I Cronje on opening of schools for 2006

16 January 2006

The doors of learning in KwaZulu-Natal have been oiled to ensure that
teaching and learning will take place when schools reopen tomorrow (18 January
2006).

Strategies to ensure smooth operation on day one:

1. Late registrations

Last year the Department embarked on a serious campaign, using pamphlets,
radio messages, talk shows and the print media to explain the benefits of early
registration to our parents. While teachers are expected to start teaching from
day one they can only do so when parents register their children at the schools
in the previous year. Early registration ensures that all school hours are used
for teaching and learning and not on trying to sort out administrative issues.
We will continue in 2006 to prompt parents to register their children early to
make certain that our children get the education they deserve.

Meanwhile the Department will deal with unavoidable last minute
registrations resulting from movements of parents due to job transfers and
similar occurrences. We will assist these pupils to be admitted in schools. It
might not be in the school of their choice but they will be placed. No child of
school going age will be without a school.

Parents are reminded that when a school is full they should approach their
local departmental officials in the circuit and district where they live. These
officials will make sure that all children get placed in a school.

2. School fees

We still receive reports of cases where schools withhold report cards
because parents have not paid school fees. The law is clear about the issue. No
child may be denied education or be victimised because parents cannot afford to
pay school fees. Every child can learn – Every child must learn. Reports may
not be withheld.

Schools are obliged to inform parents of their rights relating to school
fees. Those who can afford to pay school fees are obliged to do so. Those who
can’t must apply either for a full exemption from the payment of school fees or
a partial exemption. We appeal to parents to apply now for exemption and not to
wait until the end of the year and to attend the annual budget meetings of
their children’s schools and to discuss the proposed budgets. If parents feel
the proposed school fees are exorbitant they must say so at the budget
meeting.

3. “No fee” Schools

Parent communities of the poorest of KwaZulu-Natal schools will benefit from
the “no-fee” schools policy this year. A recommendation will be submitted to
the national minister to declare 20% of KwaZulu-Natal’s 6 000 plus schools –
currently categorised as Quintile One schools in the poverty index – "no-fee”
schools.

The purpose of this initiative is to enable the poorest learners to access
education through the provision of full school fee exemption. The “no fee”
status means that parents in the school will no longer be required to pay
compulsory school fees.

Each of these schools has been informed of the department’s intention to
make them “no fee” schools. The schools have been given until 31 January to
raise any objection they may have against this decision.

Parents, who have paid school fees at these schools, will have their monies
returned to them, should the SGB not object to the “no fee” status.

4. Teacher Learner Support Material

For the first time since democracy in our province we can confidently say
that schools, that have placed their requisitions timeously, will have received
their textbooks and stationery by 31 January 2006.

After careful comparison of the best practices in education departments in
other provinces it was decided to outsource the service of processing and
distributing books and stationery. The change from the old education system
that I inherited as MEC when I was appointed in April 2004, follows years of
frustration over late deliveries, loss of material and non-delivery. In the old
system the Department had no control over the procurement and distribution of
textbooks and stationery but at the start of the first school term, the
managing agents are able to give us a daily status report on delivery on the
orders placed by school principals.

I am happy to say that by Wednesday, when our schools re-open, we will have
delivered stationery to more than 90% of our non-section 21 schools (section
20). The remainder of the stationery includes late deliveries and teacher aids,
such as correction fluid and staplers, and these will be delivered to the
remaining 350 schools by the end of the month (31 January 2006), as initially
stated by myself by 18 November 2005.

By Wednesday we will have delivered all the books to 55% of the schools that
placed orders. Over and above this, delivery of partial orders would have been
made to a further 1 250 schools, bringing us to an 80% delivery by the first
day of school

While delivery for schools with lock-up facilities started in November last
year, delivery to schools that indicated that they don’t have these facilities
only commenced from the beginning of this term.

While the majority of our principals are responsible employees, who have the
education of our children at heart, some principals have neglected to order
books on time. The department is aware of all the principals who did not place
orders for their schools or did so long after the set dates. We will take
internal disciplinary action against all those managers, who deny our children
access to a quality education by not doing the work they are employed for and
paid for.

We will not tolerate this reckless behaviour of education leaders, who don’t
care about the education of our children.

5. Bursaries

The Department has changed the bursary scheme. Instead of dishing out our
limited funds to students in fields not directly relevant to education, the
Department will now provide financial assistance to needy students, who are
considering a career within the Department of Education. Seventy students have
already been identified as bursary holders to study towards a teaching
qualification in fields, identified as scarce and critical, such as
Mathematics, Science, Technology, Computer Studies, Commerce, Information
Technology (IT), Auditing and Accounting and Speech, Occupational and
Psychotherapy.

The successful applicants will enter into contractual agreements with the
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.

6. Armed robberies

Security committees at schools have been alerted to be extremely careful
during this time of the year. Where parents are able to they are advised to
make payments into bank accounts and for the schools to accept deposit slips as
proof of payment. In rural areas where this is not possible, schools are
advised not to keep large sums at the school but to take the money as soon as
possible to the bank.

7. Parliament to observe school opening

The Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal has invited all members of the
provincial legislature, including the MECs and members of the Education
Portfolio committee to join the Premier, myself and the Department in the
monitoring of the first two days of the reopening of schools. They have been
requested to visit schools in their respective districts and will be given a
checklist to complete at the schools.

I appeal to all our teachers, parents, students, officials and community
members to assist us in getting KwaZulu-Natal learning – not wasting one minute
of our children’s precious education.

Issued by: Department of Education, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government
16 January 2006