Pretoria
June 1999
After almost five years in the most exciting and demanding job in the world, don’t count me among the edu-pessimists.
These are the people who dismiss South African education as a disaster area and walk away from it, like the Afro-pessimists who write off the entire mother continent as a basket case. I reject such casual cynicism with every fibre of my being.
Like it or not, our education system is an integral and indispensable part of our national fabric. More than one in every four South Africans is enrolled in an education institution. Parents invest resources and hope in their children’s education. Employers depend on the education system to lay the foundation of knowledge and skill, disciplined work habits and co-operation, on which their enterprises rely. Business leaders and economists insist that the most vital commodity of modern economies is knowledge, and the national education system is the seedbed of the knowledge economy.
So, when our education system delivers the goods, we all benefit. When it doesn’t, we all suffer. How can any responsible citizen turn away from education and say, "It’s none of my business"? Education is everybody’s business, and the education system needs all the help it can get.
Professor Sibusiso Bengu
Minister of Education, 1994-99
Excerpted from "Education—a system worth fighting
for",
in Tribute, January 1999
2 General and Further Education and Training
Introduction
All policies, laws and programmes introduced by the Ministry of Education since 1994 have aimed at transforming the national system of education and training. The mission statement of the Department of Education declares that:
Our vision is of a South Africa in which all its people have equal access to lifelong education and training opportunities, which will contribute towards improving their quality of life and building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society.
This statement is like a banner on the battlefield of apartheid education, pointing the way toward a system that is freed from discrimination and inequality, and united on a foundation of opportunity and democracy.
This document outlines the transformation programme of the Ministry of Education in the first democratic government. It also describes the work that is taking place, and sketches the main challenges facing the second democratic government, insofar as these can be foreseen.
The organisation of the chapters roughly corresponds with the programme responsibilities of the four branches of the Department of Education, but the match is not perfect. Two annexures provide brief statements of the responsibilities of the Minister of Education, and the constitutional compass by which the Minister must steer.
Five years of change
Democratic government has unleashed profound changes that are at work in our education system. For example:
Yet, these and other striking changes have not yet added up to the transformation of learning opportunities for the poorest South Africans, or to a decisive improvement in the quality of learning attainment for the majority. Inequality is still writ large in the education system, and too many families are on the receiving end of an unacceptably low standard of educational delivery.
Reasons for this state of affairs are not hard to find.
Thus, despite five years of intensive effort and commitment by tens of thousands of educators, public servants, academics and NGO practitioners, we are still far from achieving our vision for education. That is the challenge to the second democratic government. Nevertheless, the systemic changes brought about in the first five years are irrevocable, and they provide a progressive, durable basis for accelerated improvement.
Creating a new system
Establishing new departments from oldThe vast organisational process of de-commissioning the apartheid education structures, creating the national and nine provincial departments, transferring institutions, staff, offices, records, assets, and ten million learners, was accomplished without a breakdown in education delivery. This outstanding feat was largely managed by experienced professional public servants under the political supervision of the Council of Education Ministers.
In the new national Department, a systematic transformation process has been undertaken since 1996, with the assistance of Australian public service consultants. It has proceeded through three continuous phases. The first phase concentrated on change management, the review of systems, and organisational culture. The second phase has focused on changing systems and procedures to improve performance and outcomes, teamwork, and customer-focused service in the spirit of Batho Pele. The third phase will emphasise staff development.
Provincial departments are much larger and more complex than the national Department, with more acute problems in the form of inherited homeland organisational cultures and the need to create unified systems across diverse social conditions and large geographic areas. Systematic organisational transformation has not been attempted with the same intensity, and in some cases may not yet have been tried.
Following the Provincial Review Report (Ncholo Report), the Education Departments Support Unit (EDSU) was established by the national Department to provide technical advice and capacity building on request from provincial departments, on the basis of audits of need. Both urgent ad hoc requests and systematic, sustained improvements are catered for. Topics range from the most basic clerical processes, through procedures for dealing with misconduct cases, to the functions of Heads of Department. EDSU is mainly funded by the Policy Reserve Fund (PRF), a conditional grant mechanism for strengthening management and enhancing quality in provincial systems.
The District Development Project, funded by the PRF, concentrates on the improvement of administrative and professional services in the district system where it interfaces with learning sites.
The PRF will also fund the appointment this year of high-level Financial Managers on contract, to join the senior management teams of provincial education departments and provide strategic advice on achieving more cost effective and efficient service delivery.
The Education Management Development (EMD) programme of the national Department includes the creation of an inter-provincial EMD network, exercising influence on service providers to offer appropriate staff development programmes of high quality, and directly commissioning bulk training materials for use in school leadership capacity building programmes.
Education White Paper 1
The fundamental policy framework of the Ministry of Education was set out in the Ministry’s first white paper, Education and Training in a Democratic South Africa: First Steps to Develop a New System (February 1995). While transacted in the first months of the Government of National Unity, it took as its starting point the 1994 education policy framework of the African National Congress. After extensive consultation, negotiation and revision, it was approved by the Cabinet and has served as the principled basis and reference point for the Ministry’s policy and legislative development.
The "First Steps" programme has effectively been fulfilled in the past five years. A "Next Steps" White Paper is needed to set the course for the second democratic government.
National Education Policy Act, 1996 (NEPA)
The NEPA was designed to inscribe in law the policy, legislative and monitoring responsibilities of the Minister of Education under the new democratic (interim) Constitution, and to formalise the relations between national and provincial education authorities in the new system. The Act does not apply to universities and technikons, since the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) was still in operation when the Bill was introduced.
The Bill was passed by both houses of Parliament over the protest of the combined opposition, who challenged the validity of the measure in the Constitutional Court. The Court’s unanimous judgement, written by the Judge President, upheld the constitutionality of the Bill, which the President then signed into law. The Court’s decision provides a valuable interpretation of national and provincial legislative competence, and the executive authority of Ministers.
The Act spells out directive principles for policy, as well as the consultative processes the Minister must observe in determining policy or legislation. The Act establishes the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) and the Heads of Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM), and determines their functions in the national and provincial policy processes and the co-ordination of the new system. The Minister is required to establish the National Education and Training Council (NETC), as a representative stakeholder body, and may establish consultative bodies for sub-sectors of the system.
The Department has been slow to advise the Minister on the establishment of the NETC. This has now been done, and a list of nominees will be presented to the Minister for consideration in August 1999. The Department was reluctant to recommend a membership structure for the NETC before considering the membership of other apex bodies like the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the National Board for Further Education and Training (NBFET). The latter bodies have been appointed.
NEPA makes the national Department responsible for monitoring the extent to which provincial departments uphold their responsibilities under the Constitution and the law, but creates a co-operative process to identify and remedy any default.
Co-operative government in education
NEPA embodied the principle of co-operative government before it was expressed as a basic doctrine in chapter 3 of the 1996 Constitution, and before "MINMECs" came to be recognised as an essential part of the apparatus of government. The Ministry’s recognition that inter-governmental relations were a major organisational priority has ensured that the policy goal of a national system with nine provincial sub-systems has been achieved.
The CEM and HEDCOM have met regularly during each of the five years since their informal establishment in May 1994. They have debated and assented to every policy and legislative measure approved by the Minister, as well as discussing labour relations matters, budget issues, and anything else of interest to the management of the education system. The volume and importance of the work has required the Department to establish a dedicated secretariat service at senior professional level to manage agenda documents, minutes, and meeting arrangements.
HEDCOM has created a large number of specialist committees on such subjects as examinations, curriculum, finance, management information, the school calendar, learning support materials and school stationery. The Act provides that national teacher unions are members of every HEDCOM committee.
South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) Act, 1995
The integration of education and training was a prime policy goal of the ANC Alliance before the 1994 election. The establishment of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) was considered an essential expression and guarantor of a national learning system where education and training would be accepted as equally important and complementary facets of human competence. The NQF was seen as a powerful vehicle to promote wider access to learning, portability of learning credits, and greater mobility of learners across the learning system.
Although the portfolio responsibilities for education and manpower (later human resource development) were allocated to the Ministers of Education and Labour, respectively, the two ministers established an Inter-Ministerial Working Group to pursue their joint interests. This body drafted the SAQA Bill. The Minister of Education introduced the Bill in Parliament, but it enshrines joint decision-making by both ministers.
The SAQA Act is distinctive by comparison with similar measures in other countries, since it embraces all levels and sectors of the national learning system. It is largely an enabling measure, according major responsibility for developing and implementing the NQF to the highly representative SAQA Board, and it makes participation in the NQF voluntary. These attributes have ensured overwhelming acceptance, and makes our qualifications system the most comprehensive in the world.
The SAQA Board is undertaking a formal evaluation of its experience as its first term ends. Three considerations are likely to feature strongly:
Education planning and funding under the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)
About 89 per cent of the national education budget is allocated by provincial governments. Since 1997/98, the Minister of Education has had no direct influence on this allocation. In that year, provincial governments were allocated an "equitable share" of national revenue and for the first time were responsible for dividing their own budgets. A crisis overtook provincial education departments, most of which overspent their budgets as personnel costs rose steeply for a combination of reasons. The national and provincial treasuries enforced severe cutbacks and controls. Provincial education budgets suffered severe distortions from which most have not yet recovered.
In 1997, the Ministry of Finance introduced the MTEF, as part of its reform of the budget process. The main features of the MTEF are:
In 1997 and 1998, an Education Sectoral MTEF Review Team, representing national and provincial finance and education departments, has undertaken significant analyses of provincial education spending patterns and policy priorities.
The 1997 report included an analysis of cost drivers, a computer model of education spending, and strong recommendations on the necessity to curb enrolment bloating and to control personnel costs through improved management practices. The government was warned that no effective improvement in education attainment could be expected unless efficiency savings were directed toward measures for qualitative improvement. Local empirical research was required to determine the best combination of investments to stimulate enhanced learning attainment. The national and provincial education departments have taken these proposals seriously and acted on many of them. For example, in 1998 the Minister published the admission policy and age-grade norms for public schools, and the assessment policy, which are aimed at reducing out-of-age enrolment and excessive repetition.
The 1998/99 provincial budget process involved greater participation and realism, as far as personnel budgets were concerned. However, the 1998 Review Team concluded that the 1998/99 provincial education budgets, as a whole, were neither financially nor educationally credible. Although, on average, education takes up 40 per cent of provincial budgets, 90 per cent of provincial education budgets is spent on personnel costs. This ratio needs to be reduced over time to 80:20, in order to ensure that the correct level of investment is undertaken in non-personnel functions, including programmes to improve quality and expand access. The Review Team set an intermediate target of 85:15, and proposed a package of measures to shift funding progressively to non-personnel functions, while retaining educationally defensible staffing levels. These matters were discussed in detail with the national teachers unions, as part of a consultation process on the education budget which should become routine.
A few provinces have been able to reflect such a shift in their 1999/00 budgets, but in general the budgets of the poorest and most vulnerable provinces exhibit seriously retrogressive allocations for non-personnel functions. In particular, allocations for learning support materials and school stationery are seriously inadequate, especially given the requirements of the new curriculum. The same goes for new school construction and other capital works, particularly in poor rural provinces with massive inherited backlogs. The latter issue has attracted the attention of the Joint Finance/Education MINMEC, which has asked for a detailed investigation of the matter.
Meanwhile, the National School Building Programme, an RDP Presidential Lead Project, has made strong progress after a slow start. Of the R1,2 billion allocated, more than R1 billion has been spent, and the remainder is expected to be disbursed in 1999. Within a varied programme of new school construction, extensions and replacements, 10,000 new classrooms have been completed, plus additional school facilities and services like water, electricity and sewage. The smaller "Culture of Learning" Presidential Lead Project is complete. This project spent R160 million on school refurbishment tied to school governance. Both projects have placed strong emphasis on the RDP principles of community involvement, including maximum use of small and medium contractors.
However, there is no comparable provincial follow-up to these 1994/95 RDP national projects.
While the MTEF sectoral review process has brought many benefits, including a collegial spirit between education and finance officials, and important analytical findings, it has not yet shown itself capable of influencing provincial education allocations for the better in the most seriously deprived, administratively vulnerable and poorest provinces. It cannot yet be said that education budgets, taken as a whole, are vehicles for enhanced delivery of education services, or that education priorities are reflected convincingly in education budgets.
Meanwhile, the Education Policy Reserve Fund (PRF), established in 1998/99, is a conditional grant facility in support of improved management and quality in provincial education systems. The Policy Reserve is managed by the Department of Education, which is supported by a co-ordinating committee including all provincial education departments. Business plans have been approved in support of the Education Departments Support Unit (financial and administrative capacity building), Education Management Development (including school governing body capacity-building), Teacher Development in support of Curriculum 2005, and the COLTS campaign. The PRF also supports an integrated District Development Project to improve the management chain and school effectiveness in about 30 poorly-performing districts. The effectiveness of the PRF mechanism to achieve its purposes is kept under careful review.
Education Management Information System (EMIS)
The Ministry inherited fragmented and unsatisfactory data on the education system. The Department began work on a new national Education Management Information System (EMIS) in 1996, with the design of a national core data set, a national annual school survey form and a computer program for data processing. In 1997 the annual school survey was conducted using a coherent national framework. The resultant data was submitted to the national department in January 1998.
The Department now houses a comprehensive database for all public schools in the country, for the first time in the history of education in South Africa, The information will be used for planning, management, monitoring and evaluation of the education system. The EMIS directorate, in collaboration with the Quality Assurance component, will shortly publish a report based on the 1997 Annual School Survey and an investigation of performance indicators in the system.
The 1998 Annual School Survey was successfully conducted in April 1998 by all provinces except Eastern Province, which conducted theirs later in the year. Most 1998 data was submitted to the national Department in November 1998, which is a significant improvement.
The National EMIS will evolve to cover the entire education system, in particular:
The priorities will be undertaken in collaboration with the provincial education departments through the national EMIS Steering Committee, and will mainly be funded through the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). SIDA has made major financial contributions and provided technical support for this project since 1995.
Increased demand for accurate, reliable, valid and timely education data is a major challenge. The development of the Educator Post Provisioning Model, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) process and the school funding norms relied heavily on the data produced by the EMIS, SRN (of the Department of Education), as well as Persal and the Financial Management System (FMS) of the State Expenditure and Finance Departments. This has emphasised the urgent need to link and frequently update the databases collecting information on education.
The SRN Survey was completed in 1997, and a national school survey was conducted in April 1998 to update the database. The EMIS units in the provincial education departments have also taken initiatives to update the database and add the schools that were omitted during the 1996 survey.
Provincial education departments have taken ownership of the database and are using it in various projects. Training of physical planners to use the SRN database in the provinces has been conducted. The school funding norms require the provincial education departments to develop rankings of schools based on poverty and need criteria, and the SRN database will be used with other databases for this purpose.
Quality improvement and benchmarking
During the last two years the Department has embarked on the development and instruments which will be used to improve our understanding of the performance of the system as a whole, and measures that are likely to improve learning attainment. The instruments will assess the impact of curriculum, assessment, classroom practices, and pre-service and in-service education on learner attainment at the end of Grades 3, 6, 9 and 12. Education quality indicators will assess the impact of contextual, input, process and output factors on the quality of learning. Development and trialling of these instruments was undertaken during 1998, and they are now being revised.
The Department has also completed a major investigation into the role of educational supervisors or inspectors, and the related professional support services. This project aims at redefining the roles and responsibilities of such personnel. A Ministerial Committee will be constituted during 1999 to analyse the reports arising from this investigation and to advise on the roles and responsibilities of this critical layer of education support staff.
The Culture of Learning, Teaching and Service Campaign (COLTS)
Since its launch by President Mandela in February 1997, the COLTS campaign has attracted national prominence. The campaign is steered by Oversight Committees at national and provincial levels, and planning takes place through the COLTS Co-ordinating Committee, which links the national and provincial departments of education.
From the outset, the campaign has sought to raise the visibility of the problem of dysfunctional education institutions, especially schools, which is one of the most bitter and pathetic legacies of the apartheid era and the struggle for democracy. The campaign urges community involvement in restoring a sense of professional responsibility among those educators who have lost their professional self-respect, in urging learners to make disciplined use of their opportunity to study, in combating crime and violence in schools, and in ensuring that officials in education departments exemplify the service ethic.
Important corporate sponsors have been attracted to the COLTS campaign. The SABC and large-circulation national newspapers, and major NGOs have become partners in carrying the COLTS message.
The COLTS campaign has been strongly reinforced by a number of developments in 1998, including the Code of Conduct of the South African Council for Educators, the Minister’s guidelines on a code of conduct for learners, the Employment of Educators Act, 1998, and the performance appraisal and work-load agreements in the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)
The campaign was designed to run for three years, in the expectation that its message would been institutionalised by 1999. HEDCOM have indicated that they expect the campaign to continue.
HIV/AIDS in education
The reported incidence of HIV infection in the South African population sends stark danger signals to everyone in education. It is certain that, for some years at least, the rate of illness and mortality in learners, educators and other staff will increase on a steeply-rising curve similar to the well-attested rise in ante-natal infections.
The Department has begun to study the demographic evidence from countries, especially in Africa, that were exposed to the epidemic earlier than South Africa. It is necessary to be armed with the best available evidence, and continuously update it, in order to be equipped to consider the implications for planning, administrative action and policy.
The Ministry is represented on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on HIV/AIDS, and the Department serves on the Inter-Departmental Committee established to assist with the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Master Plan. The Department has worked closely with the Department of Health and NGOs, through the National Project Committee, to develop a coherent, national inter-sectoral programme to counter the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Learning programmes and materials for the Life Skills and HIV/AIDS Education Project have been prepared, in collaboration with the Department of Health. By the end of 1998, 840 master trainers and more than 10 000 educators in secondary schools had been trained. A snap survey will be conducted soon to evaluate implementation in schools. During 1999, the Department will conduct a pilot in primary schools in the Free State and the Northern Province, with a view to expanding implementation among target groups during 2000.
Two draft policy documents on HIV/AIDS, for learners and for educators respectively, were developed in 1998 and published for public comment. A committee of the South African Law Commission, chaired by Judge Edwin Cameron, researched and wrote the draft policy for learners, in collaboration with the Department of Education. The Department of Education collaborated with the Department of Health on the policy for educators. After consultation with the teachers unions, it was decided to combine the two documents. These have now been thoroughly revised in the light of extensive and detailed public and specialist advice. The revised draft will soon be taken through the formal consultation process before the Minister is advised to approve and publish it.
The draft policy focuses on providing accurate information about the disease, the risk factors, precautionary measures, the rights and responsibilities of infected persons, the obligation resting on school and college communities to avoid discriminating against infected persons, and to provide appropriate assistance to them.
Further thought must be given to the social and personal impact of the epidemic on learners, students and educators. As the epidemic progresses, a significant proportion of learners or educators will be unwell or ill, or dealing with illness or bereavement in the family, having lost parents, siblings or other close relatives. Experience elsewhere shows that entire schools may be severely affected by absenteeism, illness and death. The Department needs to become empowered to provide the best possible advice to provincial departments, governing bodies, educator unions, student bodies and parents.
International relations
The Ministry of Education successfully hosted the UNESCO Conference of African Ministers of Education (MINEDAF VII) in April 1998. The conference adopted the Durban statement of commitments, in terms of which South Africa has offered to make its higher education facilities available to improve human resource development in the continent. Having presided over MINEDAF VII, Minister Bengu has led the follow-up programme of action, with technical support from UNESCO. The Minister was elected chairperson of the Bureau of Ministers of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), a partnership between development agencies and Ministries of Education in Africa. At an Organisation of African Unity Conference in Harare on the Decade of Education in Africa, earlier this year, it was decided to co-ordinate actions between the MINEDAF, COMEDAF (OAU) and ADEA initiatives.
South Africa has also taken up its responsibilities within the SADC programme for human resource development. The Director-General has chaired a task team that has attempted to streamline regional collaboration in this sector.
The SADC Protocol on Human Resource Development was ratified by Parliament this year. South Africa participates in several technical committees for the implementation of the Protocol.
The South African National Commission for UNESCO was launched by the Minister in August 1998. The National Commission is serviced by a Secretary-General and staff in the Department of Education. The membership of the National Commission comprises nominees of the state departments representing UNESCO’s core programme interests, and the recognised national co-operating organisations in the fields of education, science and culture that share UNESCO’s values. The founding chairperson is Emeritus Professor Philip Tobias, the country’s pre-eminent specialist in early hominid development.
The Department of Education facilitates an increasingly complex portfolio of development co-operation agreements in the education and training field, which testifies to the priority accorded to this sector by international development co-operation agencies. Most agencies have targeted basic education development, redress and equity programmes, and capacity-building, in line with the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Programme. Among several agencies there has been a welcome shift from project funding toward budget support in agreed areas.
Early childhood development programmes
The Department understands early childhood development (ECD) as an umbrella term which applies to the processes by which children from birth to at least 9 years grow and thrive, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, morally and socially.
The Department has focused most of its work on developing policies and implementation programmes for the Reception Year, the first year of the proposed 10 years of compulsory education. The Interim Policy for Early Childhood Development was released in 1996. Subsequently, the Department developed the National ECD Pilot Project to develop and test systems and models of educational provisioning for five and six year old children, with a view to phasing in the Reception Year.
So far the following has been achieved:
On the basis of the final reports of this project, the Department will during 1999/2000 develop a national policy for the provision of the Reception Year.
The Minister’s new Age-Grade Norms under the South African Schools Act, 1996 will come into effect in January 2000. Special attention will be given in 1999 to an information and advocacy campaign to ensure compliance with the Grade 1 entry age. Consolidation of the new Grade 1 curriculum, the introduction of the new Grade 2 curriculum, intensive teacher development on the new pedagogy, and implementation of the new Appraisal Policy, are intended to ensure that the problems of under-age enrolment and high repetition rates in Grade 1 will be drastically reduced.
The Business Trust initiative will focus an investment of approximately R160 million for five years on a reading and learning resource programme in the Foundation Phase (Grades 1-3), in an attempt to reduce the level of repetition in the system. About 1 000 schools will be targeted over the next five years using the successful format of the READ Trust.
Programmes for children from birth to five years of ageThe Department is now expanding its responsibilities to the age group 0-5 years, through the work of an Inter-departmental Committee for ECD. The Department’s role is to lead the development of a cohesive, coherent policy on educational provisioning for children in this age range.
The Department expects to participate in the major national ECD project, agreed at the Jobs Summit, which will be led by the Ministry of Welfare.
Since no specific legislation exists to govern early learning, the Department will give attention to the feasibility of an ECD Bill.
Curriculum 2005
In 1998, the Department of Education, in collaboration with the provincial departments of education, began the phasing in a new outcomes-based curriculum, named Curriculum 2005. In line with the emerging requirements of the National Qualifications Framework, a curriculum policy document for Grades R-9, had been released in 1997 and an assessment policy document in 1998.
The new framework was adopted after extensive consultation and research, and represents a radical break from the apartheid past. Apartheid education was dominated by pedagogical doctrines based on retrogressive theories of racial and religious determinism.
By contrast, the basis of OBE is that learning as essentially an inter-active process between and among educators and learners, with the learner at the centre of the process, and the teacher serving as facilitator. It places strong emphasis on co-operative learning, especially group work on common tasks. The goal is active, lifelong learners, with a thirst for knowledge and a love of learning.
Curriculum 2005 is being phased in as follows: Grade 1 - 1998, Grade 2 - 1999, and Grades 3 and 7 - 2000.
Expected Levels of Performance, which are part of the new Assessment Policy, are being developed for the Foundation Phase and Senior Phase. The programme is being monitored, and the Department intends that systemic evaluation of learner attainment will take place at Grades 3, 6 and 9.
The Department of Education provides support for the phased implementation of the new curriculum and assessment policy for educators and education development officers through the normal budget of the Department, the Education Policy Reserve Fund and donor funding. Illustrative Learning Programmes and Learning Support Materials, as well as guidelines for the procurement of learning support materials have been developed and provided to facilitate implementation.
The curriculum, and the new pedagogy associated with outcomes-based education (OBE), has been widely welcomed, but extreme budget pressure in 1997 compelled provincial education departments to reduce textbook orders and teacher development programmes.
Learning support materials
The quality and availability of suitable learning support materials (LSM) is an important prerequisite for the successful introduction of the new curriculum framework, pedagogy and assessment. However, since the 1997/98 provincial budget crisis, the funds available to provinces for ordering LSM have drastically declined. Problems have been experienced at many points in the book supply chain. It has become apparent that the control of inventories, durability of materials, and retention of books in schools are important issues to be managed by provincial departments and school leadership teams.
An Inter-Provincial Task Team on LSM was established in 1998, led by the Department. (The Task Team is now a HEDCOM Sub-committee.) Working with the publishing industry, it attempted to achieve a better understanding of the textbook supply chain, and improve the management of the ordering and tendering process. The education departments focussed on the implementation of the President’s directive to ensure timely delivery of textbooks to all learners at the start of the 1999 school year.
Despite the injection of additional funds in 1998, and some improvement in planning, co-ordination and monitoring, the LSM cycle is still far from efficient. With support from the Open Society Foundation, the HEDCOM Sub-committee is undertaking a new initiative this year, facilitated by process management specialists, aimed at installing more efficient processes at all points in the cycle.
Curriculum research and development
The National Centre for Curriculum Research and Development (NCCRD) was formally established as a Directorate in the Chief Directorate: National Institute for Lifelong Learning and Development (NILLD) in 1998.
The centre supports the Department’s mission of quality lifelong learning and training for all, through a number of projects that will culminate in an overarching policy framework on lifelong learning development.
The centre services the Department through short-term projects, like the National Workshop on Racial Integration in Schools held in March 1999, which will culminate in a draft anti-discriminatory education strategy for the Department. It also services the Department by contributing to policy development and implementation via research on strategic themes related to curriculum change, lifelong learning development, professional development, language and literacy, and mathematics and science.
The centre’s research and development projects support policy formulation and implementation, and contribute to a reflexive and rigorous approach to transformation, equity and increased performance in the education system.
Educational technology and distance education
The Centre for Educational Technology and Distance Education (CETDE) was established in the new national Department in 1994, but could start functioning only in January 1996 with the appointment of the Director and other staff.
The centre undertakes research and development work on technology enhanced learning, school libraries, educational broadcasting and distance education, with a view to supporting developments in the key sectors of education: General Education and Training, Further Education and Training, Higher Education, and Teacher Development.
Indirectly, the work of the Centre supports certain key levers for education transformation. This is done through
Educational broadcasting.
An educational broadcasting plan was constructed in 1996, and served as the
basis for implementing a successful partnership with SABC Education, resulting in:
educational radio and TV programmes supporting all sectors of the education
system have been developed and broadcast
The Department is collaborating with the Department of Communication in a consultant feasibility study on a dedicated educational channel/service.
Distance education
A research project into the delivery of quality education using distance education methodologies resulted in a report, Quality Criteria for Distance Education Provision in South Africa. The report served as the basis for draft policy, work with SAQA, and teacher development.
A research study is under way on the concept of open learning, and the potential alignment of the GET and FET systems with open learning principles.
School libraries
A research report on the state of school libraries in South Africa led to a draft policy statement for consideration by provincial library heads.
An implementation plan is being constructed.
An audit of school libraries is currently being undertaken.
Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)
A research report has served as the basis for draft policy and a strategic implementation plan. These have guided the centre’s activities on TEL.
Consultations with the Department of Communication should lead to a formal agreement on the establishment of a national technology backbone connecting all schools to the Internet, and an Education Intranet to serve the education and training system.
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics programmes
SYSTEM and beyondSYSTEM (students and youth into science, technology, mathematics and engineering) was the first initiative launched by the Department in this critical area. This is a 'second chance' programme for senior certificate candidates who have under-performed in science subjects. SYSTEM is addressing these problems through a recovery programme and a teacher education and development programme.
Based on experience with this programme, the Department is developing a broader science, technology and mathematics strategy. The goal of this action strategy is for all South African learners to leave grade 9 prepared to pursue the higher-level mathematics and sciences course that are the gateway to university and technikon admission, productive employment, lifelong learning and effective citizenship.
Technology 2005The Technology 2005 Project is a three-year curriculum development project undertaken by HEDCOM in 1994. The tasks included the development and trialling of learning materials, and the development of sufficient expertise and infrastructure at provincial level to support the implementation of Technology within the national curriculum. Since the inclusion of Technology as a learning area in the National Curriculum for grades R-9, the project has been extended and refocused on
The Department is also collaborating with the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology on the National Research and Technology Foresight Project. The aim of the project is to identify technologies and research areas across twelve sectors that will be important for the country's future social and economic development. One of these is education, human resource development and skills development. In particular, the Curriculum 2005 policy has implications for the twelve sectors. Ultimately, scenarios for development within South Africa and their relationship to education policy will be considered.
Education for Learners with Special Education Needs (ELSEN)
Education White Paper 1 (1995) identified the need for the transformation of Education Support Services (ESS) and ELSEN. In October 1996, the Minister appointed the National Commission on Special Needs in Education and Training (NCSNET) and the National Committee on Education Support Services (NCESS). A joint report on the findings of these two bodies, Barriers to Learning, was presented to the Minister in November 1997. The final report was published in February 1998.
Based largely on the report, the Department of Education has drafted a Green Paper for Learners with Special Needs, and undertaken further consultations on the proposed policy with national stakeholder bodies. The Green Paper proposes changes to the provision of education and training so that the system becomes more responsive and sensitive to Learners with Special Needs.
The Department expects that the Green Paper will be considered by HEDCOM and CEM by the end of July 1999 and by Cabinet immediately thereafter, prior to release for public information and comment. A White Paper and proposals for amendments to existing legislation will be finalised during 1999.
An extensive advocacy campaign to promote the proposed policy will be funded largely by external sources, to sensitise all sites of learning, and the public at large, to issues of diversity and disability, and prepare education institutions to accommodate more learners who experience barriers to learning and development.
Meanwhile, development will proceed on learning programmes in South African Sign Language (SASL), which is recognised as a language of learning in the South African Schools Act, 1996, and the Language in Education Policy, 1997.
The requirements of Learners with Special Education Needs have been taken into account in the new guidelines for the allocation of educator posts to schools.
Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET)
In pursuit of its constitutional responsibilities for adults requiring basic education, the Department has embarked on a programme to address the needs of the approximately 12 million adults who require and have a right to basic education.
Policies for ABETIn 1997, the Minister announced the new policy for ABET. The aim is to increase the quality and quantity of relevant and appropriate learning and learning services to adults and out of school youth, who have been unable to access adequate and relevant education and training in the past. This is based on the Ministry’s commitment to lifelong learning, redress of past inequality, and wider access to education and training.
The policy creates a framework and an enabling environment within which ABET can be provided, improves delivery, and forms a basis for the development of legislation.
The Minister simultaneously launched the Ithuteng Campaign, which was aimed at recruiting 90 000 new learners nationally and to pilot the Interim Guidelines. 130 000 new learners were recruited and taken through ABET levels 1 and 2 as part of the campaign. Since then, more than 500 000 learners have been reached. Most importantly, the lessons learnt during the campaign were used to test and develop the policy.
Based on this experience, the Department expects to put a White Paper and an ABET Bill to Cabinet during 1999/2000. The Bill will make provision for governance and funding norms and standards, for public and private ABET provision. A National Board for Adult Education and Training will be established in terms of the NEPA.
National and provincial Multi-Year Implementation PlansNational and provincial plans have been developed for Adult Education and Training, especially ABET.
The plan is an organising framework to build
The plan provides for a two-phase approach:
State resources for the implementation of the plan are limited. Despite extreme budget pressure, provincial education departments have managed to somewhat increase spending on ABET over the past three years, to about R300 million, but the total represents less than 1 per cent of provincial education spending. NGOs in the sector face closure through lack of sponsorship. The Department has relied to a considerable extent on external assistance for development work and capacity building. Nevertheless, the government’s skills development strategy is expected to channel significant funds to learnerships for adult workers and training for the unemployed.
Meanwhile, the status of ABET and qualitative improvements has been enhanced through the inclusion of ABET practitioners in the Employment of Educators Act, 1998, the implementation of the new outcomes-based curriculum, and the training of adult educators.
Further Education and Training programmes
Cabinet approved the Further Education and Training (FET) White Paper (Education White Paper 4), which establishes the government’s policy for post-compulsory education and training, and Parliament passed the Further Education and Training Act, 1998. These two measures represent the culmination of a long process of investigation and consultation, aimed at re-conceptualising post-compulsory education and training for the 21st century.
The FET Act, together with the Ministry of Labour’s Skills Development Act, 1998, provides the legislative basis for a progressive re-orientation of education and training towards the needs of the society and the economy, and a major re-conceptualisation of funding sources for the sector. The National Board for Further Education and Training (NBFET), appointed in 1999, will provide advice on the implementation of the White Paper and the monitoring of progress. The Business Initiative has targeted Further Education and Training in the Tourism sector for major investment in 1999 and beyond.
The National Strategy for Further Education and Training 1999–2001 was developed with the provincial education departments. It sets out a multi-level programme of action for the next three years, as well as action plans for this year.
Education White Paper 4 identifies four central features that underpin the new system. These take the form of new approaches in governance, programmes and qualifications, quality assurance and funding.
For the next three years the Department of Education will pursue the following goal and strategic objectives.
To establish the foundation for building capacity and systems across all levels of FET in order to effect the desired programmatic, institutional and cultural changes that are necessary to achieve a flexible and responsive FET system.
To establish and strengthen governing structures, initiate institutional reorganisation, build the Culture of Learning, Teaching and Service (COLTS) and undertake human resource capacity building that is outcomes specific.
To set up appropriate national structures for managing the introduction of responsive learning programmes and qualifications, assessment, flexible modes of learning, effective learner support and articulation to the needs of communities, higher education and the workplace.
To put in place a new funding administration, and position the Department of Education to steer the transformation of FET through multiple funding instruments, including student financial aid, earmarked funding and programme-based funding. The fundamental pillars of FET resourcing will be programme-based funding, skill development levies and the utilisation of special or earmarked funds.
To set up a national EMIS for FET to determine national targets, monitor performance, assure quality and support the Ministry’s obligation to account to Parliament.
Each strategic objective will be linked to key activities over three years to achieve logic and build sequence.
The following immediate and ongoing activities will be undertaken:
The Business Trust will invest in the building of the new FET system, by earmarking about R150 million over the next five years for the re-organisation and re-orienting of all technical colleges.
Youth/Community Colleges ProgrammeThe Youth / Community College Programme was initiated in 1996 as an RDP project, with emphasis on redress and access for out-of-school youth. An allocation of R160 million was made to the Department of Education for this purpose. Provincial business plans were consolidated into a national business plan. This is nationally managed while its implementation is a provincial competence.
The Department has initiated a review of the Youth/Community Colleges Programme, so that it may be more responsive to the new policy environment for young people and for FET.
Monitoring the Senior Certificate examinations
The provincial departments of education are the examining authorities for the School Certificate examination, but the Minister of Education is publicly accountable for the quality of education throughout the school system. In consequence, the Department of Education has undertaken the monitoring of the examination, and has provided professional support to ensure credibility and uniformity across the provincial education departments.
During 1998, a National Policy on Senior Certificate Examinations was completed. It provides the basis for the administration of provincial examinations. It is within this policy that provincial departments have developed their management plans and regulations.
The HEDCOM Inter-provincial Examinations Committee (IPEC), led by the Department of Education, plays a vital role in ensuring co-ordination among the provincial examining bodies.
In the 1998 examinations, not one theft of an examination paper was announced. However, this fine record was overshadowed by the spectacular fraud committed on the Mpumalanga results, apparently by some officials in positions of trust within the department. Once SAFCERT had provided the Minister with evidence of the crime, the Minister acted swiftly to appoint Acting Judge Bertelsmann to undertake an enquiry, and to co-ordinate the criminal investigation by the police, and the professional investigation and rectification of the results by SAFCERT. Judge Bertelsmann’s report, besides reconstructing the crime, makes recommendations about the examination process, the roles of provincial and national departments, and the responsibility of SAFCERT.
The Department is considering the Bertelsmann Report recommendations along with the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee on the Senior Certificate Examinations, which reported in 1998 with wide-ranging proposals on improving the effectiveness of the Senior Certificate as an assessment instrument, and the role of SAFCERT. Amendments to the SAFCERT Act are being prepared for introduction in Parliament in 1999.
During 1998, the Department ran a project on improving the performance of candidates in the Senior Certificate, as a result of which provincial departments implemented a range of support programmes for teachers and candidates.
Seven of the nine provinces showed an improvement in pass rate over last year. However, the national average pass rate was below 50 per cent. The three largest provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Northern and Eastern), with 55 per cent of the candidates, had a combined average pass rate of 43 per cent.
Until we have national benchmark testing of learning attainment earlier in the school cycle, the Senior Certificate examination remains the only publicly available index of learning attainment. On the evidence of the 1998 results, the Ministry cannot yet conclude that the decline in learning attainment in schools has been arrested and a decisive turning point in performance has been achieved.
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Policy and regulatory framework
The Higher Education Branch is responsible for developing and implementing appropriate policies and legislation that assist in "creating and maintaining a sustainable higher education system of high quality".
The main policy and regulatory framework for the transformation of the higher education system was completed in 1997, with the adoption by Cabinet of Education White Paper 3, A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education, and the passage of the Higher Education Act, 1998.
The policy framework is based on the principle that the higher education system must be planned, funded and governed as a single national co-ordinated system. The key features of a single co-ordinated system are:
The branch comprises two chief directorates, with three directorates each:
Planning and Management
Policy and Development Support
Implementation
Since January 1998 the branch has focussed on implementing the policy and regulatory framework.
Council on Higher Education (CHE)The CHE, chaired by Professor Wiseman Nkhulu, was appointed in June 1998. It is developing a business plan and has appointed a CEO. It has also established an interim Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), which is the Education and Training Quality Assurer (ETQA) for higher education in terms of the SAQA Act, 1995. The Council has requested a larger budget from the Department, in order to satisfactorily discharge its mandate. While the level of co-operation is excellent, the respective roles and functions of the CHE and the Department continue to require clarification.
National and institutional plansA guideline document released in June 1998 outlined the process and criteria for the development of national and institutional "rolling" plans, as envisaged in Education White Paper 3. Every university and technikon submitted an indicative three-year plan, and branch officials visited every institution to discuss it. The department has published a synthesis report on this first phase of institutional planning.
Guidelines for the second phase of planning are being developed. The full-scale planning process, which will be in place by 2003, will be of central importance in reshaping the institutional landscape and programme direction of higher education.
The planning of provision for doctors and other health care professionals, the financing of academic health complexes, and the admission of medical students, are matters under discussion between the national and provincial Departments of Health and the Department of Education.
Management information systemA draft concept paper outlining the framework for developing a new higher education management information and statistical reporting system was released for comment in March 1999. The technical work is in process. The first elements of a new system focusing on student and staff data, will be in place in 2000. This work is a prerequisite for a fully developed new planning and funding system.
Funding frameworkA concept paper on the implications of the new programme-based funding framework outlined in Education White Paper 3, and a detailed cost analysis of existing higher education programmes, were completed in 1998. An expert reference group has been established to assist in the development of a new funding formula. The main elements of the new funding system will be in place to allow a "dry-run" in fiscal 2000/01.
The branch will complete a review of the policy and procedures for the measurement of research outputs by late 1999.
RedressA policy and cost framework for a sustainable National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) was released in August 1998 and approved by Cabinet after due consultation. The NSFAS Bill has been drafted for introduction in Parliament in the latter half of 1999.
R27million was allocated for institutional redress in 1998/99 and R60 million in 1999/00.
Incorporation of collegesSchedule 4 of the Constitution provides that tertiary education is an exclusive national competence. Education White Paper 3 describes a phased incorporation of higher education colleges into the higher education sector under the Ministry of Education (beginning with colleges of education), and the Higher Education Act provides the legislative basis for incorporation. In August 1998, the Department released The Incorporation of Colleges of Education into the Higher Education Sector – A Framework for Implementation.
Five provinces have completed their incorporation proposals (Gauteng, North-West, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape). The Minister’s intention to incorporate the colleges in these provinces has been announced by advertisement in national newspapers for comment, as required by the Higher Education Act. Proposals from the remaining four provinces should be finalised for announcement at the end of July.
The branch has consulted with the Departments of Agriculture and Health on the incorporation of agriculture and nursing colleges, respectively. In the latter half of 1999, the branch will conduct technical investigations and further consultations into the implications of incorporating colleges managed by these and other state departments, as well as dedicated distance education colleges.
Institutional governanceThe transformation of the governance structures of higher education institutions in terms of the Higher Education Act has been completed. The branch is assisting with the preparation of new private university Acts and institutional statutes. The composition of councils and senates is being changed, and institutional forums are being established.
A Higher Education Amendment Bill will be introduced in Parliament later in 1999 to remedy omissions and problems that have become apparent as the Act has been implemented.
The branch has initiated a study of international trends in the remuneration of chief executives of higher education institutions, following adverse public reports on some institutions, and an enquiry from the Heath Investigation Unit.
Registration of private higher education institutionsA Registrar of Private Higher Education Institutions has been appointed in the Department in terms of the Higher Education Act, 1997. Guidelines for registration have been published, pending the finalisation of regulations. Thus far, two private higher education institutions have been registered in accordance with the Act. In collaboration with the CHE, work is underway to define the criteria for registration, including the use of the terms "university" and "technikon" by private providers. Research is being initiated to investigate the shape and size of the private higher education sector in South Africa.
Institutional support for historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs)
Many historically disadvantaged institutions continue to face serious problems of financial management, leadership and governance.
The Minister appointed independent assessors in terms of the Higher Education Act, 1997 to investigate serious breakdown at the University of the Transkei, Vaal Triangle Technikon, and the University of Fort Hare, respectively. After due consultation with the councils concerned, the Minister accepted the assessors’ findings and recommendations, and the Department has worked with the institutional authorities in implementing them.
The Minister commissioned the Office of the Auditor-General to undertake financial audits of six universities with severe financial problems: North, Fort Hare, Transkei, North West, Zululand, and MEDUNSA. The audits will assess the nature and extent of the institutions’ problems, and develop institution-specific business plans aimed at correcting the shortcomings. The audit reports are expected by August 1999.
Two major donor assisted programmes target the needs of HDIs:
Two other capacity-building initiatives for higher education constituencies, are being undertaken in collaboration with the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET):
International opportunities in higher education
The branch is actively engaged in facilitating scholarship, fellowship and exchange programmes, as well as inter-institutional and inter-governmental links in support of higher education development.
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Labour relations
LegislationEmployment of Educators Act (No. 76 of 1998)
The unanimous passage of this Act in Parliament, with full support of the national teachers’ unions, was a significant achievement which will benefit the working lives of all educators. The new Act clarifies a number of areas of the law that have caused confusion in the past, especially with respect to the identity of the employer, and the definitions of misconduct and incapacity. The Act also provides a statutory basis for the South African Council for Educators (SACE).
A new labour relations regime has been created by the Labour Relations Act, 1995. The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) has had to be re-organised to conform to the provisions of this Act. The ELRC has also been affected by the establishment of the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).
The ELRC is now well constituted to manage labour relations matters in education. It has its own premises and a full complement of staff. Capacity building of both employer and employee parties has been undertaken through the council. Chambers of the ELRC exist in each province. There is a proposal for each provincial chamber to appoint a permanent secretariat, given that most of the operational work is undertaken at provincial level.
A mature and responsible bargaining setup prevails. Apart from the 1998 national dispute on post provisioning, which lost approximately five days of schooling, there have been no national labour stoppages over the past five years. By contrast, the bargaining process has culminated in the following key performance related agreements:
Parties to the ELRC also agreed to the establishment and funding of the South African Council for Educators (SACE), a professional body responsible for:
The Council became statutory through its inclusion in the Employment of Educators Act, 1998, but drafting has begun on a separate SACE Act.
Educator provisioning
LegislationEducation Laws Amendment Act (No. 100 of 1997)
The provision of educators to schools has been highly contested over the past five years. An initial attempt to achieve equity through redistribution (or re-deployment) was thwarted by a High Court judgement. By the time the issue was revived in the collective bargaining process, the Education Sectoral MTEF Review Team had identified a major problem with educator personnel costs, which had risen dramatically since 1995/96. A new process had to address the question of equity in the distribution of educators, as well as responding to the financial pressure on provincial personnel and non-personnel budgets.
The Minister felt obliged to issue a new set of regulations, which gave MECs the responsibility for determining educator establishments within their budgetary allocations. The distribution of educator posts within a province would be undertaken according to a curriculum-driven computer model. These regulations were initially resisted through the announcement of a national teachers’ strike. After protracted negotiation, a balanced set of agreements was reached on post provisioning, the procedure for rationalisation and redeployment, and the advertising and filling of posts, the involvement of educator unions in the national and provincial budget process, and related matters. The strike action was withdrawn, and the Minister rescinded the disputed regulations.
Some provinces have been able to reduce the size of their personnel spending as a proportion of the total education budget. In others, the situation appears to have worsened. The target identified in the 1998 MTEF review is an 85/15 split on personnel / non-personnel costs, to permit an increase in funding on learning resource materials, teacher development and other qualitative inputs. The figures will be further analysed in an ELRC investigation into the best mix of inputs for "Quality Public Education".
Service conditions
In 1996 the State signed a common three-year salary agreement with all public service unions, providing for:
Teachers initially benefited from this translation, although subsequent developments have left them behind the rest of the Public Service. Key to this is the absence of salary progression measures in the educator salary structure, in part because of unions’ unwillingness to introduce a performance-related mechanism for such progression.
A comprehensive review of the salary and grading system for educators is currently being undertaken by the ELRC.
Recommendations for a new system will have to take account of:
Human resource management and development
A new Chief Directorate for Education Human Resource Development and Equity has been established in Branch C, in order to provide more focussed leadership in the following important fields:
Gender EquityA Gender Equity Task Team (GETT), appointed by the Minister, reported in December 1997. Following the recommendations of the GETT, a Gender Equity Directorate has been established in the Department.
Education Management Development (EMD)
The Minister appointed a Task Team on Education Management Development, which reported in December 1996 (Changing Management to Manage Change in Education).
The Department subsequently compiled "A Policy Framework for Education Human Resource Management and Development". This is serving as a basis for the work of Human Resource sections of the provincial education departments.
Education Management Development work is currently being conducted at three levels:
This has been identified as a crucial field. A Teacher Development Directorate has recently been established in the Department of Education. The focus has been on two areas: ongoing programme delivery, and longer-term planning and policy development. Each of these aspects have been addressed under the President's Education Initiative (PEI), which has involved:
The Department is in the process of institutionalising and systematising the field of teacher development, driven by the following imperatives: