Date: 20/05/2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Asmal: Media briefing on Education Dept Budget Vote 2003/2004


BUDGET DAY MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROF KADER ASMAL, Cape Town, 20 May 2003

Introduction

The major focus of all the programmes of government is rolling back the frontiers of poverty, and education is one of the key state instruments to deliver on this promise. Over the past year, this country has made significant advances in rolling back the consequences of poverty: hunger, illiteracy and social exclusion. And education has played a vital part in that. Our focus in the coming year is to consolidate these gains, and to build upon them a system of education in which there is universal access to a morally and technically sound education.

Two of the major redress initiatives of the past year have been in regard to infrastructure development, and the supply of teachers. The latter is very significant because personnel costs are the largest part of our budgets, and a shift of these resources adds to our already pro-poor Norms and Standards for School Funding, which distributes the non-personnel costs.

Infrastructure development and school buildings

Following the President's State of the Nation Address in February 2002, I directed that any situation where children are learning under trees, in the open air, or in unsafe structures, should be prioritised for development. The MECs for Education agreed with me that these situations should be eliminated within the shortest possible time, and I requested them to submit to me business plans for school infrastructure delivery over the next three years.

These business plans were all received, and include clear time frames to eliminate each and every of the instances where lessons are conducted under trees or in the open air because of a shortage of classrooms. An analysis of the plans suggests that although Provinces will soon be able to eliminate situations where learners are physically outside, they would not be able to eliminate all other situations of overcrowding in the same time.

Having said that, I am however pleased to record substantial improvements in infrastructure development. There has been a large increase in education capital budgets from the financial years 1998/99 to 2004/5. From an allocation of less than half a billion rand in 1998/9, the allocation has risen to R2.5 billion in 2003/4, and will exceed R3 billion next year.

A total of 3 750 classrooms were built in the 2002/03 financial year; 4 330 classrooms will be built this year and a further 4 748 next year. At the end of the current MTEF period the classroom backlog is estimated to drop from a recorded shortage of 65380 in 1996 to 30465.

In a joint effort, the Departments of Water Affairs and Forestry and Education initiated a process to develop a National School Sanitation Strategy. 6 562 toilets were built at schools during last year, 6 909 more will be built this year, and 7 473 toilets will be built in 2004. These may seem like just numbers, but they make a huge difference to the lives of people who use them.

Similarly, 1034 schools were electrified during 2002/03, at a cost of R59 million. R101 million is available this year from the National Electrification Fund, which has been allocated to provinces based on their backlogs.

During the past year, the Department of Education embarked on the Thuba Makote Programme, a project funded from the Poverty Relief, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Summit Projects Fund, which is targeted at poor communities. Through this programme 9 multi-functional schools are being constructed at present, with a further 11 still being consulted on with local communities. A new approach is developed through this programme, which aims to build a good school, which also makes a substantial contribution to community development.

Besides state resources, we have also made good use of various donor funds. The Department has utilised the Japanese Grant for School Construction, which involves the building of school infrastructure to the value of R200 million. This has been divided amongst four provinces most in need - the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

The European Union has funded the Eastern Cape School Building programme, with assistance of R65 million. This was used to replace tornado-damaged mud-structure school facilities in the Eastern Cape. A further amount of R400 million was allocated by the European Union for the improvement of school infrastructure, which has been allocated to KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo.

USAID assistance worth R35 million was used for the reconstruction of flood-damaged schools in Limpopo. 30 flood-damaged schools were renovated and simultaneously upgraded, as the programme provided and repaired classrooms, administrative areas and teacher facilities. Schools were provided with furniture as well as sanitation facilities. Netherlands support for flood-damaged schools in Limpopo amounted to R15 million, which was used to repair and reconstruct 11 schools.

A pro-poor teacher supply model

In 2003 a new system of teacher supply was introduced that takes account of the relative poverty of a school. This is aimed at reducing the class size in poorer schools, where the needs are greatest. Poverty is a barrier to learning, and the provision of more teachers for these learners is aimed at compensating for this barrier. The post provisioning policy now makes provision for a top slicing of up to 5% of the total pool of posts, and the allocation of these posts to poorer schools. For 2003 the provincial departments have effected top-slices of between 2% and 5%, resulting in a total shift of approximately 3000 posts from rich to poor schools, with a consequent poverty targeted redistribution of over R330 million.

Appointment of Higher Education Restructuring Reference Group

Another significant matter, which may not get the attention it deserves in the debate, relates to our Higher Education transformation programme.

I am pleased to announce the establishment of a Higher Education Restructuring Reference Group, which will assist me to ensure that the restructuring process in Higher Education is consistent with the reconstruction and transformation framework developed by the Department.

The Reference Group will monitor and assess the merger implementation plans in relation to the principles of transformation, ensure that the merger process enables the participation of institutional constituencies, and play a facilitative or mediating role, where necessary.

The following eminent persons have been appointed to the Reference Group:

* Thandiwe January-Maclean
* Lincoln Mali
* Febe Potgieter
* Job Mokgoro
* Cheryl Carolus
* Jaraim Reddy
* Simangele Magwaza
* Ihron Rensburg
* Hugh Africa
* Anthony Melck
* Steff Coetzee
* Bongani Khumalo
* Patrick FitzGerald
* Daan Cloete
* Ben Khoapa
* Khotso Mokhele

The Education Laws Amendment Bill 2003 ("Teacher perks")

Two other matters have recently received much attention in the media, some of it very personal and offensive, and which have generated more heat than light. The one is the Education Laws Amendment Bill, and the last, but by no means least, is religion and education.

It must firstly be emphasized that this is a draft Bill, published for comment, and that we will take account of all serious and constructive comments.

Secondly, the Bill only confirms a public service wide principle, that has existed pre-and post 1994, which is that public servants should not receive favours, in cash or in kind, from the public. Those who are opposing this legislation should explain why it is all right for teachers to receive additional payments for doing their regular state paid jobs, but not other public servants.

Thirdly, the Bill is necessary to prevent the abuse and corruption, which is happening at present. There are Principals and teachers who are getting excessive perks, including overseas trips and free cars, paid for from school fees. The Mpumalanga Department of Education recently lost the case in Ermelo where a school principal had been getting his house, his car and petrol, and even food for his family, paid for from the school fees. The case was dismissed because the SGB said he had their permission to do so - in other words they had the legal right to sanction the abuse of public funds.

However, those who have read the legislation (which is significantly fewer than those who have commented on it) will see that the legislation does not preclude the possibility of additional payments to teachers. It simply provides that where these are required, they should be in return for genuine additional work, beyond the expected hours. There should be no additional reward for work, which the department has already paid for. We are committed to equal pay for equal work, and insist there should be no "double-dipping".

Additional pay can also never be justified by some supposed assessment of merit, since governing bodies have no jurisdiction in this area, and have no objective or reliable means to determine the merit of teachers. By contrast, the State has recently signed an agreement with teachers to implement a performance management system, and teachers who show exceptional merit will be rewarded under this system. There is no need for governing bodies to influence and skew the labour market in education.

The Department is also in discussion with teachers about possible incentives relating to teaching posts, but the direction of this would be to offer incentives for teaching in "hardship posts" - rural and township posts which are having difficulty in attracting qualified teachers. The current top-ups work against such moves, and therefore compromise our efforts to achieve equity.

Any additional perks (in cash or kind) should be transparently determined by the school governing body, and not the result of some closed cronyism determined by the Principal. The amounts paid should be reflected in any financial statements, and not hidden under some "sundries" heading. In cases where these criteria are met, there should be no reason for a province to refuse permission to the SGB, and the educators, to give and receive additional income.

Provincial departments will be encouraged to consider all applications sympathetically. In addition, if a governing body applies for permission to make such additional payments, and does not receive a reply within one month, then I believe there should be some sort of implied approval, but we will look at the mechanisms for this.

Religion and Education

There are three inter-related aspects to religion and education, which are covered in the policy. These are
* religious instruction
* religion education, and
* religious observances.

Religious instruction

This describes the practice of preparing children for entry to a particular religion of faith, through programmes such as Catechism or Confirmation classes, or lessons at a Madressa.

It has been agreed with religious leaders that this is the proper domain of the churches, homes and families. Public schools and teachers should not get involved in any form of religious instruction, which is aimed at promoting a particular set of religious beliefs and practices.

There seems to be very little disagreement about this approach, and those that do not agree are of course free to establish independent, faith-based schools.

Religion education

This describes the curriculum programme in which children are made aware of the different religions of the world, and especially of those followed in South Africa. Children need to know the difference between a cathedral, and mosque and a temple, and to know who goes to these and why. The programme is largely descriptive, although an analytical component would draw from all religions the common "moral threads", thus serving to provide a non-denominational form of ethical guidance to pupils.

Religion education is part of the Life Orientation programme for Grades R-9, although it is only one component of this very broad Learning Area.

Religious observances

This aspect relates to the observance of religion during school activities, such as assemblies and speech days, and has become the primary focus of the debate about religion and education. The policy has been prepared in part because of the overwhelming evidence that through religious observances, schools tend to promote and support the historically dominant culture of the school, without recognising the changed nature of their pupils and their social environment. The homogenous schools of apartheid have disappeared, and in place we have schools, which are multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious. In such a context, it is unconstitutional, and in contravention of the South African Schools Act, to hold religious observances which do not recognise the diversity of the public school community.

In terms of the policy, religious observances may indeed be held; contrary to what is being claimed by some who have not read it, and who are being fed with misleading petitions. In fact religion is actively promoted in the policy - all religions, that is, and not just one. Our only requirement - a very reasonable one - is that religious observances be conducted on an equitable basis. For us that means that at appropriate times, and in accordance with the particular demographics of the school, we should also read from scriptures other than that of the dominant (but never universal) religion. We should recognise the holy and feast days of all religions; not just our own. And we should be very sensitive to customs, clothing and behaviours that are religiously informed. This approach should not compromise our own beliefs, unless these are very shaky to begin with.

The challenge is therefore for schools, guided by their Governing Bodies, to find a way to observe and honour our religions in an equitable way. The religious leaders have rightly dismissed the idea of asking children from minority religions to identify themselves, to stand up and leave the hall. This is clearly discriminatory, as it places enormous pressures on young children, who will always try to conform to the mainstream. Similarly, we cannot support an official observance for one religion, and simply "allow" the others to do what they want, somewhere else, out of sight.

The draft Policy on Religion in Education is a principled framework to guide school practices. It is neither prescriptive nor prohibitive. Schools which wish to hold religious observances will have to devise mechanisms for these which are indeed equitable, which do not advocate or favour one religion above the other, and which afford dignity to every child, whatever their background and beliefs. The Ministry of Education looks forward to practical proposals from School Governing Bodies and open-minded religious bodies on how best this can be achieved.

Enquiries: Molatwane Likhethe on 082 573 0397
Issued by Ministry of Education
20 May 2003