Annual Report 2003/4 Department of Education A presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Education 2 November 2004

Outline Delivery of measurable outcomes 2003/4 Implementation of legislation passed during 2003/4 Delivery against Cluster targets Auditor General’s report Expenditure on Expanded Public Works Programme

Measurable objectives ‘Whether the Department has delivered on the “measurable objectives” identified in the Budget Vote?’

Systems Planning The focus for the year was on implementation of recommendations of the Cost of Education Study Relieving the poor of the burden of school fees Investigating mechanisms of reducing access barriers for children in rural areas With regard to infrastructure development, the ff achievements were recorded: Reduction in number of schools with learners under trees; Completion of the Thuba Makote project that created temporary employment of 71 244 person days for local communities Monitoring capital expenditure in provinces,

General Education & Training Progress has been good Highlights include: Successful roll-out of the Revised National Curriculum Statements Development of Common Tasks Assessment Complete audit of Special schools to establish capital, material & human resources required in special schhols SANLI reached 72% of the targeted learners across provinces Assisting community-based ECD sites to access learning programmes through radio Successful conduct of the third countrywide elections of SGBs

General Education & Training Challenges that remain & hinder progress include: A vibrant teacher training system for ABET educators

Further Education and Training A number of successes were recorded in FET: A 10% increase in participation in Maths and Science A 30% increase in performance in Maths & Science Declaration of National Curriculum statements Grades 10 to 12 as policy Improving the profile of FET Colleges Amalgamating 152 colleges into 50 vibrant mega institutions Awarding excellence and performance both in schools & Colleges Setting up of management structures in all Colleges

Higher Education In the higher education programme, the following highlights were noted: Successful implementation of the first mergers and incorporations that are part of the transformation of higher education Development of a new funding framework for higher education Launching a review of NSFAS to improve efficacy in terms of coverage and size

Quality promotions The single most important achievement with regard to quality promotion was the signing of the IQMS Intention of the system is to improve performance by evaluate educators for salary & grade progression Launch of the Grade 3 Systemic Evaluation Report 54 000 learners in 1 400 schools participated in the survey The report provides baseline information that will be used as a benchmark to monitor progress & impact of our interventions Mean scores: Numeracy – 30%; Literacy – 50% and Life Skills – 54% will direct interventions

Implementation of legislation passed during 2003/4 “Whether the Department has implemented the legislation passed during the year under review”

Legislation A number of polices and pieces of legislation were gazetted during this period Religion in Education Policy Has been implemented already since it was in line with our Constitutional principles National Curriculum Statement (Gr 10-12) This is a progression of the OBE curriculum Implementation is set for 2006 in Grade 10 Between the time policy was promulgated and 2006, the Department will be preparing teachers, materials and learners for implementation White Paper on e-Education Implementation plans have been developed that take into consideration development levels in each province

Legislation Policy for measurement of Research Output of Public HE Institutions Purpose is to encourage research output & productivity Comes into effect in January 2005 IQMS – immediate implementation, already under way Language policy in HE Comes into effect January 2005 New Funding Framework for HE Comes into effect at the beginning of 2004/5 financial year

Cluster targets “To what extent has the Department delivered on the targets given by to it by its Cluster?”

Social Cluster Cluster targets for the Department were: Prepare for the take over of the National School Nutrition Programme by April 2004 The Department did put up the necessary systems in place to ensure successful implementation of the NSNP; Focus was to ensure smooth transition Expand the reach of ECD Focus was on ensuring that the material available to a few institutions through radios and television, was made accessible to Community-based sites as well A total of 4 615 basic kits of learning resources were distributed, against the expected 4 500 80 additional sites were equipped with radio and television 104 television and 100 radio shows broadcast

Auditor-General’s Report “Has the Department incurred any irregular expenditure patterns based on the Auditor General’s Report?”

Feedback from the Auditor General The department of Education has consistently received a clean bill of health from the Auditor General There are two issues that were raised by the Auditor General that require attention: Conditional grants Inadequacy of the Windows 2000 system to prevent & detect unauthorized access into the system

Expenditure on EPWP “To what extent is the Department committing its Expenditure on the Extended Public Works Programme to create jobs in the alleviation of poverty?”

Job creation There are three projects that the Department has used to create employment: Ikhwelo Project This project was an ABET programme that used the EPWP model to create employment opportunities in local communities Also links with SETAs to offer ABET programmes through learnerships Thuba Makote Project This was a school infrastructure programme that created 71 244 person days of employment to local communities ECD Programmes The training of ECD facilitators has also been based on the EPWP model