a particular way for a particular environment to be created for early childhood development. It would also mean that we need many more trained and skilled practitioners. It would mean that we have to disburse much more money to that end.

Therefore the challenge will continue to be that as we try and seek to achieve as quickly as possible in an accelerated way the development of our learners in schools so that they can achieve and acquire quality education, we would be mindful of the fact that it comes at a huge economic cost.

We celebrate our achievements and the fact that, in 1994, less than 9% of our schools had ICT capacity for learning and teaching while today we can say that almost 40% of our schools have the facility for teaching and more than two thirds of our schools have ICT for administration.

Yet not enough is being done. We would like to look from the perspective of education, and certainly in consultation with our MECs, including the MEC for the Western Cape, at the desperate measures that we have to take in our rural areas, particularly in areas such as KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and the Free State. It is where the issues of class and race still play themselves out. It is where the objective realities remind us constantly of the fact that when we look at the Western Cape or Gauteng, we should not forget the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. We should constantly be reminded of the desperate needs of our people who are poor and who certainly do not have the access to opportunity that those in our more urban settings and environments have.

That is the constant reminder. We can say that we can celebrate our achievements but we must constantly be reminded that more than 20% of our schools are located in the rural areas. What should we do differently and better in order to ensure that we succeed as a nation?

This brings to mind what the Minister and an hon member had said about the importance of workbooks being delivered to our schools. It means that every member in this particular House, all MECs for education, district officials, provincial officials as well as officials from the national department have a responsibility and accountability. While we develop, distribute and disseminate thousands upon thousands of learner-teacher resource materials, we must ensure that they reach their destination, are used in the classroom and that educators have the capacity to utilise the resource material in a way that is beneficial to the learners.

It means that it is a time for monitoring and evaluation. It means that this oversight, this accountability and this efficiency in service delivery, are critical and central to the task of this administration. Without this, we would not be able to celebrate greater victories and achievements.

Today, we can say that we have made some firm and radical changes with regard to where we want to be. Take the Grade R learners, for example. I have indicated that there are more than 620 000 in our schools. Today, we can celebrate the fact that each learner in a Grade R class has a learner resource kit in a language of his or her choice, delivered whether you are in Lusikisiki, Bushbuckridge or in Rankelenyane in the North West.

That is cause for celebration. This means, as we develop, conceptualise, design and distribute workbooks for Grade 1 to Grade 9 learners, we too have the responsibility to ensure that the remote area of Lusikisiki is not ignored. We must ensure that they are educated and have the required skills and that development in the far, remote and distant areas of the Eastern Cape takes place. We must ensure they are not marginalised and on the periphery in our task of transformation. That, indeed, is the central task.

I am sure the hon Minister of Higher Education and Training might ask whether it is a communist or a comrade who is speaking. In terms of what we do, we have to recognise that perhaps the greatest constraint or barrier to education is poverty in terms of access, sufficient resources and in terms of being able to go to school with a full stomach.

Therefore we must not take lightly the huge gains that we have made in terms of our nutrition programme. A significant part of this budget is allocated for this particular purpose and today we can say that more than 8 million learners are the beneficiaries of the nutrition scheme. It was principally allocated to quintile 1, 2 and 3 primary schools. It has now been extended to quintile 1 high schools and in the next two financial years will cover all quintile 1, 2 and 3 high schools.

That would mean that close to 10 million of our learners would be fed in schools. That means it would simply contribute to their physical and academic development within schools. To look at nutrition in isolation without looking at food security and making learners in communities aware about the importance of food security would be a lost opportunity.

We can today celebrate the fact that we have more than 6 000 food gardens in our schools. What an enormous number of food gardens and indeed they are not only located in the urban areas! They are principally in the areas of the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West.

We can also celebrate the fact that we have been innovative in what we are doing. We have developed skills among urban and rural women to ensure that they are able to cook and prepare meals in a nutritious way. We have provided that opportunity for learners to augment meals, simply because they have looked at the possibilities of food gardens and food security. We have provided the opportunity for learners to develop the ability to be more entrepreneurial and thereby provide better opportunities for our learners.

In a rural area, the most pervasive presence of the government or the state is in a school, whether it is a school function, a sporting activity or a wedding. The school is central to the activities or the organisation of that particular community. Therefore we have no choice but to say that education must be the apex.

We, as hon members, also have a responsibility, as we go back to our constituencies and our communities, to do whatever is necessary to ensure that we promote awareness of the importance of education. We must play our role in society in providing support, particularly to those mothers and fathers who did not have the opportunity to receive a good education. We must ensure that we do not only look at the needs of our generation of learners, but look at how to empower those who have been deprived of that particular opportunity.

I do believe that we have something enormous to celebrate. In 50 days from tomorrow, we will celebrate the 2010 Fifa World Cup. We are certainly going to look at the legacy of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. We have these beautiful stadiums, whether in Limpopo, Johannesburg or Cape Town. What legacy did we leave? As an education department, we take pride in the fact that more than 120 000 boy and girl learners are participating in the mini World Cup. Almost 7 000 schools are participating in that. The reality of interschool and intraschool activity as an organised sporting activity for boys and girls is indeed significant.

As the department of education, we can take pride in the fact this is a phenomenal achievement in terms of bringing physical activity back to our schools. Physical activity is no longer something that has been excluded from the mainstream of our school activity but is part and parcel of it. To that extent, we would want our hon members and communities to support the initiatives of schools because there are many schools that are participating. The finals will take place very soon. More than 35 000 tickets will be provided to those learners to attend the World Cup.

There is another pillar to that, besides participation, which is the education pillar. Learners are encouraged to take part in art, drama and dance. It is quite phenomenal when one looks at the enormous possibilities that these events have opened. The Confederations Cup has illustrated quite clearly how, when given the opportunity, we are able to exhibit the best within our learners. I do believe that the legacy of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, in terms of the direct activity and participation of our learners, will show that we are a winning nation and, as the Freedom Charter says, that the doors of learning and culture have been opened and that we will be able to unleash the potential of our youth.

I stand here, recognising the enormous challenges that we have, particularly in the rural areas. I also stand here affirming the wonderful gift that this democracy has brought to us. Our commitment to equality and equity means better access to better resources in schools, better infrastructure, better capacity of our governing bodies and better commitment to teaching. It also means that we have better tools to utilise, in terms of retaining the skills that we have in our rural areas, given the realities of interprovince and intraprovince migration.

This would mean that MECs for education should be mindful of the fact that legislation allows for rewards and incentives for teaching in rural areas and in scarce-skills areas. Career paths are a reality. You don’t have to leave your school to earn what a circuit inspector earns. You could do so while being an educator. It also means, as the Minister of Basic Education has indicated consistently, that we cannot ignore the realities of the lack of transport in the rural areas. We cannot ignore the realities that, unless we provide adequate and decent housing for our educators in our rural areas, we will not attract those competent skills to those areas for the children there who so desperately require our support.

I want to thank the hon members of the Select Committee on Education for their support. It has been wonderful interacting with you. I want to thank the MECs for their combined and collaborative effort in ensuring that education is an Apex Priority in this administration and for ensuring that we are a winning nation. We can only do better from today onwards. Thank you. [Applause.]

UMntwana M M M ZULU: Phini likaSihlalo wakuLendlu, abahlonishwa oNgqongqoshe, umnakwethu uNzimande nodadewethu ophethe uMnyango Wezemfundo, sithi lokhu okuthiwa. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[Prince M M M ZULU: Deputy Chairperson of this House, hon Ministers, my brother Nzimande and our sister heading the Department of Basic Education, we say that the …]

…quality of education is one of the cornerstones of nation-building.

Mphephethwa kanye nodadewethu yiMinyango ebalulekile kulesi sabelo-mali esiphikisana ngaso namhlanje, wenza ukuthi zonke izingane zaseNingizimu Afrika zithole ukufunda okuhle okusezingeni eliphezulu. Njengezwe laseNingizimu Afrika kuyofuneka ngokubambisana sisonke njengabazali sikwazi ukuthi sizimisele sivakashele izikole, sibheke ukuthi imisebenzi eziyinikwa esikoleni ukuze ziyenze emakhaya ziyenza kahle yini ukuze uMnyango Wezemfundo ukwazi ukusizana nathi njengabazali.

Kodwa ke Mphephethwa, ngijabulile uma uthinta amakhono, ngoba amakhono yiwona azoqeda ukungazi kithi. Ngoba, uma ngingakutshela ukuthi umuntu ophothule iziqu zebanga eliphakathi nendawo enyuvesi, kodwa akakwazanga ukuthi aphume ahambe ayozisebenza-ngoba ngeke abantu bonke basizwe uhulumeni. Ngemfundo uqobo kufuneka ngikwazi ukuthi ngizisungulele i-spaza oSuthu kwaNongoma ngidayisele abantu amawolintshi.

Bese kuthi mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe okunye, ngeze sananaza njengeqembu ukukweseka ezinhlelweni zezabelo-mali zenu nobabili eMinyangweni yenu. Kunezinto okufanele sizibheke emanyuvesi ethu, lapho abafowethu abafika bezokwenza unyaka wokuqala bese bephuma ngoba izinkece zingekho. Nalabo abenza unyaka wesibili bangabe besakwazi ukuqeda ukwenza amakhono abo ngoba nakhu izinkece zingekho. Yizo zonke izinto okufanele zibhekwe mhlonishwa.

Bese mhlonishwa, kuphinde kubhekwe lokhu oke wakhuluma ngakho ukuthi laphaya emanyuvesi kufuneka kungene labo abanamaphuzu angamashumi amabili nesishiyagalombili. Siyazi ukuthi sifunda kanzima, njengoba ngiSosuthu nje, uma ngiya esikoleni eFalaza, ngiqala ngipheke bese ngiyadla ngaphambi kokuba ngize esikoleni, ngakho ke kulukhuni ukuthi ngifunde kakhulu izincwadi, ngoba nezinsiza phela azikho kahle emakhaya. Ngale kokunanaza, egameni leqembu ngiyaweseka amavoti esabelo-mali seMinyango yomibili ebalulekile kakhulu ezweni lakithi okungunombolo-14 no-16. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[Your department, Mphephethwa, together with that of our sister, are the important departments which we are debating in this Budget Vote today; they enable all the children of South Africa to get learning which is of a high standard. It will be required of us as a country to all co-operate as parents and to be prepared to visit the schools to check if the homework given to them is properly done so as to enable the department of Education to help us as parents.

But Mphephethwa, I was happy when you touched on the issue of skills, because skills will do away with our ignorance. A person who has completed a junior degree at university, but could not leave to be self-employed because not all people can be helped by the government, with education itself needs to be able to establish his or her own spaza shop at Usuthu in KwaNongoma and sell oranges to the people.

One more thing then, hon Ministers, is that we will not hesitate as a party to support both of you in respect of the programmes of the budget within the two departments. There are things that we must look at in our universities, where our brothers complete their first year then leave because there is no money. And those who are in their second year fail to complete their studies because there is no money. These are all the things that must be looked into, hon Minister.

Then again, Minister, we look at what you once talked about and that is that those with 28 points should be admitted to the universities. We know that as a black nation we learn under difficulty; if I attend school at Falaza, I first have to cook then eat before leaving for school, which makes it difficult for me to study hard, because even the resources are not enough in the rural areas. Without further ado, on behalf of the party, I support the Budget Votes 14 and 16 of the two important departments in our country. Thank you.]]

Mr S H PLAATJIE: Chairperson, hon Ministers, education is a tool we cannot live without. It is pivotal to our survival, democracy and growth, yet we fail to keep the balance that is needed. It is generally noted that a large number of dysfunctional schools are those schools that were registered in the historically disadvantaged black education system, but what is the amicable solution to address these anomalies? What are we doing to respond quickly to the persistent poor performance by these schools?

Cope has noted with concern the R8,4 million budgeted towards the Integrated Quality Management System, IQMS, as reflected in the 2008-09 financial year. This is a worrisome expenditure.

Learners who actively acquire a large vocabulary and know their tables on their fingertips have little difficulty in deductive reasoning and deducing connections. Critical thinking and problem solving require a mastery of vocabulary, rules and patterns. Only when mathematics and science are framed as issues of adequate literacy will we begin to achieve a turnaround in mathematics and science education.

Cope welcomes the introduction of e-Education in all schools, because this initiative acknowledges that the use of computers as a teaching tool is very important. Every classroom should have a computer linked to the Internet so that educators can project static, interactive and video materials onto a screen. This e-Education project should also be fast- tracked in other rural provinces as well. What happened to the programme of allowing every educator to buy a laptop on easy terms? More importantly, how will the department ensure that it fast-tracks this initiative of making sure that all the provinces and schools in this country are connected to the Internet?

We, in South Africa, are very fortunate to have as many institutions of higher learning as we have. A persistent problem, however, lies with first- year students not being able to cope with the demands of tertiary education. This leads to higher failure rates and high drop-out rates. Both are a waste of scarce resources.

The Student Pathways Study by the Human Sciences Research Council in 2008 found that on average only 15% of students finish their degrees in the allocated time. Clearly, the Department of Higher Education and Training needs to do a great deal more. Learners from Grade 10 should also have Saturday classes, where they are steadily exposed to the university style of teaching so that they are not bewildered and lost when they begin their tertiary education.

At university, extra tutorials, including Saturday sessions, should also exist for the benefit of students who are struggling to adapt. Three years ago, the University of South Africa, Unisa, announced that it would spend nearly R50 million to establish a comprehensive network of tutors and academic support personnel across the country. One wonders what happened to this promise.

We are a country with many social demands but with declining resources. We need to ensure that there is value for money and that every student who is enrolled will successfully complete his or her course at university. Thank you.

Ms P CHUEU (Gauteng): Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, hon Deputy Ministers, hon members and the public, the Gauteng department of education’s programme fully supports national and provincial targets for the transformation and provision of quality education in the province. The 2010 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, of the department is based on and planned in the context of limited resources and slow economic growth as a result of the impact of the global economic meltdown. The planing and roll-out of services is based on the current mandate of government and its priorities.

The department has focused on the provincial priorities and goals of ensuring, among others, the promotion of quality education and skills development. The central and underlying priority focus for the department over the 2010 MTEF period is improving the quality of learning and teaching in all schools. The department conducted a study to measure the quality of learning and the level of learner attainment in Grade 3 and Grade 6. The results have shown that our learners are not at the optimal level with regard to literacy and numeracy. They are performing well below the required levels for their respective grades. These results have been corroborated by other national and international studies that have also indicated that learners are performing poorly in comparison to other regional countries and provinces, despite higher or similar expenditure in education in Gauteng.

An identification of some of the factors affecting performance included incomplete curriculum coverage in classrooms, inadequate assessment and promotions in many schools, class size, teacher competency, quality of learner and teacher support material, LTSM, improper allocation of time to learning outcomes, poor time management by teachers and the quality of school infrastructure.

In order to address the challenge of the quality of learning and teaching, priorities and strategies have been adopted. The department plans to address these challenges in the next five years and in the 2010-11 MTEF period through the provincial goals that aim to ensure that Gauteng has effective schools and learning institutions, a Gauteng department of education head office and districts that provide relevant, co-ordinated and effective support enabling young people to make the transition from school to further education, work that provides further training opportunities and strengthened partnerships with all stakeholders. This will result in education becoming a societal priority.

In order to achieve these goals and priorities, the department has been allocated a budget of R22,4 billion. This is an increase of over 17% from the R18,9 billion allocated in 2009-10. It illustrates that the department has reprioritised its budget towards the improvement of schools and ensuring that quality learning is provided at all levels, especially by the head office and district office. The increases are mostly as a result of prioritising the sector’s concern for improving the quality of learning in institutions, maintaining and providing learning space and fighting the scourge of poverty through the no-fee schools policy, nutrition, scholar transport and skills development and training.

The budget also accommodates expansion in Grade R, Abet and FET. The significant increase in Programme 8: Auxiliary and Associated Service is as a result of funding allocated to the Gauteng City Region Academy. The department has also received additional funding for subsidies and providing support and services in affected programmes for the incorporation of institutions in Merafong. However, the increase in the budget was mainly due to the implementation of the occupation-specific dispensation, OSD, resolutions for educators, the roll-out of no-fee schools status to all quintile 3 schools and infrastructure development and maintenance.

In order to improve the quality of education the department has introduced the maths and science technology strategy, the literacy strategy and the school safety and security strategy. These will focus on improving the education levels in the following bands, with clear targets. As the intervention strategy in the foundation phase, the department has made improving literacy and numeracy from Grade R to Grade 3 by introducing English as the first additional language a priority. The province endeavours to improve literacy and numeracy to at least 60% each.

In the senior primary phase, the department has developed and approved a language and literacy strategy and the maths and science technology strategy to assist educators in bridging the gap that currently exists. A reading and writing guideline is being developed to assist the school management team, SMT, with the delivery of the curriculum. The province will increase learner performance in the intermediate and senior phase in both the language of teaching and learning and mathematics to 60%.

In the transition from primary to secondary schools, the aim of the programme is to improve learner language competency and mathematics skills in the senior phase, especially in Grade 8 and 9. The improvement in these subjects will improve the survival rate at senior secondary school and university. To achieve this aim the province will have to increase performance to an average of 60% in language of teaching and learning and mathematics.

In the senior secondary intervention programme, the department will review the quality improvement intervention programmes focusing on Grade 12 and expand the programmes to incorporate Grade 10 and Grade 11 learners at risk. The focus of the intervention will be to improve performance in mathematics, science, accounting and language in the further education and training, FET, phase. Improvement in these subjects is being addressed through learner-focused intervention programmes. The interventions should improve learner performance in mathematics to at least 60% and 50% for physical science. The overall performance of Grade 8 learners will increase from the 2009 pass rate of 71% to at least 80%. The focus is on aligning the whole system to support these interventions and to ensure that we use our scarce resources in a targeted school-based approach that supports classroom practice.

The increase in the 2010-11 budget for the department was primarily a result of compensation for the transfer of employees to non-profit institutions and payments for their capital assets.

In respect of compensation of employees, the budget has increased to make provision for the implementation of the OSD resolutions and the cost-of- living increases. As the department fully implemented the OSD resolutions, it created pressures in the personnel component of the budget. It was also as a result of the recruitment of additional educators to meet the learner- educator ratio policy requirements of 1:40 and 1:34 for public primary and secondary schools respectively.

The budget shows an average increase of 14% over the MTEF period and a 16% increase for 2010 and 2011. The budget has increased from R13,8 billion in 2009-10 to R16,1 billion in 2010-11.

In respect of goods and services, the increase of over 16% is a result of additional allocations made to section 20 schools due to the no-fee schools policy and the quality interventions in support of national and provincial priorities. The budget has increased from R2,7 billion in 2009-10 to R3,1 billion in 2010-11.

Regarding transfers, the increase of R1,6 billion … [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Ms B V MNCUBE: Chairperson, as the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa stipulates:

Everyone has the right —

    a) to a basic education, including adult basic education; and

    b) to further education, which the state, through reasonable
       measures, must make progressively available and accessible.

This is premised on the Freedom Charter adopted at the real Congress of the People in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, and I quote:

The doors of learning and culture shall be opened! … Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children. Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit …

This is evident when you look at the Minister of Finance’s Budget, in which the education budget takes the biggest slice.

The ANC, at its 52nd national conference of 2007, was influenced by these historic commitments when it resolved to prioritise education in its endeavour to enhance its vision of people’s education for people’s power. This then influenced the ANC and the ANC-led government to specifically focus on basic education, further education and training, FET, and higher education, so that no stone is left unturned. The ANC 2009 election manifesto, the January 8 Statement and the state of the nation address took these commitments further by detailing specific policy shifts and specific programmes to be addressed in education in order to take forward the people’s aspirations as already mentioned above.

The President of South Africa, for example, has already met the school managers with the aim of kick-starting the management capacity. The review of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, will ensure that more learners from the poorest of the poor get access to FET and institutions of higher education. Mostly it will help the 2,4 million children or youth who are not at school or unemployed. To ensure quality learning, the communities have been mobilised to take charge of the education of their children so that they will be lifted out of poverty.

With the ten-point plan there are clear and defined roles and responsibilities for each stakeholder. On the expansion of no-fee schools, this is in line with the opening of the doors of learning to all, particularly to the poor and to Africans. On the increasing of access to FET and higher education, this will ensure that the majority of African children get skills that will build the economy and the critical and scarce skills that our country needs. On the re-opening of the colleges, this is in line with the realisation that the ANC-led government is serious about turning around the education of African children and addressing the legacy of apartheid by ensuring that learners get quality education and a lot more.

Allow me to indicate issues that were raised in Limpopo, specifically on higher education, when we were taking Parliament to the people. The people want to see the role of the private sector, especially mining houses, in supporting local children in furthering their studies. Second, they want to see the upgrading of C N Phatudi FET College in order to absorb children in the Sekhukhune area. Third, they need assistance with registration fees for deserving poor children at institutions of higher education, including FET colleges. At the beginning of the year we always see students protesting because they want to get access or they want to be registered. Lastly, they also want assistance with the children who have completed their studies but are listed at credit bureaus due to their study debt. Consequently, they are unable to get employment or open any accounts.

To the hon Plaatjie, the ten-point plan of the department of Education is aimed at turning around the so-called dysfunctional schools. I’ll invite you for a workshop and take you through what it entails. [Laughter.] Hon Ministers, the ANC supports Budget Votes 14 and 16. I thank you. The MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Chair, I intend not taking up the whole 10 minutes because I think we are in agreement on quite a number of things that have been said.

I would like to thank the provinces again for sharing with us their plans and information on how they are responding to the call to make education a priority programme. We are very happy and excited that provincial plans and directions are indeed in line with what we want to see happening.

We will be consulting with MECs and hope to announce that the Deputy Minister and I will be visiting provinces between May and June. We wish to visit schools in May and provinces in June. The idea, again as part of our oversight responsibility, is to really work out with our provincial counterparts and engage further with provinces on the implementation of the national priorities, and to discuss with them the implementation of flagship programmes.

I think a colleague from the Eastern Cape raised the issue of infrastructure which, especially in our rural provinces, still remains a very sad sight and a reminder of what we have inherited from our past. We are working on an accelerated infrastructure programme and have been engaging much deeper with provinces before we even begin to implement. We have proposals coming in around procurement of learner and teacher support material, LTSM, which is meant to help us achieve the goal of having a textbook for every child. Again, we want to engage each province to see how we can work together to ensure that we can accelerate these matters.

The idea of those visits is really not to inspect provinces. It is to check where, as the national department, we can support and co-operate with them. So we will be paying those visits. We will again visit the provinces in June and, because it will be school holidays then, we will visit district offices and provincial offices to check on how those structures are aligned to the priorities. This is to make sure that their structures speak to the strategy.

Again, to colleagues from different provinces, I think we will notify you of areas of focus. The whole idea is to see how we can support each other and make sure that, indeed, no matter what it takes, we turn the system around. We are relying on provinces to make sure that we turn the system around. As South Africans we want to pride ourselves and be able to say, “We did it”, as we always do.

I think you realise that, at least as South Africans, we have agreed that we will play politics elsewhere, Bab’uPlaatjie, not in education. So let’s play the games elsewhere, not here where we are addressing the problem of the education of the poor. That’s what we are saying. You are asking us what we are doing. We are saying what we are doing because that’s what we said we are doing. We are saying there are problems with infrastructure. You say, what are you doing about infrastructure? You are asking about things that we say we are doing, so I can’t reply because you ask us what we are doing about the things we tell you we are beginning to address.

For now, we are saying this: For the next five years, let’s have a moratorium on politics around education and focus on turning the system around. It is in our interests; it is in the interests of our children; it is in the interests of the nation. It is an apex programme of this government and I think it should be an apex programme around which we should at least try to find solutions. We can go and look for votes with other portfolios, but not with education. So, let’s agree. Hon Plaatjie, come to the party, baba, don’t overplay the Cope politics. Come home and play the correct politics.

There was also the issue raised by the hon De Villiers around the cutting of the exams budget. The budget was meant for both Higher Education and Basic Education. So, with the split, the money also had to be split. There is no reduction as such; we had to split the money with Higher Education. That’s what happened. There has not been much of a cut.

There were also issues about IT. We are quite agreed, Bab’uPlaatjie. I think we are not really making the progress we should be making. We are working very hard with the Department of Communications around connectivity. Health, Basic Education and Higher Education have been prioritised regarding connectivity. I think we are all in agreement that we have to make sure that we are connected. We can give you statistics of how we are progressing. They are not that exciting, but I think we are doing something around it and we are conscious of the need to make sure that our kids are computer literate.

Chair, I want to thank you very much for the debate. I don’t want to take up more time. I think it was a useful debate. We took notes of the points that members raised. We found it fruitful and productive and will act on some of the recommendations, except, hon Plaatjie, ezinye zizokwenzeka [some things will happen on their own]. [Laughter.]

The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Chairperson, let me also join Minister Motshekga in expressing our appreciation for your support of Budget Votes 14 and 16 and a relatively high degree of consensus. I think that this provides us with a very strong foundation to tackle these issues together. As we say, working together, we can do more.

But let me perhaps just make a few comments. Hon Makgate, I think you are absolutely correct because, in what you are saying, you are reminding us that while we have two departments, we have one education system, not two. I think this is a very important matter that we must always bear in mind to see how these two strengths can strengthen each other. We need strong foundation education so that our children will pass matric and go on to higher education. But we can’t have that strong foundation system if the higher education sector itself doesn’t train those foundation phase teachers and also ensure that we protect the African languages that we need for foundation teaching. It is for that reason that I said in the National Assembly that I intend to establish a ministerial advisory panel on the teaching, research and growing of African languages in universities.

We are not going to turn all this around by lamenting all the time. We need very decisive interventions in terms of what has to be done. On the issue of skills and the need to identify skills and build a database as part of our strategic plan, hon members may have realised that one of the key priorities is to build a skills database. We just don’t have a reliable skills database in this country. This is something that we are treating as a priority for the department, so that we can know exactly where we have shortages and how big they are. Even now, we cannot say with certainty what the exact nature of these skills shortages is and what the demand is. We agree with that point quite strongly, and with the issue of career guidance.

It is also very important to say to this august House that we are starting a career guidance programme with the SA Qualifications Authority, SAQA. Hopefully we will work with the SABC too, so that we can make sure that we inform our school kids, college kids and other students about what is available, even about the National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa, NSFAS, and which further education and training, FET, colleges, are working.

Makhelwane ngiseza kuwena sizoluxoxa kahle lolu daba. Ungezwa sengilumemeza esigangeni nje ngingakezi kuwena, nakhu besingakahlangani kulezi zinsukwana. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[Neighbour, I’m still coming to you to discuss this matter thoroughly. You should not hear me talking about it in public without having consulted you, since we have not met these days.]

I know the DA. They always want to throw stones, and they want to use the sector education and training authorities, Setas, as whipping boys. I don’t mind if you undertake to give us an honest and frank critique of the Setas, but don’t paint them all with one brush. If you do that, and without giving us alternatives, in essence you appear to be uninterested in skills development for the majority of the people of this country. We are open, as a government. Come and engage us. Honestly, where there are weaknesses, we will listen. We are not scared; we are not insecure. We will engage with you. Therefore it is very important.

I think it is important that I add to what Mama Motshekga, my neighbour, was saying to Baba uPlaatjie. We are willing to listen to everyone, including Cope, but we have difficulties in listening to Cope when they have never had a policy conference. [Laughter.] [Applause.] They have never had an elective congress. Our difficulty, therefore, is listening when we don’t know where they are coming from. But we will try and listen, seriously, and then, six months down the line, there is something completely new. So, go to your elective congress, go to your policy conference and then let us engage substantively.

Hhayi nilokhu nithatha izinto ezincane enasuka nazo kuKhongolose, bese niyocosha ezinye kwimihlangano ebeninayo ne-DA, bese nizothi imithetho elandelwayo (policies). [Uhleko.] [Don’t keep on taking the few things which you left with from the African National Congress, and then pick some in your meetings with the DA, and say that they are policies that are followed. [Laughter.]]

It is very important.

Mageba ngikuzwile baba, siyabonga ukuthi uyaziseka lezi zabiwo-mali zombili zoMnyango Wezemfundo. [Mageba, I heard you, sir; we thank you for supporting both budgets of the department of Education.]

Let me end by addressing these issues. Hon Mncube, thank you very much. In fact, this is an example of a disciplined Member of Parliament, who goes out to listen to the people’s Parliament and comes back and raises these things as they are. We appreciate that. These issues you are raising are very important. Incidentally, I was talking informally today with Minister Shabangu, saying that we really do need an urgent meeting to discuss the issue of FET colleges in mining areas. So, it is something that we are taking up. The second thing is that the mining charter is up for review. The department and I are going to be taking an active interest in whether education features in that review of the mining charter, together with the role of the mining industry. This will include this partnership that we need to forge between the Setas, the private sector, FET colleges and universities of technology. So, this review is an opportunity that we need to be engaging with as part of addressing this issue, because you are right: We can’t continue to allow mining companies to arrive, dig up the earth and then leave ghost towns after that. It is something we need to intervene in.

As a department, we are also talking about the possibility of convening round table meetings with businesses on skills development to determine what more we need to do. That will also address the issue of upgrading the FET colleges, as well as government’s own programme.

We hope that the matter of financial assistance with registration fees will now go away, because we have given a guideline that says: All those who qualify for the NSFAS at universities — and maybe we need to look closely at FET colleges — should have their registration fees taken care of by virtue of the fact that they are NSFAS beneficiaries. You can’t say because I am poor you are going to give me R20 000 in order to study, but you want R4 000 up front. As you are aware, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme has been reviewed. The report is up for comment at the moment, and we are going to be responding to it with the aim of submitting recommendations to Cabinet, which will cover quite a lot of these issues. For instance, one recommendation being made in that review committee – and saying this does not mean I agree with it or not – is that all students at FET colleges should not pay fees. It’s a recommendation, and this is just by way of illustrating that we are dealing with such issues.

Now, on the issue of blacklisted students, this is a task that we have given to that review committee to look at. Being listed at a credit bureau is a very serious matter. We are aware of that, although you are not a genuine black South African if your name has never been listed by the credit bureau, frankly! And on this score we talk from experience. We want to look at the entire NSFAS loan book and at ways of dealing with questions of debt and blacklisted students. These things will come when we respond and make recommendations to government as we try to make sure that we remove as many obstacles as possible, especially for black students, in their access to higher education. Thank you very much. Siyabonga. [We thank you.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms N W Magadla): Thank you, hon Minister. Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Deputy Chairperson, Ministers of both Basic and Higher Education and Training, Deputy Minister, Chief Whip, members from various provinces, and members, I thank you for attending today’s Budget Vote. This concludes the debate and the business for today.

Debate concluded.

The Council adjourned at 16:22. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS


                        MONDAY, 19 APRIL 2010

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Speaker and the Chairperson (a) Report of the Auditor-General on an investigation into the procurement of the enterprise content management system at the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office in South Africa [RP 40-2010].

2. The Minister of Arts and Culture

 a) Medium Term Strategic Framework of the Department of Arts and
    Culture for 2010 – 2014.
                       TUESDAY, 20 APRIL 2010

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs

(a)     Report and Financial Statements of the Botshelo Water for 2008-
    09, including the Report of the Auditor-General  on  the  Financial
    Statements and Performance Information for 2008-09.

                      WEDNESDAY, 21 APRIL 2010

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

The Speaker and the Chairperson

1. Introduction of Bills

(1) The Minister of Trade and Industry

      a) Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill [B 8 – 2010]
         (National Assembly – proposed sec 75) [Explanatory summary of
         Bill and prior notice of its introduction published in
         Government Gazette No 33055 of 29 March 2010.]


         Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Trade
         and Industry of the National Assembly, as well as referral to
         the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms
         of Joint Rule 160.


         In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
         of the Bill may be submitted to the JTM within three
         parliamentary working days.


2) The Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform


      a) Black Authorities Act Repeal Bill [B 9 – 2010] (National
         Assembly – proposed sec 76) [Explanatory summary of Bill and
         prior notice of its introduction published in Government
         Gazette No 33102 of 16 April 2010.]


         Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Rural
         Development and Land Reform of the National Assembly, as well
         as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for
         classification in terms of Joint Rule 160.


         In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification
         of the Bill may be submitted to the JTM within three
         parliamentary working days.

TABLINGS National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Finance

a) Government Notice No 231 published in Government Gazette No 33051
   dated 26 March 2010: Administration and operations: Establishment of
   the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), in terms of
   section 7A(4) of the Public Service Act (Proclamation No 103 of
   1994).

COMMITTEE REPORTS

National Council of Provinces

1. Report of the Select Committee on Social Services on Budget Vote 18 and Strategic plan 2010– 2012 of the Department of Social Development, 21 April 2010:

   The Select Committee on Social Services, having considered Budget Vote 18: Social Development, reports that it has concluded its deliberations thereon.

2. Report of the Select Committee on Public Services on Budget Vote 36 and Strategic plan 2010– 2013 of the Department of Transport dated 14 April 2010:

   The Select Committee on Public Services, having considered Budget Vote 36: Department of Transport, reports that it has concluded its deliberations thereon.

   The Committee recommends that Budget Vote 36 be passed.