Two delegations from the Portfolio Committee of Education (National Assembly) and Select
Committee on Education & Recreation (National Council of Provinces) conducted visits
to Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal schools on 2,3 and 4 November 1999, with the following
mandates:
In a Committee meeting which was held on 13 October 1999, the Committee unanimously agreed and envisaged that two delegations from the Committee visit the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces simultaneously during the constituency week primarily in the most disadvantaged rural communities, with the following objectives:
(i) to co-operatively examine along with the provincial Education Standing Committees, the capacity of the provinces in dealing with the demands set by national Acts, regulations and policies, and other challenges as spelt out in the first priority of Minister Asmal's Call to Action document which intends to make our provincial systems work by making co-operative government work;
(ii) to examine conditions of physical degradation in schools in areas listed by, and according to the objectives of the President's rural strategy programme;
(iii) to investigate the implementation of the funding norms and standards emanating from the South African Schools Act;
(iv) to examine ways and means of effecting greater synergy between education at provincial and national level in the respective provinces;
(v) to construct a co-operative relationship between the national parliamentary Education Portfolio Committee and Standing Committees on Education and Culture in the provincial legislatures, in order to deal co-operatively with challenges constraining the effective development of our education system;
(vi) to develop a rural development strategy with regard to building and renovations of schools, and the provision of resources like textbooks and teaching aids in rural schools in both provinces; and
(vii) to address the challenges of the allocations and management of the provincial budget as it relates to education in both provinces.
In view of the fact that the Committees play a vital role in promoting co-operative governance between the provinces and central government and in improving the quality of life of every citizen on the ground, the delegations focused on all affected educational infrastructure which were damaged and destroyed by the tornadoes and also on assessing a need for repairs and renovations in all of those schools visited.
The Education Portfolio Committee delegations based their study tours to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces on the "Call to Action" ("Tirisano") of the Minister of Education, Prof K Asmal. The document outlining the objectives of the "Call to Action" was distributed by the national education department to members of the provincial legislatures, Education Directors, school principals and the media.
The delegations emphasised that since the "Tirisano" document was based on an extensive consultation of the Minister with a large variety of stakeholders, that there was no need to re-invent the wheel by searching for other criteria on which to base the visit of the delegations to the provinces.
In particular, the first priority identified in "Tirisano" (Call to Action) - "to make our provincial system work by making co-operative government work" - was clearly in line with the purpose of the visits of the delegations to the provinces. The Minister, Prof K Asmal pointed out in "Tirisano" that the three largest provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and the Northern Province were the poorest provinces with the largest backlogs of school buildings and services. It was for this reason that the delegations have identified these three provinces for a study tour.
Other issues identified by Tirisano were -
The delegations also emphasised the importance of establishing rural development strategy for vastly rural provinces such as the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The resourcing of schools in the rural areas with regard to establishing classrooms conducive to learning, the adequate provision of textbooks, teaching aids and other learning materials must become a priority.
In their visit to deep rural schools in the provinces, the delegations identified vandalised school buildings, destruction of school property and absence of textbooks, toilets, proper sanitation and libraries as the main problems relating to rural education. However, it appeared as if effective management or lack of effective management by principals has a major impact on the success or lack of success of rural schools in cultivating an atmosphere conducive to learning and teaching.
There were some poverty-stricken rural schools visited by the delegations which had good discipline, where teachers were actively teaching and students were actively learning. There were virtually no broken windows and vandalised furniture. Although the schools did not have enough textbooks, school governing bodies were encouraged to raise funds for learner-teaching materials. Many of these poor rural schools maintained a matric pass rate in excess of 60% through the positive attitude of the principals and teachers, and generally have neat and clean premises.
There were also rural schools where principals had many complaints while doing very little themselves to improve the situation. Such schools were generally vandalised, desks were either broken or stolen, textbooks in class were virtually non-existent and there was poor attendance of teachers and learners. At such schools there were also no good relationship between the principal, teachers, parents and students. These schools maintained a matric pass rate of less than 10%.
The management capacity of principals has to be urgently investigated at rural schools, while those many principals who are doing a good job under trying conditions, have to be strongly supported.
The Eastern Cape delegation under the leadership of Prof S M Mayatula included Mrs M A A Njobe, Ms P K Mothoagae, Prof L M Mbadi, Mr L Suka (NCOP member), Mr P G Qokweni (NCOP member), Mrs J Witbooi (NCOP member), Ms N C Manjezi (Committee Secretary) and Ms L Carelse (Committee Assistant).
The KwaZulu-Natal delegation under the leadership of Mr R P Z van den Heever included Mr L M Kgwele, Ms P N Mnandi, Mr R Ntuli, Mr A M Mpontshane, Adv A H Gaum, Mr A Myeni (Committee Secretary) and Mr J Rossouw (Committee Assistant). Adv A H Gaum left the delegation after the first day due to pressing engagement in Parliament and in his constituency.
Due to prior commitments and apologies, Mr N M Raju (NCOP member) and Mr T D Lee were unable to join the delegations.
The delegation in the Eastern Cape province was accompanied by delegates from the Provincial Standing Committee on Education, which included the Chairperson, Mr S Mancotywa and Ms N Mahlawe. The delegation in KwaZulu-Natal was accompanied by delegates from the Provincial Standing Committee on Education and Culture, which included the Chairperson, Mr S Ngidi, Mr Z Nzuza (Committee Secretary), Mr L N Mjadu (Personal Secretary: MEC for Education) and Regional Directors of Education.
An attempt was made to obtain a balanced view with input from both the departmental official sources, and from school principals. Main problems were highlighted and where possible, solutions were recommended.
The Eastern Cape province is one of the three provinces identified by President Thabo Mbeki as the poorest and needed extra financial assistance. On the first day the delegation was warmly welcomed by the MEC for Education Mr Stone Sizani, and had open and constructive discussion with top management led by the Superintendent-General, Mr J Gordon. The following are some of the areas covered.
The Eastern Cape Department of Education has inherited six different education departments with two of them located within two former homelands, namely, Ciskei and Transkei. The department serves 6 447 schools of which almost 60% are rural and farm schools. According to the records of the department, the survey of the needs done in 1996 has revealed that it is worst off when it comes to physical infrastructure, as the majority of the rural schools are mud structures with no toilets or sanitation, fencing, water and electricity. The survey revealed the following statistics for the province:
1 487 (25%) schools have no toilets;
2 931 (49%) schools have no sportsfield;
5 528 (93%) schools have no libraries;
5 578 (94%) schools have no laboratories;
622 (10%) schools are in need of major repairs; and
206 (3%) schools are totally unfit for education and learning.
The province is often hit by tornadoes, which have caused extensive damage to hundreds of schools particularly in the rural areas. This has increased the backlog from 15 000 to about 23 000 classrooms and the provincial department needs R92 million to rebuild and renovate schools damaged by natural disasters. According to Mr Hecther, physical infrastructure in the province is the worst in all provinces and an emergency fund will be necessary to address disasters and other critical matters.
The Department of Education's capital works programme commenced late in 1995 with an allocation of R355 million (RDP funded) in the 1995/1996 departmental budget. This was subsequently extended with the capital works allocation of R365 million (RDP funded) from the 1996/97 budget. The 1997/98 budget provided R108 million for capital works, but this was cut back to R53,9 million when the financial position of the Department became evident. In 1998/99 and 1999/2000 budgets, no funding has been set aside for any capital programmes.
To address the classrooms backlog in the province, the department will need approximately R600 million per annum over a period of five years or approximately R450 million per annum over a period of ten years. These substantial allocations can enable the Department to embark on an ambitious multi-dimensional programme to address the shortage of classrooms in the province.
The schools in the Eastern Cape province are reaching shocking levels of degradation. In certain instances the building authorities maintain that a number of classrooms in several schools should in fact be condemned. All these schools are government assets and it is clear that, the lack of funding for emergency renovations has reached unacceptable proportions.
In the extreme cases, there exists the danger of a total mess of these assets. These assets have deteriorated to such an extent that in many cases, they have become a health hazard.
Although the construction of new schools is of prior importance, major capital injection is urgently required in order to restore the existing buildings to safer working environments. Funds are desperately needed for three primary aims, namely -
These funds will alleviate the deterioration of the schools, and it is obvious that once a regular flow of funding is made available for regular maintenance, future excessive capital outlay will then be minimised. But it is vital that the current state of general degradation is addressed as soon as possible.
Although the Department has identified the causes of damage in most instances and will address the necessary methods of prevention in the near future, the following current conditions should be noted to necessitate appeal for funds.
The walls are worn out resulting to further damage to the structures. These walls urgently require major repairs and resurfacing, as they are in danger of collapsing and structural damage shows, which needs immediate attention.
A problem which is rife in all schools is that of damaged windows, window-panes and frames. An attempt to prevent the theft of window-panes by individuals has failed. To date, the only relatively successful method of protecting windows against theft and vandalism, is the installation of galvanised frames.
Another hazard facing pupils in most schools is unsafe electrical fittings. Inadequate electrical supply in most schools which caters for domestic science has rendered these services unusable.
The structural problems within the schools continue and a number of classrooms suffer from damaged ceilings due to leaking roofs.
Many schools have no toilets, sanitation and ablution facilities. The students must have access to these facilities. The systems have long been broken, yet the students must continue to use the facilities, creating more sanitary health risk. The children who are subjected to these shocking conditions are pupils in all Grades as well as teachers. The dilemma of vandalism grows daily. It is understood that most schools in general make every effort to prevent damage to the buildings. Funds are therefore required to institute increased security measures in order to protect the government assets. Many schools in general have no furniture, libraries, equipment, school halls and sporting facilities.
The province needs R900 million per annum for non-personnel expenditure and for the department to function normally, i.e for normal repairs to be carried out. In 1998, the department was allocated R500 million and in 1999 it was cut to R200 million. In 1999, the department requested R20 million, but for the first time in three years, the department only managed to receive R5 million for 6 400 schools for maintenance and for emergency repairs. More funding is needed repair and renovate all the damaged schools in the province.
There are various types of farm schools which are operating on the property of the farmers. The department provides personnel and material resources. Farmers have given the land to the department and it is for the department to provide material and human resources to the schools.
In the majority of cases the department is still experiencing problems with regard to scholar transport due to budget cuts. There is provision for hostel facilities and the department provides subsidies for children residing in those hostels.
Since 1996, many farm schools were amalgamated because of the current staff provisioning norms which stipulate that there must be a minimum number of learners in the school has been efficient in terms of human resources, curriculum engagements and provisioning various services in those schools.
In the past, farm schools were marginalised. Presently the department is doing something in terms of meeting the needs of those farm schools; viz: Many programmes are specifically servicing those farm schools, many donors and non-governmental organisations, in conjunction with the department, have programmes targeting those farm schools, and good work is in progress in the majority of those schools.
The department has received a positive response from donors like Vusisizwe Trust and Micro Projects which have donated most of the schools that have been built in the farming areas. The help from all these donors is assisting the department to make meaningful investments in the upliftment of the impoverished communities of the Eastern Cape province and the donations are regarded as a truly humane effort to improve the impoverished communities.
On the Department's intergovernmental approach on infrastructure, there is a good relationship with government departments, such as the department of public works as well as non-governmental organisations.
The Department of Education meets with local Transitional Local Councils (TLCs) on a regional basis to look at the integrated plan, linking water, electricity, building and the roads to a particular programme, and such programmes are presented in their meetings with the TLCs.
Learner support materials include textbooks, stationery, science materials, equipment as well as consumables. Due to financial constraints of the Eastern Cape, this has led the department to concentrate on textbooks and stationery only as learner support materials. The department is now in the process of issuing stationery to Grade 1-9, but for textbooks, the department will prioritise those Grades that are in curriculum 2005 (Grade 1, 2 and 3) and later to Grade 7, that will start the curriculum next year as well. The supply for Grade 12 will only be concentrated to those schools that have had a new Grade 12 class since 1997, 1998 and 1999, because those schools were not issued any textbooks and stationery.
In respect of Grade 7, the department has indicated that it will need about R42 million, but the department is not so sure whether they will receive the full R42 million requested. During the capturing of the requisition from the regions, it became clear that R42 million will not be adequate to cover all the learning areas in Grade 7.
With regard to scientific equipment, the department need to get assistance in terms of funding in order to make sure that it delivers the necessary requirements with the requested budget.
The crisis the department is facing at present, is that there is a backlog of non-payment of both suppliers and employees. The department is still experiencing problems with old debts from all sorts of suppliers who have not been paid. Again, the department is still having outstanding benefits for teachers. This creates a lot of problems with regard to finance staff attending to volumes of queries from unions, courts and lawyers, etc.
To date, the department was unable to make any deliveries. Presently, the department is in a process of finalising the orders with the publishers.
There were few schools which received donations to enable them to perform their daily school work, but there was very little funding.
The department needs other initiatives to assist with the improvement of the financial management, e.g. closing of books done by Deloitte & Touche, provisioning and payment projects, where training is continuing again (also the stock-taking the department is preparing).
There are a number of projects that have already been started which are actually assisting with the financial management. At present, there is too much that is demanding of the financial staff, and it is envisaged that if the staff can get through that, the department will definitely see its way clear to implement the existing projects to assist the finance section with the workload.
The delegation was welcomed by the Provincial Standing Committee on Education, chaired by Mr S Mancotywa. The leader of the delegation, Prof S M Mayatula, gave a brief overview and objectives of the visits to the province.
When the delegation visited the examination centre, the province was already halfway through the examinations for 1999. No problems, no leaking of papers, have been experienced, except the shortage of examination papers. Everything within the province is scheduled as planned and work is running smoothly and up to standard. The examination result will be released by 30 December 1999 for Y2K effect. All the necessary tests on the Y2K problem have been running up until September 1999 to make sure that their system is Y2K compliant. Reports have been made and everything has been cleared.
The standard of matric results is seen to be the same as there was no significant change (from 45% to 47%) in the previous year.
All the supplementary examinations have been arranged, work has been done twelve months in advance.
4 600 markers, including the senior markers, have been appointed on the basis of experience and qualification. Through the entire province there will be five marking centres. All markers will be paid their salaries before the end of February 2000.
There is still a backlog of 800 people which have not been paid by the department. The department is still struggling with the non-payment of people, which include markers, examiners, moderators and examination assistants. All the claims were verified and submitted to the department on 26 January 1999.
Phakamani Senior Secondary School has an enrolment figure of 1 005 learners and 27 educators. The school occupies a disused factory, a corrugated iron structure. The entire structure is delapitated and does not need any extensive repairs but needs to be closed down. The school should be declared a very dangerous health risk. The school has a site at Ibika which is few kilometres away and has been there for more than five years, awaiting a new building to be erected.
The classrooms still have huge factory ventilation, which make the students always suffer from respiratory diseases, asthma, bronchitis, etc. On top of this, there is poor electrical lighting, which damages the eyes of the students. Chemicals that were used in the factory were never thoroughly cleaned.
Toilets create another dangerous hazard as they are terribly filthy, very dirty and uncleaned yet they are still in use. For more than 1 000 students as well as teachers to utilise such toilets is a serious health risk. In 1999 alone, there were four reported deaths of students from the school while others were suffering from rheumatism.
The school at the former factory is situated far from the township and near a growing slum area. This exposes the pupils to rapes and attacks. Crime in the school is very high.
None of the school toilets flush. The students and teachers must have access to and continue to use these facilities which are subjected to shocking levels of terrible smells, which are creating more sanitary health risks. The systems have long been broken due to the leakage of drainage pipes. This has caused further damage to the books stored in an unusable and damaged library.
There is also a problem of overcrowding in the school. It has been noted that one of the Grade 10 classes in the school has an enrolment figure of 123 students. Although the Phakamani community realises that there are serious financial constraints with the provincial department of education, the school has certainly made great strides in establishing the culture of learning. In view of this fact, the community deserves a new brick structure and a decent school.
The school has an enrolment figure of 308 learners and 9 educators. The entire school consisted of 10 classrooms of a prefabricated structure. Approximately 98% of the entire structure was extensively damaged and flattened by the tornado on 16 December 1997. Up to now, there has been no intervention by the provincial legislature, the department and Idutywa district to help the community to alleviate the situation, except for provision of 5 tents to be used as classrooms. Even these are not of a good standard for teaching and learning.
At present, there are no toilets/sanitation, no electricity and no fence. During the rainy days and bad weather the school does not operate at all. It is located not far from the river bank, and some pupils have to cross the river on their way to school. When the river is full they do not attend the school at all. The school is controlled by weather and not by the principal.
As the clearing of site was not done by the people in the community, during the sunny days pupils and teachers are commonly exposed into poisonous snakes, which are seen to be dangerous and which may result in death to pupils and teachers. Most children have left this school due to these appalling conditions.
There is an urgent need for financial assistance to build a proper shelter or a new school in the area by the year 2000.
The school has an enrolment figure of 1 400 learners, 42 educators and 18 general assistants. The entire school building consist of a brick structure, partly prefabricated. Approximately 40% of the entire structure has been extensively damaged by the tornado. The school has louvre windows in some classrooms and most of the windows are broken and need urgent repairs. Due to unavailability of laboratories in the school, other classrooms are converted into laboratories, which has led to additional shortages of classrooms. During the rainy days, learners are cramped together in classrooms which were not affected and this again results in overcrowding.
Although the school building is very old and strong (121 years old), it needs major maintenance, constant repairs and renovations. Drainage problems, filthy toilets and bathrooms, leaking taps and pipes, are a health hazard to pupil and teachers. To repair the entire damages, R3 million is needed to overhaul the conditions.
Vandalism in the school is rife and is caused by students themselves. In the boys' hostel, the empty dormitories which were damaged, have been converted by students themselves to consume alcohol and to smoke dagga. There is no furniture in the dining halls.
The school has an enrolment figure of 520 learners and 18 educators. The entire school building consists of a brick structure. Only one classroom was damaged by fire and destroyed by the tornado. As there is no fence around the school premises there is stealing and vandalism of the school property, i.e. copper wires, pipe fittings, furniture and doors. The school managed to hire security, who are unarmed, to secure the entire school building and to safeguard the government property.
The school was built in 1985. There is no electricity and the school maintenance has been non-existent. They have themselves managed to raise R20 000 through donors and sponsors to repair the damaged toilets and to improve standard conducive for learning.
The school has an enrolment figure of 900 learners and 23 educators, with 2 educators are awaiting redeployment. The school consist of a prefabricated structure which has been extensively damaged by the storm.
Approximately 60% of the entire structure, including roofs and floors, have been extensively damaged. Most of the windows are broken and some of the classroom floors are in a state of collapse, which may result in injury to pupils and teachers. Urgent repairs and renovations are needed at the school.
The school has an enrolment figure of 544 learners and 15 educators. The school consist of a brick structure which was damaged by the storm. Only 4 classrooms and the school fence were damaged by the tornado, which took place on 15 December 1998.
As there were no repairs and renovations yet done in the school, the children in Grade 8 (280) are cramped together in the hall, which results in difficulty for the educator to attend to each individual student, due to overcrowding. Urgent repairs and renovations are needed at the school.
The school has an enrolment figure of 1 134 learners and 18 educators. The school consist of a prefabricated structure, with only 10 classrooms. Some classes are taking place outside the school premises due to the problem of overcrowding. This overcrowding has been causing a disastrous and low grasping of learners that may led to havoc because of improper involvement of individual attendance, from the teacher to the learner.
As the school is known for its excellent continuous results and is located in the centre of town, overcrowding may be one of the factors that affect enrolment increments.
The school urgently need 6 more classrooms to be put in place to ensure that proper education is continuing in the school.
The school has an enrolment figure of 390 learners and 21 educators. The school consists of brick structure which is extremely delapitated. The school was established in 1967 as a public school and was and still is attended only by the sons of the Chiefs in the former Transkei regime, even before its independence.
Vandalism in the school building and to property is rife. There is a high rate of crime still taking place on school grounds, as a result of which deaths have been reported. None of the people in the neighbouring communities want to take ownership of the school because of its history of being attended by the sons of the Chiefs.
The school used to be a boarding school, but due to constant violence, theft of laboratory equipment, vandalism and uncleanliness, the hostels were closed down. The school is seen to be dangerous, day and night. Urgent repairs and renovations need to be effected in the school.
There is no electricity, no fence, no proper sanitation and the toilets have long been unused and causing health hazards. Almost all broken windows have been damaged by the student themselves.
As the school principal, Mr S Mnyekentu, needs the education in this school to continue, regardless of the appalling circumstances, he needs trained armed security guards and proper fencing to curb the vandals from entering the premises.
According to the principal, the quantity surveyors have visited the school 4 months ago to assess the material needed to repair and renovate the school.
This school has an enrolment figure of 320 learners and 9 educators. The school building consists of 5 classrooms of a brick structure and three semi-delapitated classrooms that are not in use. It become difficult for the school to function during the rainy days and bad weather due to the openness of the roofs and walls. Almost all windows are broken. The school received R19 000 from the provincial department of education and this fund helped the community to build 2 more classrooms of a brick structure.
As this school is a community-built school, the community has certainly made great strides in donating R50,00 per household, with the intention to build 4 more classrooms. It has also been envisaged by the people in the community that it will take other 5 years to build another 4 classrooms due to insufficient funding. This school is experiencing problems of overcrowding.
There is no electricity, no sanitation, no fencing, no furniture and learning materials, e.g. writing boards, in the school. Funds are needed urgently to improve the quality of the infrastructure, which is presently not conducive to teaching and learning.
The school has an enrolment figure of 215 learners and 4 educators. The entire school building consist of a mud structure which is extensively damaged. The leaking roofs and all broken windows need urgent repairs and renovations. The roof is likely to collapse any time and may cause injuries to learners and teachers.
There are no desks and other educational facilities in the school. Learner support material for Grade 2 were received, but none of the Grade 1 material was distributed to the school. There is an intention to open Grade 5 next year but there are no facilities and classrooms to effect that.
The initiative to open the school in 1996 was envisaged by the people in the community, seeing the danger of the nearby national road, a few kilometres away from the area. As there was no school in the area prior to 1996, the children had to cross the national road, which is very dangerous, to attend school in other neighbouring villages. The community noted with concern the number of road accidents on the nearby national road, which have killed many children from the community.
Again, the new settlement of Sisulu area also gave birth to this community-built school.
There is no electricity, no toilets and sanitation, and no fencing. The people in the community need intervention of the government to support the school in terms of furniture, learner support material, educational facilities and proper decent school.
The school has an enrolment figure of 500 learners and 9 educators. The school building partly consists of a mud structure. There has been damage to the structure's walls, doors, windows and roofs.
Approximately 80% of the entire structure has been extensively damaged, delapitated and flattened by the tornado, both in 1997 and 1998.
The efforts to build the school were made by the community itself. The community received R20 000 from the provincial department of education (MEC's R18 million project) to build more classrooms. As the building is likely to collapse at any time, funds are needed to rebuild a proper school with bricks.
The school has an enrolment figure of 414 learners and 11 educators. The school building consists of a brick structure and partly of a mud structure. This school is also one of the schools which benefitted from the MEC's R18 million project. The school received R19 000, which was used to build three classrooms of a brick structure. The other part of the school, which is of a mud structure and which is not up to proper standard, is also used to accommodate Grade 1 and 2, as there is still shortage of classrooms.
The school has an enrolment figure of 169 learners and 7 educators (Grade 10 - 12). The school was established in 1999 and the building consists of a wooden structure which was donated by Sawmill.
Due to unavailability of classrooms in this school, junior secondary school is accommodated in another nearby school. As this was a community-driven project, the school governing body contributed by assisting the school in building the structure. There was no financial assistance from the government for building the school and its maintenance. There is no fencing, no electricity, no security, no toilets, no water in the school. Vandalism and theft in the area is rife.
The school has an enrolment figure of 366 learners and 8 educators. The school building consists of a newly built brick structure and an extensively damaged mud structure.
Part of the new brick structure was built from the local funds (R36 000) donated by Gold Mines. Presently, there is no water and electricity, no sanitation/toilets, no fencing and no furniture. As part of the school is of a mud structure, there are no doors, no windows and proper walls, and it is in a state of collapse.
Many attempts have been made, to the circuit office, to build new and additional classrooms, but nothing has been done. No financial assistance has been received as promised from the provincial government to build a new school. Children are exposed to cold and "flu", and some have no accommodation due to these appalling conditions at the school. Urgent attention is needed to repair and renovate the school.
The school has an enrolment of 270 learners and 4 educators, of whom 2 educators are awaiting redeployment. The school consists of only 2 classrooms made of a mud structure. Accommodation in this school is regarded as a major problem because 2 classes are accommodated in another school in the nearby area.
Previously the children were accommodated in the tents but due to attempts by the community, a structure was built (not yet completed) with their own assistance and efforts.
The school has no furniture, no windows, no ceiling, no toilets, no water and electricity and no fencing. As there is no water available, the learners themselves do daily routine of bringing water for cleaning (using cow dung) and maintenance of the school floors and walls.
As this is a well-managed and -controlled school, funding is needed to effect some of the community-driven initiatives which are aimed at maintaining the school in a proper environment conducive to learning and teaching.
The school has an enrolment figure of 114 learners and 5 educators, of whom one educator is awaiting redeployment. The school consists partly of a brick and partly of a mud structure. Approximately 50% of the school was damaged by the tornado on 18 January 1999. The roof and broken windows were blown away by the wind during the storm.
There are no toilets, no water and electricity and no fencing. None of the classrooms have ceilings.
The community, out of their funds and efforts, has already started to repair and rebuild the damaged classrooms which are of a brick structure. Funding is needed to complete the initiative taken by the community in respect of their school. There is a need for 3 more classrooms as there is a backlog of shortage of classrooms.
The delegation could not visit the Mount Frere schools, Bethlehem S.P. School, Nganu J.S School and Mpungutyana J.P School because of time constraints. The Committee apologised to these communities.
The delegation's visit to KwaZulu-Natal coincided with a period of simmering political tension in the province caused by the assassination that had taken place. This event therefore delayed the starting date of the delegation's visit from 2 November 1999 to the next day, 3 November 1999.
The two committees met on 3 November 1999, and a very cordial meeting was held, which was characterised by general goodwill and co-operation. The meeting held with the MEC for Education and Culture, Ms E E N kaNkosi Shandu, in Ulundi, similarly took place in a very cordial atmosphere.
The success of the study tour, despite the prevailing tensions, was largely due to the mature and conciliatory manner of the chairperson of the provincial committee on education and culture, Mr S Ngidi, who accompanied the tour throughout the province. In addition to this, the parliamentary delegation assured their hosts that they did not come to the province on a fault-finding mission, but that they were eager to establish a co-operative relationship with the provincial standing committee on education to address the many challenges that constrained education in the province. This message was well accepted by the provincial committee, who agreed to pursuing such a co-operative relationship with the delegation from the Portfolio Committee.
Two members of the Education Portfolio Committee, Ms P N Mnandi and Mr A M Mpontshane, were identified as the KwaZulu-Natal-based MPs who would serve as a link between the KZN provincial committee on Education and Culture and the parliamentary education portfolio committee.
Implementation of adherence to national legislation, e.g. the South African School Act, in terms of abolishing corporal punishment is problematic. It came to the observation of the delegation that corporal punishment is rife in many schools in the province.
In this school, a meeting was held with the principal, Mr K Elliot. This school is a former model C school. It was mentioned that the process of transformation and integration of pupils was moving at a slow pace, e.g. enrolment of pupils from other racial groups was minimal, and the staff was predominantly from one race group. The infrastructure and recreational facilities are in good condition.
This is a disadvantaged inner-city public school. In this school there is a large staff turnover, and teacher redeployment has affected the teachers' performance. The school lacks recreational facilities and has limited facilities, e.g. a library with very few books.
Most of the windows are broken, some part of the building has been extensively vandalised, and there is poor sanitation.
This is a disadvantaged rural school. In this school the physical structure is decaying. The school principal had made a request to the provincial department of education to renovate the school.
Vandalism to school property is rife in the area. The school needs to be fenced so as to prevent vandals from entering the school premises. The school work together with the community police forum in trying to curb vandalism in the school.
There is a shortage of books and furniture in the school.
This is a former Model C school. In this school, there is a good physical structure with good facilities, which include a library and computer laboratory. There is a good working relationship with the school governing body. The programme of fundraising is in place and has a great impact on the school. The integration of pupils is moving very slowly. It was noted that the entire staff is predominantly of one race and one gender.
This school is a disadvantaged rural school. The school has water and a telephone line. The school governing body in this school still need to be trained on certain issues pertaining to the management of the school and its activities. Awareness on the need for fundraising is necessary.
This school is a disadvantaged deep rural school. The school lacks various facilities, namely a library, books, a science laboratory and furniture. There is a serious furniture shortage which needs urgent attention.
This school is a disadvantaged rural school located at Umsinga. It was noted that the conditions at the school were very poor, and extensive repairs and renovations are needed to bring the school up to proper standard. Vandalism is high on the property of the school, e.g. on furniture and windows.
This is a disadvantaged rural school located at Mahlabathini. The school received funding from the Indian Religious Group based in Durban to build the school. The school offers streams of teaching subjects, namely science, trade, commerce and performing art.
Although the school is situated in a rural community, for the past five years, it has had an excellent continuous pass rate of 90%.
The rural schools need extra educational facilities. Discipline is maximal in most of the schools. The relationship between the teachers' union and the MEC has improved. The schools in the rural communities lack capacity in terms of finance. The Netherlands is assisting the province in science and English subjects.
Areas that need urgent attention:
The Portfolio Committee on Education is satisfied that it attained most of the objectives identified for the study tours to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
The delegations managed to lay the basis for a very constructive co-operative relationship with provincial governance structures. In both the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, open and constructive discussions took place between the respective MECs, the top management of the Department and the delegations from Parliament.
The visits also succeeded in highlighting the principles of Tirisano, the Minister's Call to Action to provincial structures. Tirisano booklets were distributed as far as the delegation toured, and the vision of the Minister in assisting "provincial education departments to manage education efficiently" was emphasised.
The delegations examined conditions of physical degradation in the poorest rural areas according to the objectives of the tour. It found conditions of immense poverty, dilapidated schools and a lack of basic facilities at educational institutions. However, even under the poorest conditions in schools, the delegations found that the dedication, discipline and hard work of teachers in class had a greater influence on good examination results than that which the physical conditions in schools could bring about.
The information gained by the delegations during the study tours have created a firm basis on which an integrated rural strategy could be based.
The Portfolio Committee is therefore satisfied that a solid start has been made in the creation of co-operative relationship between national and provincial governments through the visits undertaken to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal on 2,3 and 4 November 1999.