meeting
5 June 2007
The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) held its scheduled meeting in Cape
Town on 4 June. The council expressed concern at reports that some schools were
reportedly closed by principals and school governing bodies (SGBs) without
departmental approval.
According to the latest data available provided by provinces, the impact of
the current industrial action on schooling is as follows:
a) KwaZulu-Natal: 85% (absence)
b) Eastern Cape: 60%
c) North West: 55%
d) Gauteng: 90%
e) Limpopo: 90%
The council agreed that action will be taken against those principals who
closed schools without following the procedures stipulated in the South African
Schools Act. The said procedures require the approval of the Head of Department
(HoD).
In some cases SGBs have apparently directly intervened by writing letters to
parents in which they state that they cannot guarantee teacher attendance and
therefore the safety of children. By acting in this way they have effectively
closed schools.
The Department has prepared guidelines for parents and volunteers to assist
them in instances where children are not at school. These have been distributed
via various means and are available on the Department of Education (DOE)
website.
All provincial heads confirmed that there is no departmental directive
permitting the general closure of schools. However, authority has been given to
district level officials to close a school where there are no teachers in
attendance.
The council further discussed and approved the following:
* Institution management service for principals of schools
At the July 2006 Cabinet Lekgotla, the DOE was tasked with finalising four
major tasks regarding the capacity assessment exercises. Among these, was
defining The roles and responsibilities of principals, a sub task was the
establishment of a management service for principals. The funds allocated in
the 2007/08 financial year for personnel are R549 million. The council approved
that the draft collective agreement should be forwarded to the relevant
structures. The draft agreement provides an improved framework for the
remuneration and performance management of principals.
The council also approved 28 December 2007 as the official date for the
release of the 2007 senior certificate examination results.
The council discussed and agreed that learners who do not succeed in the
2007 senior certificate examinations would be given the opportunity to re-write
in May/June 2008. The first national senior certificate (NSC) examination,
based on the National Curriculum Statement will be administered in 2008. The
policy on the NSC allows for the senior certificate based on current senior
certificate to be administered until 2011. This would be the last opportunity
for school-based learners to write the national examination under the old
senior certificate curriculum.
The council also approved that DOE should proceed with the process of
recruiting foreign educators to take up the 1 000 permits for scarce skill
appointments in the education sector. The focus for recruitment will be on
mathematics and science educators.
Provinces will provide DOE with an indication of the numbers required for
each subject. The council further directed the DOE to carry out a comprehensive
audit of scarce skill vacancies in the education sector and to report to
council at its next meeting.
For further details contact:
Lunga Ngqengelele
Ministerial spokesperson
Tel: 012 312 5538
Cell: 082 566 0446
E-mail: ngqengelele.l@doe.gov.za
Issued by: Ministry of Education
5 June 2007
