Date: 30/06/2004
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: A Motshekga: Gauteng Education Prov Budget Vote 2004/2005
ADDRESS BY MEC ANGIE MOTSHEKGA ON THE TABLING OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET VOTE, Gauteng Legislature, 30 June 2004
Speaker, Cde Richard Mdakane,
Deputy Speaker,
Premier Mbhazima Shilowa
Members of the Executive Council
Honourable Members
Honourable Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
When we were ushered in on 14 April 2004, our people, in their millions, unwaveringly endorsed our call to create work and fight poverty. In doing so, they commanded us to deal with the remaining issues in our transformational agenda such as the skewed allocation of resources, lack of skills, poor planning and underdevelopment.
Ten years into our new democracy we find ourselves in a position whereby partnerships are being forged with a view to true nation building.
As education we have a clear response to the provincial and the national strategic thrust for the next five years. We are committed to realising these goals as outlined by the ANC Manifesto which government has adopted as policy. We have been tasked with the creation of an environment for young people that allows for quality education delivery and the acquisition of skills. Our learners must be prepared and enabled to contribute to the development of the economy of Gauteng. In the next five years we will respond to the hopes of young people through partnerships from all sectors of our society.
As a province we face significant challenges in improving our education and training system. Most importantly these relate to:
* Ensuring universal access to early childhood development, which is recognised internationally as important for future sustainability
* Improving the responsiveness of our education and training systems to the changing needs of our economy and particularly the growth path that the Gauteng Province is committed to
* Ensuring that our training programmes are able to respond to the fact that many people will not get jobs in the formal economy in the short term yet require increased skills to survive and improve the quality of their lives. Such skills include ABET, life skills and other practical skills for self-employment. The Province must place strong emphasis on appropriate skilling of the youth (in- and out-of-school) including learnerships. This also includes assisting new entrants to get into the labour market
* Paying particular attention to skills that will lead to sustainable livelihoods and the rebuilding of our communities and our families and reduction of social conflict, domestic violence and abuse of women and children. These include parenting, life skills, and awareness on substance abuse, education about HIV and AIDS and teenage pregnancy
* The Province must place strong emphasis on appropriate skilling of the youth (in- and out-of-school) including learnerships. This also includes assisting new entrants to get into the labour market
* Investing in innovation, research and development by the private sector and Higher Education Institutions must be promoted
* Ensuring that all children of school-going age are in school and that all learners are supported and equipped with necessary learning materials
* To confront the priorities and commitments made by the ANC in its Manifesto, the President in his state of the nation address, the National Minister of Education, Gauteng Premier in his state of the province address, our contribution to the Single Window Package in fighting poverty will there be:
* Exemption from school fees for those children that qualify
* Providing a sustainable nutrition programme
* Providing free Scholar transport to deserving learners and
* Providing Learner support material
* Developing healthy skilled and productive people
In order to create a relevant workforce, we will ensure the reorientation of the curriculum in FET colleges and ABET centres to provide greater access to technical and vocational programmes that are aligned to the economic thrust and job creation strategy. The ABET programme will focus on basic literacy, skills development and entrepreneurship. The department will also ensure that the out-of- school youth will be targeted as a matter of priority.
Continue work to ensure quality education to all our children through improved targeting of resources in a pro-poor approach. We will increase access to education and improve the quality of learning and access to skills development
Strive to improve service delivery through organisational excellence including improved interdepartmental and intergovernmental co-operation and support.
Our school infrastructure programme, which involves the renovation and refurbishment of schools, will be linked to the GPG Expanded Public Works Programme to create jobs and grow local economies. Ensuring that we meet targets set by the Premier in his state of the Province address.
Given the legacy of poor education and the enormity of the task of transforming the education system, we need additional support and resources in order to achieve these goals.
On Skills Development
The challenge is therefore to increase skills within the country that promote economic and employment growth and social development. Education plays a key role in the attainment of economic growth, social development, and increased efficiency, productivity, employment and international competitiveness. To equip South Africa with skills to succeed in the global information economy and to offer opportunities to individuals and communities for self-advancement, the schooling system together with higher education as well as research and entrepreneurial initiatives within the economy should be improved.
Building Safe and Sustainable Communities.
Since 1994, as a new democratic state, we continued to preach that sustainable development could only be achieved through co-operative and constructive partnerships between citizens, organised civil society and the private sector.
Ten years later, we are even more convinced that a successful South Africa will be built through partnerships with all key stakeholders.
The Department of Education has been successful in securing partnerships with business. While these have been numerous and of significant value, they still fall short of what the potential of the private sector is.
Through the departmental Value Citizens programme, we will continue to encourage learners to promote constitutional rights for women, elderly and people with disabilities.
We will expand our Safe Schools programme to fight substance abuse, gangsterism and violence against girl learners to ensure a safe learning environment for both learners and educators in support of a holistic education.
In becoming signatories to the people's contract to create work and fight poverty we will:
* Ensure that by the beginning of the 2005 academic year, there's no learner who receives education under a tree or is without water, electricity and sanitation
* Examine the outcry over the unreasonable increase of school fees whilst ensuring that the poor are not excluded from learning in all our schools
* Continue to build a strong and reliable quality public education that is accessible to all
* Advance in our pursuit to improve the Matric Results because matriculation is still seen as the gateway to higher education
* Paying more attention to primary education as the phase that builds and consolidates a solid foundation for basic skills in ensuring that high education standards are maintained throughout our school system
* Consolidate the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme in collaboration with the departments of health, social development and local government and ensure that their roles are clearly defined in their support of our Grade R curriculum
* Consolidate and advance the work done by Further Education and Training (FET) centres
* Entrench democracy and representation within the School Governing Bodies
* Continue to work with School Governing Bodies to entrench democracy through equitable representation in their structures
* Continue with the transformation of our curriculum to ensure People's Education for People's Power!
* Ensure that schools become centres of community activism by promoting extra curricular activities and strengthening community outreach programmes
* Build a Strong Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) sector that will be influenced by the needs of our people and the economic imperatives of the day
* Work with communities to persuade them to support state-recognised, safe institutions that are within reach of the learners
* Consolidate and implement policies that will allow us to pre-empt the establishment of unregistered schools and to regulate fees charged at the registered institutions
* Finalise the educator rationalisation process to stabilise schools
* Ensure that we re-skill the unplaced educators and re-allocate them to schools where their services will be utilised. This will ensure that we adhere to the educator pupil ratios that we committed ourselves to
* Maintain a good working relationship with the educator unions to ensure that educators, as our key curriculum deliverers, receive the necessary support
* Strengthen our Maths, Science and Technology curriculum with focus on educators and girl-learners
* Through the GautengOnline programme we will ensure that by 2006 all schools in Gauteng are fully equipped with computer laboratories
* Promote extra curricular activities, particularly sport through partnerships with Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture department.
In addition we will:
* Delay the impending termination of contracts of temporary educators until the end of the academic year 2004. Our educator provision will be fast tracked to match the widening educator-learner ratios. A vacancy list will be published within the next two months after we have reached agreements with all affected unions
* Reviewing the restrictions imposed on COSAS as they celebrate their 25th Anniversary. There is, however, a lengthy legal process and consultation with Cabinet as well as other stakeholders that must take place first. This does not mean we will be soft in tackling hooligans who masquerade as learners
* Reorganise head office to allow us to release resources to re-dedicate them to our new priorities and also to help us strengthen institutions further
* Strengthen the department's ongoing process of ensuring efficient utilisation of resources by cutting down on non-core activities. We will encourage the use of available departmental/interdepartmental facilities. (e.g. for conferences. Workshops, meetings etc).
* Mainstream the current special projects (RMIP/SSIP) and integrate them into existing departmental education delivery plans. This will increase the capacity of the department to implement new programmes dictated by the new priorities viz ABET, ECD and FET, also not ignoring our challenge to inculcate the values of patriotism and Nation Building.
The key areas of investment for the next five years in support of the Provincial education strategies are:
* Support investment in early childhood development. This is in line with Government's strategy to increase investment in Early Childhood Development programmes focusing on both pre Grade R and Grade R
* To support ABET programmes that focus on literacy and skills development. These programmes should target unemployed adults, out-of-school youth and women in particular
* We need to consolidate our investment in Further Education and Training by supporting the recapitalisation of FET colleges and the investments in skills development through the creation of learnerships and the creation of opportunities for workplace experience.
Efficiency of the Budget Allocations
The 2004/5 Budget begins to address the core quality issues of education transformation. An analysis of the education sector in Gauteng shows that a number of key goals have been achieved over the past few years. This includes the improved personnel: non-personnel split in expenditure, the improvement in Matric results, the increase of age appropriateness of each cohort and the increase in the retention of learners in the secondary phase. This is an indication that the macro goals of education are being achieved and that greater systems efficiency is being realised.
Revenue Side
The education budget for 2004/5 is R9, 457 billion. The total budget increase for 2004/5 against the budget for 2003/4 to is 4.68% or R422 million.
It is also important to note that the level of conditional grants is increasing substantially over the cycle especially for CAPEX. Without grants, the increase of the Discretionary Allocation from 2002/3 to 2003/4 is -2.67% (see table 1 figures 1 and 2).
The budget for 2004/5 increases by 4.68% mostly as a result of the increase in conditional grants. The Conditional Grants for 2004/5 will increase by 75%. Since 2002/3, CAPEX is no longer part of the provincial education allocation but is part of the conditional grants.
Expenditure Side
On the expenditure side there is a steady growth in CAPEX and Other education inputs. The graph below shows that expenditure for the 2000 and 2001 financial years, actual for the 2003 year and projected expenditure for the 2004 MTEF cycle.
The department's projected expenditure per economic classification as a percentage of the total for 2004/5 is shown in graphs below.
The Personnel budget increases by R440 million from 2003/4 to 2004/5, Non-personnel-non-Capex (Other) decreases by R49 806 million from 2003/4 to 2004/5 and CAPEX decreases by R192 836 million from 2003/4 to 2004/5
Key aspect of the budget to note:
* The non-personnel expenditure decreases by over R49 million in 2004/5
* Personnel costs have been projected at an annual increase of 6.42% as of 2004/5. In planning for the 2003/4 MTEF, we used 5% increase as a projection
* Adjusted Allocation for 2004/5 maintains a 77.14:9 split for personnel, other and grants
* The overall budget projects a 88.12 split between personnel and non-personnel including conditional grants
The analysis of the education budget excluding grants projects the following:
* 4.68% increase in over the 2003/4 budget
* the personnel: non-personnel split for 2004/5 is 88:12
* the increase is wholly consumed by personnel costs
* Policy Targets - The School Funding Norms set a macro target of 85:15 split between personnel and non-personnel in the education allocation excluding conditional grants. From the above the department achieved the required 85-15 split in 2001/2.
Specific Allocation and Expenditure Areas
Personnel Budget for 2004/5
The GDE is committed to avoid overcrowding in schools and to keep to the approved learner rations. We have also launched a parent rights campaign, and opened our Contact Centre during the previous financial year. In addition, to our Outreach Programmes where we engage actively with communities and Education stakeholders in particular, the parent rights campaign and Contact Centre has helped us to respond more effectively to challenges in our schools i.e.: overcrowding and post provisioning as well as minor works and repairs at schools.
Changes in the application of the admissions policy in Grade One resulted in more learners being admitted to grade 1 and this trend will continue in future years. Additional posts for educators will also be required to meet this challenge.
The Unit Cost per educator as well as the Budget Split for the next MTEF cycle were once again re-considered and I am glad to announce that an additional 500 posts has been created in order to increase the total number of educator posts in GDE to a total of 48 528 posts.
200 of these posts have been utilised to ensure a school learner: educator ratio of 35:1 for secondary schools and a ratio of 40:1 for primary schools.
Affordability requirements would not allow the creation of more than 48 528 posts at this point. This position might have to be reconsidered at a later stage depending on the actual intake of grade one learners, Maths/Science/Technology (including GautengOnline) strategy and expansion, Curriculum Re-organisation and related TSUD Strategy and the management of class sizes.
Budget Utilisation to Achieve the above Priority Areas
Programme 1: ADMINISTRATION
The department will spend R 697 million to provide administration and professional services through the head office ad districts. The department will spend R 396 million on corporate services, R 269 million on education management services. This includes R337 million for personnel costs.
Bursaries
The department will spend over R39 million on pre-service bursaries and office-based human resources development programmes and R3 million to operationalise and rollout the Whole school Evaluation, including salaries of inspection staff. The department will also spend R3 million to improve the provincial library information system. We will spend over R35 million for software licences and network charges to SITA.
Programme 2: PUBLIC ORDINARY SCHOOLS
We will be spending over R54 million to improve curriculum delivery and learner achievement at all levels in public ordinary schools. We will spend R3 million to provide education support services including school psychological and social services. We will be spending R14 million to improve curriculum support to teachers and schools including greater monitoring of curriculum implementation and compliance. We also improve the school library system and provision by spending over R3 million. We will spend R5 million to ensure better assessment practice by teachers in schools and to ensure that there is greater learner performance.
The department will be spending R14 million to improve institutional performance. We will spend over R394 thousand to support and develop school governance. We will provide support to and develop school governing bodies. We will also invest in the development of leadership skill of RCL Members and to reinforce the structure in the overall governance of schools.
An intensive school monitoring system will be implemented during 2004/5 to ensure greater institutional performance through support to schools and ensuring greater compliance to statutory policy. We will also invest resources to improve school development activities in schools and to ensure greater accountability by schools for performance. The department spend R1 million to continue to support schools under the EAZ programme.
The department will spend over R20; 6 million develop school-based educators in public schools. This will focus on improving the delivery of Curriculum 2005 and supporting teachers manage proposed changes to the Curriculum Statements in 2004.
Schools will receive R400 million in the form of subsidies for functions specified under the Norms and standards for school funding. An additional R130 million will be spent on providing a special allocation to schools for purchasing LSM to support the introduction of the revised curriculum for the Intermediate Phase in 2005. This amount to about R250 per in the Intermediate Phase in all schools.
The social plan will continue to focus on extra-curricular and youth development activities and the department will spend about R30 million on various projects targeting the youth. The department will also transfer an amount of R7 million to GIED for Curriculum research and development. The Department will also transfer R5 million to Sci-bono Discovery Centre to promote the public understanding of Science Engineering and Technology through the subsidisation of learner entrance fees and Transport.
The department will be redesigning the rural transport system to improve efficiency and to ensure greater access to schooling for learners living far from schools especially in rural areas and informal settlements. R40million will be used to provide free scholar transport to learners in rural and informal settlements where there are no schools.
We will also ensure greater educational performance in the senior secondary sector of public schools. We will spend R12 million on the Senior Secondary Intervention Programme and the Role Model Intervention Programme.
The department will spend R17 million, a national grant, to promote greater HIV/AIDS education and awareness in schools through life skills programmes and school-based activities. The programme will focus on the following targets:
* Reduce infection and impact of HIV/AIDS on Youth
* Educators are appropriately trained and resourced
* Mainstreaming/ Integrated curricular Intervention
* Equipping learners with "soft skills" to facilitate behaviour development/ change
* Promoting Healthy Life Styles amongst youth
* Destigmatise, Care and Support people living with Aids
* The department will spend over R30 million on improving school financial management and accountability.
Programme 3: INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS EDUCATION
We have made a provision of R139 million for subsidies to independent schools that qualify. The department is applying the norms for funding as per policy and will not fund schools that do not meet the criteria. We will however consider allowing some schools to continue serving communities where public schooling may not be available. We will also spend R1, 600 million to improve the monitoring of schools as well as increasing the number of site visits for institutional audit purposes.
Programme 4: LSEN SCHOOLS
The department will spend over R443 million to provide education for learners with special education needs in special schools. The department will provide subsidies to the value of R74 million. The department will spend over R1, 5 million to improve curriculum and institutional support. We will also spend R1 million for in-service training and teacher development in the LSEN sector.
Programme 5: FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (FET)
We will spend close to R318 million to subsidise this sector. The sector has been transformed in line with the FET Act and new funding models are being developed and will be implemented over the next few years. Eight FET colleges have been established from the 33 technical colleges and new Chief Executive Officers have been appointed at director level to manage these institutions. We will also spend R3 million on curriculum and institutional support, spend R3 million on teacher development in this sector.
Programme 6: ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING (ABET)
We will spend over R122 million to provide for adult education formal ABET programmes. The department will allocate R11 million for Educational Resource to support ABET Programmes. We will also spend R1 million to support and develop ABET educators. We will also spend R900 thousand to support the curriculum and institutions to ensure greater learner performance in this sector.
Programme 7: EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
This programme has received R49 million from the Province as a special allocation to support the introduction of Grade R. For the last two years the Province has received a conditional grant to introduce Grade R. The last truncheon of the conditional grant of almost R49 million has been received for this year.
Programme 8: AUXILIARY AND ANCILLARY SERVICES
We will spend over R74 million to provide the Senior Certificate Examinations, ABET exams and GETC exams in 2004.
The roll-out of GautengOnline will continue in 2004/5. A clear list of standards for hardware, software and networks has been finalised. Approximately 1100 schools were completed in the last financial year. We will spend R200 million to rollout the second phase of the project.
Conclusion
It is clear from our plans that it is not going to be business as usual, thus we commit ourselves to break new grounds. In doing so, we will respond to the affirmatively, that the shackles of poverty and unemployment will be crushed as we march towards a quality public education.
My sincere gratitude to the CEO, Mr Mallele Petje and all Senior Managers and Staff, the staff in my office, all SGBs, NGOs, Business and other stakeholders who continue to contribute without failure to our education system.
For the summary of key budget figures go to http://www.gpg.gov.za
For more information contact: Panyaza Lesufi
Cell: (011) 355 1523
Cell: 083 256 7933
Issued by: Department of Education, Gauteng Provincial Government
30 June 2004
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: A Motshekga: Gauteng Education Prov Budget Vote 2004/2005
ADDRESS BY MEC ANGIE MOTSHEKGA ON THE TABLING OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET VOTE, Gauteng Legislature, 30 June 2004
Speaker, Cde Richard Mdakane,
Deputy Speaker,
Premier Mbhazima Shilowa
Members of the Executive Council
Honourable Members
Honourable Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
When we were ushered in on 14 April 2004, our people, in their millions, unwaveringly endorsed our call to create work and fight poverty. In doing so, they commanded us to deal with the remaining issues in our transformational agenda such as the skewed allocation of resources, lack of skills, poor planning and underdevelopment.
Ten years into our new democracy we find ourselves in a position whereby partnerships are being forged with a view to true nation building.
As education we have a clear response to the provincial and the national strategic thrust for the next five years. We are committed to realising these goals as outlined by the ANC Manifesto which government has adopted as policy. We have been tasked with the creation of an environment for young people that allows for quality education delivery and the acquisition of skills. Our learners must be prepared and enabled to contribute to the development of the economy of Gauteng. In the next five years we will respond to the hopes of young people through partnerships from all sectors of our society.
As a province we face significant challenges in improving our education and training system. Most importantly these relate to:
* Ensuring universal access to early childhood development, which is recognised internationally as important for future sustainability
* Improving the responsiveness of our education and training systems to the changing needs of our economy and particularly the growth path that the Gauteng Province is committed to
* Ensuring that our training programmes are able to respond to the fact that many people will not get jobs in the formal economy in the short term yet require increased skills to survive and improve the quality of their lives. Such skills include ABET, life skills and other practical skills for self-employment. The Province must place strong emphasis on appropriate skilling of the youth (in- and out-of-school) including learnerships. This also includes assisting new entrants to get into the labour market
* Paying particular attention to skills that will lead to sustainable livelihoods and the rebuilding of our communities and our families and reduction of social conflict, domestic violence and abuse of women and children. These include parenting, life skills, and awareness on substance abuse, education about HIV and AIDS and teenage pregnancy
* The Province must place strong emphasis on appropriate skilling of the youth (in- and out-of-school) including learnerships. This also includes assisting new entrants to get into the labour market
* Investing in innovation, research and development by the private sector and Higher Education Institutions must be promoted
* Ensuring that all children of school-going age are in school and that all learners are supported and equipped with necessary learning materials
* To confront the priorities and commitments made by the ANC in its Manifesto, the President in his state of the nation address, the National Minister of Education, Gauteng Premier in his state of the province address, our contribution to the Single Window Package in fighting poverty will there be:
* Exemption from school fees for those children that qualify
* Providing a sustainable nutrition programme
* Providing free Scholar transport to deserving learners and
* Providing Learner support material
* Developing healthy skilled and productive people
In order to create a relevant workforce, we will ensure the reorientation of the curriculum in FET colleges and ABET centres to provide greater access to technical and vocational programmes that are aligned to the economic thrust and job creation strategy. The ABET programme will focus on basic literacy, skills development and entrepreneurship. The department will also ensure that the out-of- school youth will be targeted as a matter of priority.
Continue work to ensure quality education to all our children through improved targeting of resources in a pro-poor approach. We will increase access to education and improve the quality of learning and access to skills development
Strive to improve service delivery through organisational excellence including improved interdepartmental and intergovernmental co-operation and support.
Our school infrastructure programme, which involves the renovation and refurbishment of schools, will be linked to the GPG Expanded Public Works Programme to create jobs and grow local economies. Ensuring that we meet targets set by the Premier in his state of the Province address.
Given the legacy of poor education and the enormity of the task of transforming the education system, we need additional support and resources in order to achieve these goals.
On Skills Development
The challenge is therefore to increase skills within the country that promote economic and employment growth and social development. Education plays a key role in the attainment of economic growth, social development, and increased efficiency, productivity, employment and international competitiveness. To equip South Africa with skills to succeed in the global information economy and to offer opportunities to individuals and communities for self-advancement, the schooling system together with higher education as well as research and entrepreneurial initiatives within the economy should be improved.
Building Safe and Sustainable Communities.
Since 1994, as a new democratic state, we continued to preach that sustainable development could only be achieved through co-operative and constructive partnerships between citizens, organised civil society and the private sector.
Ten years later, we are even more convinced that a successful South Africa will be built through partnerships with all key stakeholders.
The Department of Education has been successful in securing partnerships with business. While these have been numerous and of significant value, they still fall short of what the potential of the private sector is.
Through the departmental Value Citizens programme, we will continue to encourage learners to promote constitutional rights for women, elderly and people with disabilities.
We will expand our Safe Schools programme to fight substance abuse, gangsterism and violence against girl learners to ensure a safe learning environment for both learners and educators in support of a holistic education.
In becoming signatories to the people's contract to create work and fight poverty we will:
* Ensure that by the beginning of the 2005 academic year, there's no learner who receives education under a tree or is without water, electricity and sanitation
* Examine the outcry over the unreasonable increase of school fees whilst ensuring that the poor are not excluded from learning in all our schools
* Continue to build a strong and reliable quality public education that is accessible to all
* Advance in our pursuit to improve the Matric Results because matriculation is still seen as the gateway to higher education
* Paying more attention to primary education as the phase that builds and consolidates a solid foundation for basic skills in ensuring that high education standards are maintained throughout our school system
* Consolidate the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme in collaboration with the departments of health, social development and local government and ensure that their roles are clearly defined in their support of our Grade R curriculum
* Consolidate and advance the work done by Further Education and Training (FET) centres
* Entrench democracy and representation within the School Governing Bodies
* Continue to work with School Governing Bodies to entrench democracy through equitable representation in their structures
* Continue with the transformation of our curriculum to ensure People's Education for People's Power!
* Ensure that schools become centres of community activism by promoting extra curricular activities and strengthening community outreach programmes
* Build a Strong Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) sector that will be influenced by the needs of our people and the economic imperatives of the day
* Work with communities to persuade them to support state-recognised, safe institutions that are within reach of the learners
* Consolidate and implement policies that will allow us to pre-empt the establishment of unregistered schools and to regulate fees charged at the registered institutions
* Finalise the educator rationalisation process to stabilise schools
* Ensure that we re-skill the unplaced educators and re-allocate them to schools where their services will be utilised. This will ensure that we adhere to the educator pupil ratios that we committed ourselves to
* Maintain a good working relationship with the educator unions to ensure that educators, as our key curriculum deliverers, receive the necessary support
* Strengthen our Maths, Science and Technology curriculum with focus on educators and girl-learners
* Through the GautengOnline programme we will ensure that by 2006 all schools in Gauteng are fully equipped with computer laboratories
* Promote extra curricular activities, particularly sport through partnerships with Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture department.
In addition we will:
* Delay the impending termination of contracts of temporary educators until the end of the academic year 2004. Our educator provision will be fast tracked to match the widening educator-learner ratios. A vacancy list will be published within the next two months after we have reached agreements with all affected unions
* Reviewing the restrictions imposed on COSAS as they celebrate their 25th Anniversary. There is, however, a lengthy legal process and consultation with Cabinet as well as other stakeholders that must take place first. This does not mean we will be soft in tackling hooligans who masquerade as learners
* Reorganise head office to allow us to release resources to re-dedicate them to our new priorities and also to help us strengthen institutions further
* Strengthen the department's ongoing process of ensuring efficient utilisation of resources by cutting down on non-core activities. We will encourage the use of available departmental/interdepartmental facilities. (e.g. for conferences. Workshops, meetings etc).
* Mainstream the current special projects (RMIP/SSIP) and integrate them into existing departmental education delivery plans. This will increase the capacity of the department to implement new programmes dictated by the new priorities viz ABET, ECD and FET, also not ignoring our challenge to inculcate the values of patriotism and Nation Building.
The key areas of investment for the next five years in support of the Provincial education strategies are:
* Support investment in early childhood development. This is in line with Government's strategy to increase investment in Early Childhood Development programmes focusing on both pre Grade R and Grade R
* To support ABET programmes that focus on literacy and skills development. These programmes should target unemployed adults, out-of-school youth and women in particular
* We need to consolidate our investment in Further Education and Training by supporting the recapitalisation of FET colleges and the investments in skills development through the creation of learnerships and the creation of opportunities for workplace experience.
Efficiency of the Budget Allocations
The 2004/5 Budget begins to address the core quality issues of education transformation. An analysis of the education sector in Gauteng shows that a number of key goals have been achieved over the past few years. This includes the improved personnel: non-personnel split in expenditure, the improvement in Matric results, the increase of age appropriateness of each cohort and the increase in the retention of learners in the secondary phase. This is an indication that the macro goals of education are being achieved and that greater systems efficiency is being realised.
Revenue Side
The education budget for 2004/5 is R9, 457 billion. The total budget increase for 2004/5 against the budget for 2003/4 to is 4.68% or R422 million.
It is also important to note that the level of conditional grants is increasing substantially over the cycle especially for CAPEX. Without grants, the increase of the Discretionary Allocation from 2002/3 to 2003/4 is -2.67% (see table 1 figures 1 and 2).
The budget for 2004/5 increases by 4.68% mostly as a result of the increase in conditional grants. The Conditional Grants for 2004/5 will increase by 75%. Since 2002/3, CAPEX is no longer part of the provincial education allocation but is part of the conditional grants.
Expenditure Side
On the expenditure side there is a steady growth in CAPEX and Other education inputs. The graph below shows that expenditure for the 2000 and 2001 financial years, actual for the 2003 year and projected expenditure for the 2004 MTEF cycle.
The department's projected expenditure per economic classification as a percentage of the total for 2004/5 is shown in graphs below.
The Personnel budget increases by R440 million from 2003/4 to 2004/5, Non-personnel-non-Capex (Other) decreases by R49 806 million from 2003/4 to 2004/5 and CAPEX decreases by R192 836 million from 2003/4 to 2004/5
Key aspect of the budget to note:
* The non-personnel expenditure decreases by over R49 million in 2004/5
* Personnel costs have been projected at an annual increase of 6.42% as of 2004/5. In planning for the 2003/4 MTEF, we used 5% increase as a projection
* Adjusted Allocation for 2004/5 maintains a 77.14:9 split for personnel, other and grants
* The overall budget projects a 88.12 split between personnel and non-personnel including conditional grants
The analysis of the education budget excluding grants projects the following:
* 4.68% increase in over the 2003/4 budget
* the personnel: non-personnel split for 2004/5 is 88:12
* the increase is wholly consumed by personnel costs
* Policy Targets - The School Funding Norms set a macro target of 85:15 split between personnel and non-personnel in the education allocation excluding conditional grants. From the above the department achieved the required 85-15 split in 2001/2.
Specific Allocation and Expenditure Areas
Personnel Budget for 2004/5
The GDE is committed to avoid overcrowding in schools and to keep to the approved learner rations. We have also launched a parent rights campaign, and opened our Contact Centre during the previous financial year. In addition, to our Outreach Programmes where we engage actively with communities and Education stakeholders in particular, the parent rights campaign and Contact Centre has helped us to respond more effectively to challenges in our schools i.e.: overcrowding and post provisioning as well as minor works and repairs at schools.
Changes in the application of the admissions policy in Grade One resulted in more learners being admitted to grade 1 and this trend will continue in future years. Additional posts for educators will also be required to meet this challenge.
The Unit Cost per educator as well as the Budget Split for the next MTEF cycle were once again re-considered and I am glad to announce that an additional 500 posts has been created in order to increase the total number of educator posts in GDE to a total of 48 528 posts.
200 of these posts have been utilised to ensure a school learner: educator ratio of 35:1 for secondary schools and a ratio of 40:1 for primary schools.
Affordability requirements would not allow the creation of more than 48 528 posts at this point. This position might have to be reconsidered at a later stage depending on the actual intake of grade one learners, Maths/Science/Technology (including GautengOnline) strategy and expansion, Curriculum Re-organisation and related TSUD Strategy and the management of class sizes.
Budget Utilisation to Achieve the above Priority Areas
Programme 1: ADMINISTRATION
The department will spend R 697 million to provide administration and professional services through the head office ad districts. The department will spend R 396 million on corporate services, R 269 million on education management services. This includes R337 million for personnel costs.
Bursaries
The department will spend over R39 million on pre-service bursaries and office-based human resources development programmes and R3 million to operationalise and rollout the Whole school Evaluation, including salaries of inspection staff. The department will also spend R3 million to improve the provincial library information system. We will spend over R35 million for software licences and network charges to SITA.
Programme 2: PUBLIC ORDINARY SCHOOLS
We will be spending over R54 million to improve curriculum delivery and learner achievement at all levels in public ordinary schools. We will spend R3 million to provide education support services including school psychological and social services. We will be spending R14 million to improve curriculum support to teachers and schools including greater monitoring of curriculum implementation and compliance. We also improve the school library system and provision by spending over R3 million. We will spend R5 million to ensure better assessment practice by teachers in schools and to ensure that there is greater learner performance.
The department will be spending R14 million to improve institutional performance. We will spend over R394 thousand to support and develop school governance. We will provide support to and develop school governing bodies. We will also invest in the development of leadership skill of RCL Members and to reinforce the structure in the overall governance of schools.
An intensive school monitoring system will be implemented during 2004/5 to ensure greater institutional performance through support to schools and ensuring greater compliance to statutory policy. We will also invest resources to improve school development activities in schools and to ensure greater accountability by schools for performance. The department spend R1 million to continue to support schools under the EAZ programme.
The department will spend over R20; 6 million develop school-based educators in public schools. This will focus on improving the delivery of Curriculum 2005 and supporting teachers manage proposed changes to the Curriculum Statements in 2004.
Schools will receive R400 million in the form of subsidies for functions specified under the Norms and standards for school funding. An additional R130 million will be spent on providing a special allocation to schools for purchasing LSM to support the introduction of the revised curriculum for the Intermediate Phase in 2005. This amount to about R250 per in the Intermediate Phase in all schools.
The social plan will continue to focus on extra-curricular and youth development activities and the department will spend about R30 million on various projects targeting the youth. The department will also transfer an amount of R7 million to GIED for Curriculum research and development. The Department will also transfer R5 million to Sci-bono Discovery Centre to promote the public understanding of Science Engineering and Technology through the subsidisation of learner entrance fees and Transport.
The department will be redesigning the rural transport system to improve efficiency and to ensure greater access to schooling for learners living far from schools especially in rural areas and informal settlements. R40million will be used to provide free scholar transport to learners in rural and informal settlements where there are no schools.
We will also ensure greater educational performance in the senior secondary sector of public schools. We will spend R12 million on the Senior Secondary Intervention Programme and the Role Model Intervention Programme.
The department will spend R17 million, a national grant, to promote greater HIV/AIDS education and awareness in schools through life skills programmes and school-based activities. The programme will focus on the following targets:
* Reduce infection and impact of HIV/AIDS on Youth
* Educators are appropriately trained and resourced
* Mainstreaming/ Integrated curricular Intervention
* Equipping learners with "soft skills" to facilitate behaviour development/ change
* Promoting Healthy Life Styles amongst youth
* Destigmatise, Care and Support people living with Aids
* The department will spend over R30 million on improving school financial management and accountability.
Programme 3: INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS EDUCATION
We have made a provision of R139 million for subsidies to independent schools that qualify. The department is applying the norms for funding as per policy and will not fund schools that do not meet the criteria. We will however consider allowing some schools to continue serving communities where public schooling may not be available. We will also spend R1, 600 million to improve the monitoring of schools as well as increasing the number of site visits for institutional audit purposes.
Programme 4: LSEN SCHOOLS
The department will spend over R443 million to provide education for learners with special education needs in special schools. The department will provide subsidies to the value of R74 million. The department will spend over R1, 5 million to improve curriculum and institutional support. We will also spend R1 million for in-service training and teacher development in the LSEN sector.
Programme 5: FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (FET)
We will spend close to R318 million to subsidise this sector. The sector has been transformed in line with the FET Act and new funding models are being developed and will be implemented over the next few years. Eight FET colleges have been established from the 33 technical colleges and new Chief Executive Officers have been appointed at director level to manage these institutions. We will also spend R3 million on curriculum and institutional support, spend R3 million on teacher development in this sector.
Programme 6: ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING (ABET)
We will spend over R122 million to provide for adult education formal ABET programmes. The department will allocate R11 million for Educational Resource to support ABET Programmes. We will also spend R1 million to support and develop ABET educators. We will also spend R900 thousand to support the curriculum and institutions to ensure greater learner performance in this sector.
Programme 7: EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
This programme has received R49 million from the Province as a special allocation to support the introduction of Grade R. For the last two years the Province has received a conditional grant to introduce Grade R. The last truncheon of the conditional grant of almost R49 million has been received for this year.
Programme 8: AUXILIARY AND ANCILLARY SERVICES
We will spend over R74 million to provide the Senior Certificate Examinations, ABET exams and GETC exams in 2004.
The roll-out of GautengOnline will continue in 2004/5. A clear list of standards for hardware, software and networks has been finalised. Approximately 1100 schools were completed in the last financial year. We will spend R200 million to rollout the second phase of the project.
Conclusion
It is clear from our plans that it is not going to be business as usual, thus we commit ourselves to break new grounds. In doing so, we will respond to the affirmatively, that the shackles of poverty and unemployment will be crushed as we march towards a quality public education.
My sincere gratitude to the CEO, Mr Mallele Petje and all Senior Managers and Staff, the staff in my office, all SGBs, NGOs, Business and other stakeholders who continue to contribute without failure to our education system.
For the summary of key budget figures go to http://www.gpg.gov.za
For more information contact: Panyaza Lesufi
Cell: (011) 355 1523
Cell: 083 256 7933
Issued by: Department of Education, Gauteng Provincial Government
30 June 2004
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