30 November 1999
Foreword
Executive summary
Scope and purpose of the report
Administration of the 1999 Senior Certificate examinations
Procurement and distribution of learning support materials
Implementation of the Norms and Standards for Funding Public Schools
Implementation of the Admission Policy in Public Schools
Capacity of the management echelon in provincial departments of education
Your question, Mr President, "Is our education system on the road to the 21st century?" will be a telling criterion of education provision for the life of the second democratic government. It requires us to find out where our education system stands, to monitor, to set priorities and targets, and to bend every effort to achieve them. This report provides an assessment of the progress of provincial education in respect of five important areas of performance. This is the first report in a series that will follow at reasonable intervals during the term of the second democratic government.
Our Constitution assigns education, other than higher education, to the list of concurrent legislative functions in Schedule D. Thus, although the Minister of Education has overall political and legislative responsibility for all education, the executive responsibility for provincial education systems rests with provincial governments. Provincial education budgets are determined by provincial governments and voted by provincial legislatures, out of the provincial block grants appropriated by Parliament.
The tension inherent in our constitutional arrangements is managed according to the precepts of co-operative government. My Call to Action statement (Tirisano: Working Together to Build a South African Education and Training System for the 21st Century, July 1999) gave pride of place to co-operative government, which is the basis of our joint effort in raising the performance of provincial education systems.
This report rests heavily on close interaction between the political leadership and professional collaboration between the national and provincial education departments.
Work together we must, to ensure that all South Africans are able to exercise their fundamental rights to education of high quality, and to equip our nation with the values, skills and knowledge that the new century demands.
This year, the Minister of Education invited an expert team from Cambridge International Examinations to review the examination process and offer advice on improvements. Some aspects of their report have been acted upon, and others with longer term implications are being studied. In general, the team gave a favourable report on the care and commitment with which the examination process was being handled. They made important recommendations on the incorporation of the year mark, on the standardisation process, and the desirability of rationalisation of the examination process, which at present is conducted by nine provincial examination boards.
Examination components in seven provincial education departments are seriously understaffed. Three provinces are operating with half their complement. This situation is totally unsatisfactory. It implies immense overload on the staff in post, and increases the risk of error in a situation that demands accuracy and strict control.
553 299 full-time and 239 007 part-time candidates enrolled in 1999, a decline of almost 5% and 10% respectively compared with 1998. The reasons will be investigated.
In five provinces, the number of Standard Grade candidates increased and the number of Higher Grade candidates declined in key subjects. This is a welcome development, since an unrealistic preference for Higher Grade has been a major factor in the high failure rate.
There has been progressive improvement in the last three years, and this year most provinces managed the majority of key preparatory processes well. The Inter-provincial Examinations Committee (IPEC) will examine the problems that were encountered and decide on remedial measures for the next round.
The conduct of examinations was monitored independently by provincial and national departmental teams, and a team deployed by the South African Certification Council (SAFCERT), the statutory body that has to certify the integrity of the examinations and issue certificates at exit points.
Given the large numbers of examination centres, examination papers, candidates and scripts, the examinations were remarkably free of incident. Most problems were dealt with at school level. Two flagrant cases of dishonesty were discovered and dealt with. One paper was stolen and sold at a school in the Western Cape. The paper was replaced and two arrests were made. Two "ghost candidates" were arrested at an Adult Learning Centre in KwaZulu-Natal. "Irregularity Committees" in each province are handling all reported incidents according to nationally approved procedures.
It can be stated with confidence that the integrity of the examinations has not been compromised by these events.
All provinces are confident about the provincial capacity to handle the processing and standardisation of results, and the scheduled release of results before the year´s end in order to avoid the Y2K phenomenon. However, contingency plans are in place.
Only three provincial education authorities are satisfied with the current SAFCERT standardisation process. This matter will be part of an investigation to be carried out in 2000 by the Department of Education.
Special measures have been put in place to avoid a recurrence in any province of the tampering with marks that took place in Mpumalanga in 1998.
Five provinces have incorporated some form of continuous assessment this year, with the approval of SAFCERT. Three provinces are preparing to do so next year. This matter will also be investigated in 2000 in the light of experience thus far, and the expressed need for uniform procedures.
Examinations are very costly. The total of provincial budget allocations for the Senior Certificate examination in 1999 is R303 million. This figure comprises a significant proportion of the provinces´ non-personnel budget for education, but six provinces indicate that their budgeted allocations are inadequate.
Provincial departments generally agree that an examination registration fee should be charged to offset the costs. The Department of Education has undertaken a financial analysis of examination costs, which will guide further consideration of this matter. Wide consultation will be undertaken before a decision is reached.
Provincial education departments administered the Senior Certificate examination as a national, non-racial service for the first time in 1996. Over the past four years, through the intervention of the Department of Education, excellent collaboration in the Inter-Provincial Examinations Committee (IPEC), tight management control and high levels of commitment, remarkable progress has been made.
While there is room for continuing improvement, and notwithstanding major changes that are under consideration in examination policy, the Senior Certificate is currently conducted with integrity and merits public confidence.
Totally inadequate provincial allocations for learning support materials (LSMs) in 1998/99 resulted in Cabinet making an additional allocation available by way of a conditional grant managed by the Department of Education. The budgeted allocations (R212 million) and the conditional grant (R200 million) together fell far short of the estimated requirement of around R850 000.
The problems associated with the ordering and supply of LSMs in 1999 convinced the Department of Education that a full-scale business review of the entire process was required. Specialist consultants in business systems engineering were commissioned to undertake the review, in collaboration with the national and provincial education departments. The review exposed the complexity of the entire LSM system, identified significant problems in six provinces, noted the serious funding shortfall, and pointed to the poor rate of retrieval of books from learners at the end of each school year as a major hidden cost. The consultants reported their findings to the Council of Education Ministers and the Ministers of Education and Finance.
The Minister of Finance directed the Department of State Expenditure to assist the provincial education authorities in managing the LSM supply process. By direction of the Minister, a task team comprising senior officials of the Departments of Education and State Expenditure monitored the implementation process following the findings of the business review, and maintained contact with the provincial authorities, especially those with the most severe problems.
Two provinces (Eastern Cape and Northern) were able to increase their allocations for LSMs after direct intervention by the Minister of Education. This has helped to push the combined budgeted allocation for textbooks to R579 million. While this represents a significant increase over last year´s budgeted allocation, it falls far short of the Department of Education´s estimate as to how much will be required to meet LSM needs nation-wide in 2000.
The level of provision has improved in all provincial departments compared with this time last year. However, only three provinces are able to supply schools with all their textbook requirements (Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and Western Cape). Seven provinces have completed the placement of orders. Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal await the completion of tender board processes. All provinces, except KwaZulu-Natal, expect to complete deliveries by the end of the third week in January.
National and provincial education and treasury authorities have greater understanding of the importance and complexity of the LSM business process, as a result of the business review and intensive monitoring during 1999. The overall budget allocation has improved, but falls far short of requirements. Most provinces are confident of completing deliveries in the first month of the new term, but much depends on the efficiency of the suppliers appointed by provincial tender boards. In the Western Cape and Gauteng, LSM procurement has been radically allocated to school level.
There can be no let up in the pressure on provincial authorities to improve their LSM budgetary allocations and business systems. The Department of Education is investigating methods of reducing the cost of production and distribution of LSMs. The low rate of retrieval in large parts of the system requires special attention by school leadership teams and governing bodies, and a more active process to raise the awareness of parents and seek their co-operation.
The new school funding policy was gazetted in October 1998 in terms of the South African Schools Act, 1996, became effective on 1 April 1999, and will be implemented in schools in January 2000. The main aims are to create a uniform funding policy in all provinces, to remove inequities in the distribution of public resources for education, and effect redress by introducing poverty-related criteria for the allocation of funds. The norms apply only to non-personnel expenditure.
The Department of Education and provincial departments have worked intensively for three years on the development of the new policy and preparations for its implementation. The new policy is highly data intensive, and requires efficient management of information and accounting systems. Delays in concluding a funding agreement with the EU in support of a provincial capacity-building project, and bringing the project on line, have resulted in regrettable slippage in the schedule of preparations at provincial level. The project is now in operation.
A full audit of provincial readiness has been conducted by the consortium of consultants contracted by the Department of Education with EU support. Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape and Western Cape will be ready for full implementation in January 2000. Mpumalanga, North West, Eastern Cape and Northern Province are far from ready, with the latter two being particularly behind schedule.
The Department of Education, with the technical support of the consortium, has intensified its engagement with the provincial departments. An emergency intervention plan has been prepared and activated, to assist the lagging provincial departments to meet the minimum legal requirements under the South African Schools Act in January 2000, and progressively improve their capacity to implement during the course of the year.
Implementing an equitable and progressive school funding policy is one of the most complex undertakings of the national education system. It carries forward the major transformational influence of the South African Schools Act. Necessarily, the implementation process makes heavy professional and technical demands on provincial departments.
Provincial readiness is a function of the level of expertise in the provincial department concerned, and the level of drive and commitment exhibited by the provincial authorities. Technical support is now being directed in full measure toward the provinces where little progress has been made. It needs to be matched by the exercise of decisive political and professional leadership.
The country´s first national policy on public school admissions was gazetted in October 1998 in terms of the National Education Policy Act, 1996, for implementation in January 2000. The age-grade norms have been determined as regulations in terms of the South African Schools Act, 1996, and published simultaneously with the same effective date.
The new policy provides uniform norms on the age of admission and brings uniformity into the processes of admission to public schools across all provinces. It aims to achieve regularity in the progress of age cohorts through the school cycle, curb the abuses of gross under-age and over-age enrollment inherited from the years of apartheid, improve learning levels, and effect significant efficiency savings over time.
All provinces have determined procedures for the early registration of learners, and made these known to the public, and have implemented registration for the 2000 school year. From the information provided by provinces it appears that the admission process is on track, and procedures are in place to deal with disputes.
A child is eligible to enter grade 1 in the calendar year in which he or she turns seven. This accords with a substantial body of international practice, and is justifiable on grounds of children´s developmental level. The new policy has been disputed by some parents who have been used to a slightly earlier Grade 1 admission age.
Pleas have been made for exceptions to the rule, whether on grounds of special aptitude or expectation or convenience. The Minister, on legal advice and in pursuit of educationally justifiable practice, has announced publicly that the norms make no provision for exceptions. There is no available test or criterion that could be applied equitably to judge special cases. They will not be permitted. All MECs have been advised to ensure that the norms are strictly implemented.
The implementation of the national admission policy is proceeding well. It will be closely monitored, because the test of effective implementation will come in January, when principals are subjected to customary pressures to admit children in contravention of the law.
The new age of admission to Grade 1 will have a profound effect on the numbers of children admitted in that grade in 2000, since many under-age children were admitted in previous years. The year 2000 Grade 1 cohort will therefore be considerably smaller, and this smaller cohort will progress through the entire 12 years of the school cycle. The 2001 cohort should approximate to the real numbers in the age group, and by 2002 the full cohort should be available for admission in Grade 1.
It is important, therefore, to avoid hasty conclusions about teacher requirements. The analysis of enrollment patterns in 2000 and thereafter must be undertaken with care and the implications discussed with all concerned, especially teachers unions and governing body associations.
The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on school enrollments and the teaching force is being urgently investigated. This is part of a larger study of the social and economic impact of the epidemic sponsored by the Department of Health and funded by USAID. The findings will be presented in a subsequent report.
Only Gauteng and the Western Cape have retained the same Heads of Education since 1995. Eastern Cape has had four heads, two in an acting capacity. KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Province have had three.
The past instability in the leadership of provincial education departments has been a source of serious concern to the Ministry of Education, especially in cases where disciplinary proceedings mounted against the incumbent were permitted to drag on for excessive periods of time, while another officer acted in the post. The Ministry has strongly encouraged the provincial authorities to act speedily to resolve outstanding cases, and ensure stability in the leadership of these large and highly complex departments.
The situation has considerably improved in the past few months. At the time of reporting, only two provincial departments have acting heads. The vacant position of Northern Province Head has been advertised and will shortly be filled. In Mpumalanga the incumbent is subject to disciplinary proceedings and an Acting Head on short-term secondment from the Department of Education is currently in post.
The filling of posts in the management echelon has been monitored. The situation is satisfactory except in KwaZulu-Natal (25% vacancies), Northern Province (28% vacancies), and Mpumalanga (54% vacancies). The Mpumalanga case is clearly critical. All provinces report plans to fill the vacancies early in the year 2000.
43. It appears that the serious erosion of leadership and management capacity in the provincial education departments has begun to be stemmed. The situation has improved substantially, especially with respect to the filling of vacant Head of Department positions. The indications are that the whole management echelon should have stabilised within a few months.
The Minister of Education requested Members of the Executive Council responsible for
education in the nine provinces on 28 October 1999 to report on the following five issues:
The Department of Education prepared guidelines to assist the Members of the Executive Council in compiling their reports. The reports of the Members of the Executive Council were analysed to compile the composite report. The Minister of Education will use the composite report to brief the President on progress made on the five issues.