Return to Contents1 In adopting a Constitution based on democracy, equal citizenship, and the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms, South Africans have created a completely new basis for state policy towards the provision of schooling in the future. Unavoidably, because inequality is so deep-rooted in our educational history and dominates the present provision of schooling, a new policy for school provision must be a policy for increasing access and retention of Black students, achieving equity in public funding, eliminating illegal discrimination, creating democratic governance, rehabilitating schools and raising the quality of performance.
2 The equality guaranteed by the Constitution provides the moral and legal basis of schools policy, but other constitutional guarantees and prescriptions are no less important in laying down the new foundations of policy or influencing how it may be designed and executed.
3 This chapter is concerned with the pattern of ownership, governance and finance of schools. It will first examine what the Constitution has to say about these matters. It will then describe the main features of the present arrangements, and the most urgent issues of transformation and redress that must be tackled. The chapter concludes with the Ministry of Education's proposed line of action.
Constitutional provisions affecting school ownership, governance and finance
4 In the first place, provincial governments have constitutional responsibility for establishing, running, regulating and financing schools, but they will do so within the f ramework of national policy on matters such as the legal status of different types of school, and the norms and standards by which they should be governed and financed.
5 Secondly, the provisions on fundamental rights which guarantee equality, non- discrimination (except for purposes of redress), and equal access to educational institutions, set the standards which all levels of government are bound to observe in legislation and administrative action relating to school ownership, governance and finance.
6 Thirdly, the fundamental rights chapter explicitly protects cultural, language and religious rights, both in terms of personal observance, and as a basis for school ownership. The latter is the only constitutional provision directly relating to school ownership. It gives every person the right
"to establish, where practicable, educational institutions based on a common culture, language or religion, provided that there shall be no discrimination on the ground of race" (section 32(c))This right applies also to legal persons (for example, trusts, and governing bodies established by law), and it affords protection to the owners of schools of this kind which may already be in operation, so long as they do not discriminate racially.
7 Fourthly, the Constitution includes some 'special provisions' about the governance of educational institutions. These provisions apply specifically to the rights, powers and functions which the governing bodies or similar structures of departmental, community-managed or State-aided schools possess under laws existing immediately before the Constitution came into effect. (Identical provisions apply also to universities and technikons.)
8 The national and provincial governments are required to reach agreement "by bona fide negotiations" with the respective governing bodies, and give reasonable notice, before altering the rights, powers and functions of such bodies. If agreement is not reached by negotiation, a government may nevertheless proceed to make the alterations it wishes. If it does so, however, the Constitution gives "interested persons or bodies" a specific entitlement to mount a legal challenge to the validity of such alterations in terms of the Constitution.
9 Fifthly, another "special provision" requires the "responsible government", national or provincial, to provide funds to departmental, community-managed and state-aided schools on an equitable basis, in order to ensure an acceptable quality of education. (section 247)
10 The complexity of the provisions relating to school ownership, governance and finance indicates the sensitivity of the interests which the Constitution has accommodated. Both the governments and the governing bodies of the schools concerned, are required to act with a high degree of responsibility in fulfilling their obligations in these matters.
11 All governments are bound to uphold all the constitutional guarantees, and (within their competence) to require schools to do the same. This includes upholding the rights to personal equality, equal access to schools, protection of cultural, linguistic and religious rights, prohibition of all unfair discrimination, and protection of the right of redress, which may include differential treatment if this is required in the interest of the child and to uphold equity.
12 School governing bodies which have discriminated unfairly on whatever grounds in the past are required in terms of the Constitution to change their practices. If a governing body is challenged in court on the basis of prima facie evidence of discrimination, the onus of proof of non-discrimination rests with the governing body. (section 8)
The present pattern of school ownership, governance and finance
13 On the eve of the creation of unitary provincial education departments, the pattern of school ownership is still defined in most provinces by the laws and practices of the previous ethnically-based departments which are about to disappear.
14 It is generally assumed that schools are organised in three categories: state, state-aided and private. However, the situation is not that simple. Some of the previous departments had more than three categories of schools. Different departments used different terms to describe the same thing ("government", "state" and "public" schools). The same term ("state-aided") used in different departments covered a variety of school types, including schools owned or managed by parent bodies, by traditional authorities, and by farmers. "State aided special schools" are another category with different organisational and funding principles. Some private schools received state subsidies of up to 50 per cent of the per capita running cost of schools in the former departments where they were registered, but were not classified as "state-aided".
15 There are substantial differences among the former ethnic departments in the proportions of children enrolled in state and state-aided schools. This means that the basis of state funding of schooling has differed from department to department, and so has the magnitude of financial contributions to schooling made by parents or the community. For example, using figures for 1992 or 1993:
The need for a managed process of change
16 The present pattern of organisation, governance and funding of schools is a patchwork from the past. It contravenes the rights to equality and non-discrimination which the Constitution guarantees. As a basis for a national system in a democratic South Africa it is dysfunctional and cannot continue unchanged.
17 The Ministry of Education is keenly aware of the need for a clear strategy to defuse the tensions surrounding the issues of school governance and funding. The Ministry is required to send a clear signal to the people of South Africa that the school system is being democratised. The parents, teachers, students, managers and other stakeholders who are seeking an equitable and democratic solution which will best serve the educational needs of all communities, need a lead from the national Ministry of Education which will encourage them in their efforts.
18 Many schools already reflect good, accountable management, with high levels of community participation, despite the inequalities and distortions inherent in the apartheid-based organisational and funding structures. The task facing educational leadership is to recognise the best experience from all parts of the system and, where necessary, enable communities to reshape their structures of governance so that they reflect constitutional principles including democracy, non-racialism and non-sexism.
19 It is understandable that many parents, school principals, teachers and students are uncertain about what the changes in the system of education will mean for their schools and themselves. Those who are accustomed to stable schools, which have close links with the social, cultural and religious life of their communities, and honoured traditions, may feel that what is precious to them is threatened by unknown changes they may be unable to influence or control. Communities which have been favoured by the past political dispensation, and who know that a democratically elected government, representing an overwhelmingly poor electorate, cannot be expected to fund their privileges, may be particularly apprehensive about what is in store.
20 Equally, parents, teachers and students who have had to cope with appalling conditions, the result of decades of under-resourcing, instability, wasted human potential and low morale, have high expectations from a government they believe rightly is committed to redress.
21 In many of our schools, principals and teachers have been grappling with the challenges of educating students from different historical, cultural and language backgrounds. The students and parents concerned have willingly borne the brunt of these changes, which will now accelerate in schools throughout the country. The government believes, and this was confirmed in the public response to the draft version of this document, that the overwhelming majority of South African parents in all communities accept that schools should not and must not be racially exclusive, that they must be democratically governed, and that state funding of schools must be equitable.
22 In all spheres of economic, social, religious and political life, South Africans are learning to live, work and plan together. Events in the sphere of local government are potentially important for education. The success of negotiating forums in achieving agreed local government boundaries and preparing for the election of democratic, non-racial councils in cities, towns and rural areas, should assist in creating a new social context for the local organisation and governance of schools.
23 The Ministry of Education is not suggesting that local governments should be assigned powers to run educational services. That is a matter for the education departments and provincial legislatures to consider when new local government councils have been elected and have stabilised. The point is that the moral climate of non-racial local government negotiations is likely to influence, hopefully for the better, a similar process in local (or district) school governance. Local Education and Training Forums can make an important contribution to the process of transition, until decisions on permanent governance structures have been taken by provincial governments and enacted by their legislatures.
24 Change must now be managed by the new education authorities in a systematic, inclusive and fully participatory way. Education departments must lead but not dictate. If radical change is imposed on schools by top-down direction in the absence of participation by those whose interests and identities are at stake, the result will be predictably disastrous. The Ministry of Education accepts that change will not be an overnight process but continuous over a period of time. In many parts of the country, local organisational capacity among stakeholder groups has been poorly developed and in some cases actively discouraged by previous authorities. It will take time for local leadership to emerge and engage with the new Departments of Education. The departments should be prepared to act flexibly while local capacity is being built, and to aid and facilitate that process.
25 The issue is not whether the organisation, governance and funding of the education system will change. Change is inevitable and cannot be delayed. The issue is whether a new and just ispensation in t e schools will be brought about in the new South African way, by negotiating peacefully, according to the spirit and letter of the Constitution, in the service of both national unity and cultural diversity.
26 For its part, the Ministry of Education is convinced that peace in the schools is a prerequisite for democratic transformation in education. All the educational goals and programmes of the government depend upon achieving and maintaining a disciplined and purposeful school environment, dedicated to the improvement of quality throughout the system. The Ministry of Education is therefore committed to an inclusive process of negotiated change toward the full democratisation of school organisation and governance, and the following proposals are made in that spirit.
Establishing a new pattern of school ownership, governance and funding
27 A new national policy framework for school organisation is essential to provide a firm basis for action by the provincial Ministries of Education in the full exercise of their legislative competence. The framework must clarify the legal status of different categories of schools, and establish national norms and standards for school governance and finance.
28 The framework must be developed on the basis of principles which are in full accord with the Constitution, consistent with the best South African experience, easily understood, and likely to raise the quality and effectiveness of schooling where it is most needed.
29 The Ministry of Education proposes the following principles as the basis of the new policy framework for school ownership, governance and finance:
(1) Legal categories of schools
(a)The categories of schools recognised in law should be as few as possible.
(b)The categories should be based on clear criteria such as ownership, funding, and relationship to departments of education.
(c)The categories should be uniform across the country.
(d)The categories should assist the elimination of inequitable and outmoded divisions between the inherited categories of schools.
(e)The categories should include, but need not be confined to: state, state- aided, and independent schools.
(f)The circumstances of special schools should be given particular attention.
(g)The categories should accommodate the constitutional provisions affecting school ownership.
(h)There should be clearly stated conditions under which a school or group of schools might be permitted to change their category.
(2) Governance
(a)The term "governing body" should be used as the general term to describe school governance structures in all categories of schools.
(b)The principle of an articulated provincial system of schools needs to be upheld. Therefore, the relationships of school governing bodies to education governance structures within provincial education systems, need to be defined.
(c)School governing bodies should be representative of the main stakeholders in the school. Parents have the most at stake in the education of their children, and this should be reflected in the composition of governing bodies, where this is practicably possible. The head or principal of a school should be a member of the governing body ex off icio.
(d)In primary schools, the main stakeholders for purposes of governance comprise the parents and teachers.
(e)In secondary schools, the main stakeholders for purposes of governance comprise parents, teachers, and students. It is recognised that these stakeholders can play different roles with respect to different elements of school governance.
(f)The composition of governing bodies should be sensitive to racial and gender representation, and (in the case of special schools especially) to citizens who can best represent special education needs.
(g)State involvement in school governance should be at the minimum required for legal accountability, and should in any case be based on participative management.
(h)The decision-making powers of governing bodies should reflect their capacity to render effective service.
(i)A capacity-building programme should go hand-in-hand with the assignment of powers to governing bodies. This should be supplemented by management programmes for principals and inspectors, to ensure a smooth transition to the new school governance system.
(3) Finance
(a)The basis of financial allocations to different categories of state and state-aided schools must be equitable and transparent, aimed at eliminating historical disparities based on race and region and ensuring an acceptable quality of education.
(b)In particular, an equitable staff provision scale or scales, must be phased in at state and state-aided schools as rapidly as possible, in full consultation with the representative organisations of the teaching profession.
(c)The phasing in of an equitable staff provision scale or scales should be based on acceptable educational planning principles, with attention to the requirements of the curriculum, the quality and effectiveness of educational delivery, financial capacity, the physical size of classrooms, the number of students per class, the number of children with special educational needs, and personnel implications.
(d)The question of the eligibility of independent schools for state subsidies must be determined using clear and equitable criteria based on the public interest, and the observance of constitutional guarantees.
(e)Appropriate periods of notice must be built in to any significant changes in funding patterns.
30 These principles involve extremely complex legal, financial, administrative, educational and political issues. With the advice and support of the Council of Education Ministers, and in consultation with the National Education and Training Forum and national organisations of teachers, students, parents and school governing bodies, the Minister of Education will without delay appoint a Committee to Review School Organisation, Governance and Funding.
31 The Review Committee will be asked to analyse the current situation of school organisation, governance and funding in terms of existing legislation, the 1993 Constitution, to undertake suitable research, including research on relevant international conventions and comparative experience, to receive oral and written submissions in all provinces, and on the basis of its findings, and the Ministry of Education's Statement of Principles above, to recommend to the Minister:
a proposed national framework of school organisation and ownership, and norms and standards on school governance and funding which, in the view of the committee, are likely to command the widest possible public support, accord with the requirements of the Constitution, improve the quality and effectiveness of schools, and be financially sustainable from public funds.
The Review Committee will be asked specifically to advise on the process by which these matters should be negotiated, in terms of section 247 of the Constitution.
32 The Minister will appoint to the committee specialists nominated by stakeholders on the basis of their knowledge of the school system, expertise, experience and wise judgment. Members will serve in their personal capacities. The overall composition of the committee will reflect the principle of representivity, and be such as to command the confidence of the widest possible cross-section of the public. The reporting date of the committee will balance the need for early decisions with the undoubted complexity of the issues and the need for widely acceptable, educationally progressive and constitutionally sound solutions.
33 The Ministry of Education is aware that a transformation of this magnitude, which evokes expectations, uncertainties and fears, can be facilitated by techniques and processes of change management. The Department of Education will consult with the Heads of Education Departments Committee to establish how best to assist education managers at all levels to respond professionally and with creativity to the new environment. Their leadership is an essential factor in success.
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1 Education provision during a basic phase is now recognised as a fundamental human right in many countries, including both industrialised and developing nations. In these countries, state provision of education during the basic phase is usually justified on equity grounds, that is, the provision of free and compulsory education during the basic phase is meant to ensure that all citizens have access to education of equal quality.
2 The government is committed to the goal of providing access to general education for all children from a reception year up to Grade 9 (Standard 7), funded by the state at an acceptable level of quality, and to achieve this goal in the shortest possible time. This goal is often referred to as the provision of "ten years' free and compulsory general education for all". Achieving this goal is central to the national development strategy but it will require hard work, cooperation and compromises from all the education role players including government, educators, parents and students.
3 The implementation of the commitment to the provision of general education for all must be based on two sets of principles. One is a set of broad policy principles, while the other is a set of compatible but more detailed operational principles which underpin the implementation strategy.
Broad policy principles
4 Access. Extending access into the education system has two main components. First, capacity must be expanded. The number of schools and classrooms has to be increased so that there are sufficient places for all children. There is a need also to ensure that these schools are adequately staffed, that they are located where they are needed, and that they are in fact accessible to learners in their areas. It is a waste of resources to have underused buildings in one place and overcrowded classrooms in another. Most importantly, it is necessary to ensure that current capacity is fully utilised.
5 Second, there is a need to understand and, where possible, address the barriers that prevent some children from going to school. Distance and lack of transport, hunger, disability, looking after younger siblings, herding, household tasks, lack of parental guidance, homelessness, having to find work, and inability to pay for uniforms, are all factors which may prevent children enrolling for school or remaining in school for the duration of the programme. Only some of these matters fall within the competence of the education departments to alleviate, but most will be affected for the better as the Reconstruction and Development Programme takes hold at grassroots level.
6 Equity. The constitutional right of equal access to educational institutions was discussed at length in chapter 7. In addition to ensuring that this right is understood, respected and protected, within the framework of rights relating to education, the government has an obligation to facilitate equitable access to schooling and its benefits. Despite impressive increases in enrolments during the past two decades, significant numbers of children of school-going age have remained out of school. The vast majority of them come from one or more of the traditionally disadvantaged groups in society: they live in a rural area, or in a high-density urban settlement, they are poor, and they are most likely to be Coloured or African.
7 To achieve equitable access, expanded access is itself a necessary first step. The fact that many children have remained out of school altogether casts a shadow over the efforts of the education departments to improve the quality of education of those who are enrolled. It is equally unsatisfactory that many students leave school after one or two years. Making sure that there are enough schools and classrooms for all children, competent teachers to teach them, and a supporting environment to encourage students and their parents to value regular school attendance for the duration of the cycle, is therefore the foundation for constructing an equitable education system.
8 To reduce the inequalities of the past requires affirmative action. It is not sufficient simply to announce that discrimination by race or gender is now illegal. The discrimination that was introduced in the past was not just a matter of the allocation of resources and of everyday practices.
9 It is essential, therefore, to redress imbalances generated through historical inequalities in provision, and at the school level this is now being done. Ways have been found to encourage children to attend schools that formerly excluded them. Parents and their children have been encouraged to seek out education opportunities that were previously denied them, and schools have opened their doors and where necessary expanded their educational programmes to accommodate them. Imaginative solutions, even if temporary, have been found to accommodate the large numbers of students who are claiming their right to attend schools in both rural and urban areas. In these respects, despite the inevitable difficulties, a giant stride forward toward access, equity, mutual cooperation and the negotiation of differences has been taken in 1995 by school communities all over the country, and by the provincial authorities. There is still a long way to go, but an encouraging start has been made.
10 Affirmative action means providing special encouragement and support for those who experienced discrimination in the past. Clearly, not everyone needs or should receive that special assistance. Thus, to achieve equity, it may be necessary to pursue policies that treat different groups of people in somewhat different ways. For example, if girls have been systematically discouraged from selecting subject combinations that emphasise mathematics and science, then achieving equitable education requires that new ways be found to encourage more girls to select those subjects.
11 One way of measuring the success of the system in achieving the removal of injustices and obstacles in access to school will be measured by analysing which children are being admitted and are continuing to attend school, and under what conditions. For example, the implementation of pre-school programmes needs to be targeted at those communities where this facility has never been provided. We should not be satisfied by enrolment and promotion rates in basic general education that vary significantly from one district to another. Nor should we be satisfied by a system in which some children have sufficient textbooks in every subject and well equipped libraries and laboratories, while other children sit on the floor in large classes, in tents or under trees, and lack books, furniture, libraries and laboratories.
12 Not only should measures of access be monitored, but it is vital to measure and monitor results or outcomes, in order to ensure that the current disparities in learners' opportunities to achieve an acceptable level of learning are regularly monitored so that appropriate remedies can be planned and implemented. For example, do girls stop their schooling sooner than boys, or vice versa? Are pass rates systematically and consistently higher in some provinces and circuits or districts than in others? Achieving equity in results is complex and difficult but the education system will fail the children if we aim at anything less.
13 Quality. The achievement of general education for all has both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. Any suitable definition of basic general education needs to embrace not merely the proportion of eligible children attending school, but also the nature and quality of schooling offered. The implementation of the compulsory phase implies not merely securing formal attendance at school but also ensuring that the material and human resources made available to schools from state funds are sufficient to allow an acceptable quality of learning to proceed.
14 Perhaps the most important challenge in improving the quality of our education system is to ensure that our teachers are well prepared for the major responsibilities they carry. It is essential that teachers are helped to develop the expertise and skills that will enable them to stimulate learning. It is necessary to ensure that children have sufficient textbooks and instructional materials. The physical facilities of schools must provide a decent environment for learning. Many of our schools are in a state of disrepair. Many are in ruins. Furthermore, many lack basic furniture, storage space, electricity, a safe water supply, toilets, a school library, laboratories, workshops, and recreational facilities.
15 Education financing policies must direct the distribution of the limited public resources so that the goals of universal provision and equalisation are attained, but in such a way that educational inputs which are known to be strategically necessary for improved quality are both safeguarded and enhanced. Access without quality improvement in basic general education is a recipe for disappointment, and perpetuates an inevitable loss of productivity higher up the education system, in training and in the work- place. The early years of learning must be a special priority for targeted expenditure, so that the best possible foundation can be laid consistent with our means.
16 Efficiency and sustainability. Educational efficiency is linked to quality of provision. Achieving or improving efficiency in the education system will require us to reduce repetition and drop-out rates and increase the quantity and quality of output from the system.
17 However, an efficient, outcomes-oriented system of state-provided general education for all can take place only within a context of financial sustainability. Currently, nearly a quarter of the government's expenditure is allocated to education, which has to compete for resources with other sectors such as health, social welfare and housing, where the needs are also substantial. Within the education sector, the requirements of the general education phase must respond to justifiable pressures for greater access, quality, equity and sustainability in all other phases of the system.
18 The large gaps that need to be closed between schools and communities with the highest and lowest spending per pupil, as well as the resourcing needed for the education of teachers and the construction of schools, will consume a large proportion of the education budget each year. Providing ten years of fee-free education for all in state schools will mean increasing expenditure year on year as more children are brought into the system and stay longer. Moreover, if economic growth is sluggish, the budgetary resources available to education will be seriously constrained. Thus the restructuring, expansion and qualitative improvement of the school system must be handled in a manner which ensures its financial sustainability.
19 Democratic governance. The sustainability of a policy of general education for all is not just a financial concept. It is a profoundly important attribute of the value the community, particularly the parent community, places upon the educational services for its young people. Without a democratic governance structure representing the principal stakeholders of the school, there is no prospect that the provision of an acceptable level of general education for children from state resources can be properly managed, sustained, and enhanced. The principle of ownership of the school by the community it serves is therefore a foundation for the successful implementation of the policy and the provision of quality basic general education for all.
Operational principles
20 A number of operational principles will facilitate the implementation strategy for achieving access to general education for all, or "ten years free and compulsory education". These fall into three categories, dealing with the separate components of "ten years", "compulsory" and "free".
Ten years: the reception year within the General Education cycle
21 The Ministry of Education is in agreement that the General Education level within the school system under the National Qualification Framework should comprise a reception year and nine school years from Grades 1-9 (Sub A to Standard 7). Since at present the reception or pre-school year is not included in the basic education phase, the effect will be to add a year at the bottom end of the demographic pyramid. The implementation of the reception year will take place over a period of years when there is also significant growth in participation rates from Grade 1 upwards. The consequences for the capacity of the system are therefore considerable, and the following operational principles are necessary to enable the national and provincial departments to approach the goal in an affordable and sustainable manner.
22 Reception year state-supported but not compulsory in the first phase. In order to permit the system to expand to accommodate the increased demand, attendance in the reception or pre-school year should not be mandatory except in areas where capacity exists.
23 A variety of institutional forms of reception year provision to be supported. Considerable capacity already exists in non-state pre-schools, although nowhere near enough for all children. The tradition of community provision of pre-schooling is an appropriate and valuable asset which should in no way be undermined but on the contrary should be encouraged and supported. The role of non-governmental organisations, including religious and other community-based structures, has been strategically important. Private provision has a long history in more affluent communities.
24 In the first phase, therefore, the implementation of the reception year must ensure that all the available capacity is fully employed and enhanced, subject to a proper regulatory framework to ensure children's safety and well-being and safeguard against fraud and exploitation. State per capita grants should be available to community and private institutions which meet reasonable and acceptable standards, and the capacity in state and state-aided schools must be fully utilised wherever it exists.
25 Priority for under-resourced areas. The phasing-in of the state-supported reception year must be done in a manner which accords priority to those areas of greatest need and least financial capacity within communities.
26 Teacher education for the reception year. It is essential to ensure that the reception year does not simply constitute a lowering of the age of admission to school, with inappropriate or harmful teaching methods and curriculum. The phasing-in of state support must therefore follow or run parallel with the preparation or up-grading of adequate numbers of teachers with the specific skills required for reception or pre-school education. This would be facilitated by approving an accredited set of appropriate qualifications for teachers in the early childhood and foundation learning phase, and enabling accredited training agencies to enrol increasing numbers of candidates for certificated courses. Teachers of early learners need the incentive of a recognised and respected career path.
27 Support services for the reception year. It is equally essential to ensure that the phasing in of the reception year is accompanied by an appropriate curriculum, the availability of inexpensive and appropriate learning and teaching materials, and appropriately trained, mobile professional resource staff, and resource centres for the use of teachers.
28 Rigorous enforcement of the minimum admission age. Primary schools and reception or pre-school classes must not become creches for children who require a different kind of nurturing environment. The minimum age of admission to the reception year must therefore be rigorously applied.
Compulsory education
29 The basis for the state's commitment to compulsory general education is to be found in the fundamental right of all persons to basic education (see chapter 7, paragraph 1 1), and the Ministry of Education's policy for compulsory education therefore provides one of the necessary elements of the framework within which the constitutional rights of the child can be assured. Compulsory education will also provide a legal instrument to prevent the exploitation of child labour at the expense of the child's education. The Constitution obliges the state, parents and others who might have such authority to uphold the rights of the child to education.
30 Compulsory education comprises two elements: compulsory provision, and compulsory attendance. The following operational principles should underlie the implementation strategy.
31 Compulsory provision. The state is required to ensure that educational opportunities of acceptable quality are available to every child for the General Education period. This means that no child can be denied access to schooling for the compulsory period. It does not mean, as has been discussed in chapter 7, paragraphs 18-52, in relation to the constitutional right of access and other fundamental rights concerning education, that every child has the right of access to any school whatsoever. The operational principle is thatthe right of access applies to publiclyfunded schools nearest the child's home, subjectto the provisions of the Constitution referred to above. A second operational principle is that if a child for good and sufficient reason cannot be accommodated at the nearest school or a school in the neighbourhood, the education authorities are obliged to assist the parents and the child concerned to find a suitable alternative.
32 Compulsory attendance. A law providing for compulsory attendance places a legal obligation on the parents of children covered by the compulsory education period to ensure that children attend school for that period. All systems of compulsory attendance in other countries make appropriate provisions for exemption. A child's parents cannot be required to ensure the child's attendance if no educational facilities are available to them. There are other circumstances where the hnterests of the child might be compromised by compulsory attendance at a school, and here the guiding principle would ensure a due process of determination of the child's best interests, and due recognition of the rights both of the parents and of the child.
33 Compulsory school attendance age range. The enforcement of compulsory attendance by law can be phased in only when it is clear that the capacity for each successive age group exists, and when the ground has been prepared in the affected communities so that the full implications of compulsory attendance are understood. Compulsory birth registration is an essential precondition for regulating admissions to school and, over time, eliminating under-age and over-age enrolment.
34 In view of the capacity problem, the Ministry of Education, through the Council of Education Ministers, will review possible legal enforcement measures in respect of the designated age-group, taking into account the availability of school facilities, the appropriate preparation of parents for the implementation of compulsory attendance, and the availability of an appropriate service to deal with non-attendance.
35 In time, the social acceptance of compulsory birth registration and compulsory school attendance should be at a sufficiently high level, and the participation rate in school sufficiently high, that, with appropriate notice being given, the policy can be legally enforced by the provincial Ministries of Education for the designated age group, on the basis of designated magisterial districts, until by stages the whole country is covered.
36 In due course, the Ministry of Education will take appropriate advice from public bodies and its statutory consultative structure, consult the Council of Education Ministers and determine where the compulsory attendance age range should be established, for instance at 5-14 years or 6-15 years. For the time being, the operational principles should be that the minimum age of enrolment in the reception year be rigorously enforced, that so far as practicably possible, alternative educational provision, such as in Community Learning Centres, be made for over-age young people who are following the General Education curriculum, and that a Grade 9 or Standard 7 level of attainment be regarded as the appropriate cut-off for the compulsory period.
Free education
37 It is well understood that all public education is a service which costs, that the costs must be paid for from public funds via the tax-payers and other revenues, or by the parents, or by the community. In this sense there is no free education.
38 The Ministry of Education considers the provision of General Education of acceptable quality in the compulsory phase as a public responsibility, to be funded by the state at an affordable and sustainable level. The following operational principles provide guidance for an implementation strategy.
39 Provision by the state of teachers at an agreed ratio. The major resource in the schooling process is the provision of a qualified teacher. In terms of this principle, the state should undertake to fund teaching posts at affordable and educationally viable ratios at all state and state-aided schools.
40 Provision at state schools of basic physical plant and equipment. The principle here is that the state has an obligation to provide the basic physical facilities and equipment to all state schools. The parameters of this provision will be negotiated with stakeholders and in the Council of Education Ministers in the light of the resource constraints. It should include access to classrooms of an agreed standard at an agreed ratio, the provision of basic services and infrastructure such as water, toilets, electricity, and an administration block, as well as educationally necessary facilities such as a library, laboratories and workshops where appropriate, and recreational facilities.
41 Prioritisation of physical provision. The provision of these facilities will need to be made on a prioritised basis according to an Index of Need for each school, which the national and provincial Departments of Education are in the process of preparing, taking into account the possibilities of optimising resource utilisation through the sharing of facilities between schools, where this is physically feasible.
42 Provision of basic learning materials. The state has an obligation in terms of this policy to ensure that students have access to basic learning materials such as textbooks and stationery, and teachers have access to basic teaching materials such as syllabuses, teachers' guides, and an appropriate range and level of other resources including reference materials. Where schools or parents choose to make available a higher level of provision than is deemed affordable by the state, the principle should apply that they may provide the additional resources out of school development funds.
43 School development funds. School development fund contributions are voluntary contributions made by parents and others, and administered by school governing bodies, to assist with improving the facilities and educational resources and other development activities of the school. Such contributions are not required by law, unlike the school fees which the governing bodies of state-aided or state-subsidised schools are empowered to charge under current legislation, in order to supplement the state subsidy they receive. Since the Minister of Education's Review Committee on School Organisation, Governance and Funding will examine such matters in order to propose an equitable and educationally acceptable school governance and finance policy for the future, it is unnecessary to comment further on the distinction between legally- required school fees and voluntary school development funds.
44 It need only be said that the Ministry of Education strongly supports the principle of voluntary school development funds, managed and accounted for by the school governing bodies, and controlled and audited by the education authorities in order to ensure that fraud is not committed and funds are used for purposes of educational development. The principle of voluntary subscription by parents, and responsible, collective decision-making by the school community as to the way in which school improvements should be made, is and will remain a very important part of the national strategy to achieve basic general education for all.
Implementation of ten years general education for all
45 The implementation of the "ten years free and compulsory education" policy began on 1 January 1995 with the enrolment of all six year olds in Grade 1, as announced by the Minister of Education. This is only the first step. The policy will be phased in over a number of years.
46 It is essential for the Council of Education Ministers to consider and approve a clear implementation programme based on the operational principles described above, with targets, target dates, and a monitoring and reporting mechanism. Individual provincial authorities face very different educational needs, and have different financial and infrastructural capacities, though these should move towards equitable provision in terms of the requirements of the Constitution. In the mean time, provincial Ministries of Education may wish to set targets and target dates appropriate to their circumstances, but within limits or parameters set by the Minister of Education after due investigation and consultation.
47 When the situation in schools has largely stabilised, the data on the 1995 school year have been assessed, and provisional targets and target dates have been established, it will be appropriate to mount a national schools campaign. The campaign, which could be linked appropriately to the RDP Presidential Lead Programme on the Culture of Learning, could encourage parents and communities to assess their obligations to their children's schools, ensure that school governing bodies are functioning in the best interests of the children's education, and increase their moral, financial and practical contributions to their schools'development.
School costs at post-compulsory level
48 It is necessary to allay fears that the introduction and implementation of "free and compulsory general education" implies a complete absence of state subsidisation of students in Grades 10-12 (Standards 8-10). This is emphatically not the case. State subsidisation of senior secondary education is crucial to ensure that a significant proportion of students from all South African families, particularly those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, are able to proceed to and beyond the matriculation level.
49 The level of state subsidisation of senior secondary education will depend most obviously on the level of per capita expenditure that is allocated to the general education sector in the compulsory phase and the priority the government attaches to sustaining good quality schooling in the post- compulsory phase. The levels of state subsidy will also be related to the extent to which students and their families can be expected to contribute to the cost of provision, quite apart from whatever voluntary contributions they might make.
50 It would be appropriate for the Department of Education, in conjunction with its provincial counterparts, to give serious consideration to the creation of an equitable funding system for senior secondary education which reflects the strategic importance of this level of education, the weight to be attached to subsidy from public resources, the proportion of funding to be expected from fee payments according to a family income-related scale, the necessity and scope of bursary provision, and the extent of additional funding which schools might be expected to raise from other sources according to their circumstances.
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2 The policy framework set out in this document does not constitute the Ministry of Education's final blueprint for educational transformation. The policy proposals address the areas which require urgent direction as the new government seeks to transform the fragmented and ethnically-based system into a non-racial system of education and training.
3 The Ministry of Education will be developing further policy in the future, and is committed to do so in consultation with all stakeholders and roleplayers.
4 The policy proposals set out in this draft document are directed at initiating fundamental change in the character and content of our education and training system. They are designed to ensure democratisation, a clear framework for redress, equity, and the transformation of our educational bureaucracy. It is a challenge which we can only meet collectively and in a partnership of all sectors of South African society.
5 The Ministry of Education is mindful that the struggle for a democratic education system has played a central role in defining the parameters for change. The gains from this struggle have been obtained at an exorbitant human and social cost. We acknowledge those who fought so hard for the human right to a free and equal basic education.
6 We owe it to them, to ourselves and future generations to make a sharp break from the educational inequity and deprivation of the past. The Ministry of Education invites all South Africans to join the project of establishing a democratic education and training system, which will open the gates of learning and culture to all, and ensure that our nation's human resources and potential are developed to the full.
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