The Select Committee on Education and Recreation welcomes progress made by the Department of Basic Education in stabilising the provincial departments of education in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. Both provincial departments were placed under section 100(1) (b) intervention as per the Constitution following various challenges facing both provincial education departments.
The Committee received a briefing from the Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga and her team on progress made in the two provinces. The efforts by administrators from the national government in tirelessly working towards ensuring that the provision of the constitutional right to education is realised is commendable.
“We hope that historical problems experienced in these two provinces will not find their way to other provinces, and that systems that have been put together to remedy the problems in Limpopo and Eastern Cape will from now on be closely monitored,” said Ms Mamosoeu Makgate, Chairperson of the Committee.
The Committee further welcomes the information that the Eastern Cape education department has, for the 2012/13 financial year, moved from a disclaimer audit opinion to a qualified opinion. While a qualified audit opinion remains a concern, the Committee appreciates the fact that through the intervention, the EC education department is starting to show signs of improvement.
It is even more gratifying that, according to the Auditor-General, matters that are still of concern are mainly historical in nature. It is also worth noting that the budget stabilisation programme has also paid off with under expenditure at 2%, a massive improvement if compared to the R2 billion over expenditure in the 2010/11 financial year.
In Limpopo, the committee was assured that an innovative and cost-effective system and strategy for the procurement of and delivery of learning and teaching support material had been developed and implemented. The committee believes that the successful implementation of the strategy is important as learning and teaching support materials are central to the provision of quality education.
While the committee welcomes the mentioned strategies as well as other measures that have been put in place such as the provision of effective scholar transport, adequate schooling infrastructure, realigning of departments and many others, it is of the view that effective implementation is still necessary to ensure that the service of education is delivered. A proper monitoring strategy is also necessary to ensure that the departments continue on this positive trajectory and not regress.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Malatswa Evans Molepo, Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 0732971914
Tel: 021 403 8438
E-mail: mmolepo@parliament.gov.za
