“SGBS CHANGING THE EDUCATION LANDSCAPE” STATUS OF PREPARATIONS FOR SGB ELECTIONS 27 February 2018

PRESENTATION OUTLINE PURPOSE BACKGROUND DECLARATION OF ELECTION PERIOD STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ELECTIONS LETTERS TO HODS THE ROLE OF SGB ELECTION TASK TEAM PREPARATIONS REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ELECTIONS MONITORING OF THE STATE OF READINESS PHASE 1 PROVINCIAL MONITORING BY THE DBE FINDINGS OF PHASE 1 MONITORING PHASE 2 PROVINCIAL MONITORING BY THE DBE FINDINGS OF PHASE 2 MONITORING SUMMARY ON DBE FINDINGS SGB ELECTIONS LAUNCHES ADVOCACY STAKEHOLDERS OUTSTANDING MATTERS RECOMMENDATION

PURPOSE To present to the Portfolio Committee the status of preparations for the SGB Elections 3

BACKGROUND Section 31 of the South African Schools Act, Act no. 84 of 1996 (SASA) as amended, stipulates that the term of office of a member of a governing body other than a learner may not exceed three years. The previous SGB elections were conducted in March 2015. The term of office of the current governing bodies expires in March 2018. 4

DECLARATION OF ELECTION PERIOD The Minister of Basic Education announced in Government Gazette 40798 the 2018 School Governing Body Elections Period as 1 – 31 March 2018. 5

STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ELECTIONS The election of SGBs is one of the flagships of the education sector that has to be prioritised by all provinces in terms of planning, budget allocation and the allocation of both physical human resources. Governing bodies have a strategic significance as identified by the National Development Plan (NDP) which calls for the alignment of the interests of all stakeholders to support the common goal of achieving good educational outcomes that are responsive to community needs and economic development. The SGB elections contribute to the development of a strong sense of community ownership. The performance of schools tends to improve when parents are actively involved and take an interest in the affairs of the school. 6

LETTERS TO HODS The following requests were made to the Provincial Heads of Education in the letter by the DG: Appointment in writing of Provincial Election Officer; Promulgation of the SGB Election regulations; Production of the SGB Election circular; Management plan that includes: Launch of the SGB Election in the Province; Appointment of Election Officers; Advocacy campaign; and Development of election training material. 7

THE ROLE OF SGB ELECTION TASK TEAM The DBE has established a Task Team composed of SGB association members and provincial SGB coordinators to: Plan for the forth coming elections; Provide support to provinces; and Bring about uniformity in the sector. 10

PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS FOR SGB ELECTIONS Establishment of an SGB Elections Task Team (DBE, Provinces and NCF); Development of elections guidelines; Development of training manual for electoral officers Setting of election dates; Advocacy; Appointment of Provincial Electoral Officer; Appointment of District Electoral Officer; Development of provincial management plans; Twinning of school; and Development of voters roll. 8

MONITORING OF THE STATE OF READINESS The DBE wrote letters to HODs informing them of the 2018 SGB Elections readiness monitoring visits. The templates used during the visits focused on the following: Advocacy; Budget; Documentation; Election Teams; Monitoring and Evaluation; Physical Resources; and Three teams visited three Provinces (per team) from the 21st of September 2017 to the 5th of October 2017 as indicated below. 9

FIRST PHASE MONITORING BY THE DBE DATES PROVINCES 21 September 17 Gauteng 26-27 September 17 Eastern Cape KwaZulu-Natal Western Cape 28-29 September 17 Limpopo Mpumalanga Free State 2-3 October 17   Northern Cape 5 October 2017 North West 11 11

FINDINGS OF FIRST PHASE MONITORING

Establishment of an SGB Elections Task Team (DBE, Provinces and NCF); ACTIVITY PROGRESS Establishment of an SGB Elections Task Team (DBE, Provinces and NCF); Done Development of elections guidelines; Development of training manual for electoral officers Setting of election dates Appointment of Provincial Electoral Officers Appointment of District Electoral Officer Development of provincial management plans 13

PHASE 2 PROVINCIAL MONITORING BY THE DBE The monitored areas for the last state of readiness in provinces is as follows: DATE TEAM 1 TEAM 2 TEAM3 5– 8 February EASTERN CAPE Nelson Mandela Sarah Bartman Joe Gqabi Chris Hani West KWAZULU-NATAL Ugu UMzinyathi UMkhanyakude and Ilembe GAUTENG Gauteng East, Gauteng North, Johannesburg Central, Tshwane South, Sedibeng West, Johannesburg West and Johannesburg South 12– 3 February LIMPOPO Capricorn Mopani Waterberg and Vhembe MPUMALANGA Nkangala and Bohlabela WESTERN CAPE Metro Central and Eden and Central Karoo 15–16 February FREE STATE Motheo and Lejweleputswa NORTHERN CAPE Francis Baard and ZF Mgcawu NORTH WEST Ngaka Modiri Molema Bojanala

FINDINGS OF SECOND PHASE MONITORING

FINDINGS OF PHASE 2 MONITORING ACTIVITY PROGRESS Sending out of circulars to schools Done Setting of election dates In progress Training of school electoral officers Twinning of schools Development of Voters Roll

SUMMARY OF DBE FINDINGS Province Advocacy Plan Budget Regulations promulgated Circulars Management Plan EC  FS GP   KZN LP MP NC NW WC

SGB ELECTIONS LAUNCHES PROVINCE DATE Eastern Cape 16 November 2017 Free State 19 September 2017 Gauteng 13 & 24 February 2018 KwaZulu-Natal 9 February 2018 Limpopo 26 February 2018 Mpumalanga Done over radio stations North West 30 January 2018 Northern Cape 26 January 2018 Western Cape 31 January 2018

ADVOCACY 21

STAKEHOLDERS Corruption Watch NECT Theme: Help turn Schools Around Toolkit: PARTICIPATING IN SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY ELECTIONS Information: Booklet 22

OUTSTANDING MATTERS Invitation letters to parents Monitoring schedules Elections Grievance Resolutions Teams Orientation of newly elected SGB members Final report

RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the Committee notes the preparations for the 2018 SGB Elections. 23