Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Honourable Premier, Mr Magashule
Honourable Members of the Executive Council
Members of the Free State Legislature
Executive Mayor, Mayors and Councilors
Superintendent-General for Education, Mr Malope and other HOD’s
Members of the Management Team of the Free State Department of Education
Members of Teacher Organisations and Trade Unions
Representatives of the Private and Business Sector
Our spiritual leadership
Departmental officials
Principals, former principals and educators
Parents and learners
Media representatives
Comrades and friends
The State President has given the instruction in his State of the Nation Address that the “focus in basic education this year is Triple T: Teachers, Textbooks and Time.” We reiterate the non-negotiables that teachers must be in class, on time, teaching with no neglect of duty and no abuse of pupils. Children shall be in class on time learning, berespectful of their teachers and each other and do their homework.
There is no other profession that is more important to our children’s future than teaching. It has long been acknowledged that teaching is mother of all professions. The future of our country is determined in the class room. With this in mind we feel compelled to applaud all our teachers who continue against all odds to regard their profession not as a job but mission that has to be accomplished. Education will forever remain a societal responsibility, without the contributions and support of educators, learners, parents and other stakeholders the department alone may not overcome this minefield.
The focus of this budget is clearly targeting support to schools, learners, educators and our social partners to move towards more effective teaching and learning in our schools.
In order to improve the quality of teaching and learning at all levels within the system, the department will embark on a number of interventions and programmes during the 2011/12 financial year. The total allocation to this department to deliver on its mandate is R9,496 341 billion (inclusive of Conditional Grants).
Whilst we remain firmly committed to improving the quality of basic education throughout the schooling system, more attention will be focused on Primary Schools in 2011. The early warning signals as provided by the Annual National Assessments, serve as a basis for our interventions in improving learner attainment in the schooling system as a whole, including in Numeracy and Literacy. We will ensure that all schools pay attention to the following elements of the Foundations for Learning Programme:
- Teach Numeracy (Mathematics) for at least 1 hour every day which includes 10 minutes on mental mathematics exercises
- 1 hour reading on a daily basis to improve reading skills
- Extra 30 minutes reading for enjoyment across the curriculum
- 1 hour on writing skills
- Monthly and quarterly tests.
One of our flagship projects in 2011 will be the establishment of Maths Labs in 200 Primary schools throughout the province. The concept is based on the three pillars of ‘imagination, investigation and interaction”. These state of the art labs will afford learners a platform to build a strong foundation of mathematical concepts and verify facts and theorems at an early age, through the provision of technology applications, mathematical models, manipulatives, measuring instruments, videos etc. thereby enhancing mathematics learning in later years.
To get our system ready for the introduction of English First Additional Language in 2012, we will in 2011 pilot the introduction of English First Additional Language (FAL) in 100 Primary schools across the Province and train Foundation Phase teachers in English as a First Additional Language (FAL).
The Provincial Strategy on Learner Attainment remains a strategic initiative that directs the focus of the education system in the Free State on continuous improvement with regard to learner attainment in the National Senior Certificate examinations (NSC). This initiative towards supporting schools will now also be complemented with the GET and FET improvement strategies. The PSLA will be implemented in the context of the strategic objectives and targets of Acton Plan 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025.
Our target for 2011 National Senior Certificate examination remains a pass rate of 75 percent. With reference to learner attainment, Provincial Strategy on Learner Attainment the following key interventions, amongst others, will be rolled out:
- Focused Teacher development programmes in underperforming and declining schools
- Retraining of 100 maths literacy teachers on mathematics
- Weekend and holiday classes compulsory for 84 underperforming schools
- Installation of mindset learning channel in 150 secondary schools
- Live broadcast of lessons to 60 schools in partnership with UFS
- Mentorship programme focused on subject improvement plans
- Pilot project in 18 schools in Fezile Dabi district on School Academic Improvement plans.
The 2010 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations proceeded very smoothly without any serious discrepancies. We continued to run the examinations with the highest levels of professionalism in order to protect the integrity of the National Senior Certificate.
We also remain committed to strive for excellence in learner attainment. The Free State has recorded an increase of 1.3 percent in the overall 2010 NSC pass rate and continued to perform well above the national pass rate.
The Free State has exceeded the national pass rate by 2.9 percent (70.7 percent as compared to the national pass rate of 67.8 percent) and continues to be the leading province in the country in life sciences (biology), agricultural scienceand mathematics literacy respectively.
Honourable Speaker, we continue to give priority to mathematics and science education and have adopted an incremental approach with the resourcing of schools.
The following are some specifics of the interventions made in this regard:
- 100 schools (55 Secondary and 45 Primary), including Dinaledi schools were each provided with a HeyMath! Software programme as part of integrating information communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. 50 additional High schools will receive the HeyMath programme in 2011
- In 2010 60 high schools were provided with mobile science laboratories and 160 more High schools will be provided with this equipment in 2011 to enhance the teaching and learning of science in our schools
- About 192 primary schools were provided with science kits in 2010 and a further 325 schools will receive these science kits in 2011. We continue to be committed to mobilising the required resources to provide the necessary support for the desired improvement in mathematics and science education.
As a result, a number of partnerships (CUT, SASOL, Voorspoed Mining, Harmony Mining, Kagiso Trust, Kutlwanong Centre for Mathematics Science and Technology in collaboration with Investec and Fani Titi, Thuthuka - SAICA etc.) will be strengthened and maintained to support Maths, Science, Accounting and English programmes in 2011.
In pursuance of the Universalisation of Grade R as one of the Millennium Development Goals of ensuring that all learners entering grade 1 in 2015 would have had at least one year of pre-grade 1 education, 100 classes were added to receive subsidy in 2010/11, bringing the total number of Grade R classes to 1 483 in the province.
This has afforded a total of 28 492 learners in public schools the opportunity to have at least one year of pre-grade 1 education. By the end of 2011/12 we will increase Grade R classes by an additional 100.
As part of the Expanded Public Works Programme, 200 ECD practitioners were registered in 2010/11 to receive training through FET colleges with a stipend of R1 200 per month. The department has also in collaboration with ETDP SETA, afforded scholarships to 152 Grade R practitioners to improve their qualifications to NQF level 5. Both these programmes will continue in the 2011/12.
Honourable Speaker, it was not possible until 2010 to increase the salaries of Grade R teachers. The department managed to increase Grade R teachers’ salaries with 8 percent in the 2010/11 financial year. It will be further increased with 12 percent in the 2011/12 financial year.
We realise as educationists that play has long been acknowledged as a crucial factor in children’s physical, mental, social and emotional development. During 2011, a total of 200 schools and 10 hostels (for farm learners) throughout the Province will receive Toy Libraries.
The department is aware of the challenges facing rural schools with regard to resources like libraries. On 24 April 2011 another Mobile Library bus was donated to the department. Our Mobile Library Fleet now consists of 7 vehicles, donated by the South African Primary Education Support Initiative (SAPESI), an NGO situated in Japan. The purpose of these customised vehicles is to provide resources to learners and teachers inunder-resourced rural areas. These buses provide 46 319 rural learners with access to 56 296 books in 146 rural schools.
This initiative received a further boost of another 13 000 library books donated by Sony Corporation as part of our book stock for the mobile library project. The estimated value of this donation is R130 000. This initiative is expected to have a major impact on the reading ability of our learners in these rural areas.
The Sony Corporation also donated 30 laptops that were used during the FIFA World Cup in 2010. These laptops will be used as a pilot project to assist 10 rural schools in the Thaba ‘Nchu area with ICT skills. The following rural schools were the beneficiaries of these laptops: the schools are Seiphemo P/S ,Ramahushe P/S ,Moipolai P/S ,Ngakantsi’spoort P/S ,Mokoto P/S ,Tala P/S ,Gaongalelwe I/S, Tonya P/S , Fenyang P/S and Tsimatsima P/S.
School funding (R473,168 million)
The department will continue to maintain the current number of no-fee schools in the Province. All schools in Quintiles 1, 2 and 3 will continue to be no-fee schools. The per capita allocation for those learners differs in line with the quintile status of the respective school.
Learners in quintile 1 schools will receive an allocation of R905 per learner whilst those in quintile 2 and 3 will receive R829. The allocation of R905 per learner in quintile 1 is above the national benchmark of R829 per learner.
The non-section 21 schools are receiving a once off payment of R100 per learner as a transfer payment in lieu of school fees. Due to budget constraints in the 2011/12 financial year, the department will not be in a position to allocate the same amounts per learner to quintiles 1, 2 and 3, but will continue to strive in future to give an equal allocation per learner in these quintiles.
Due to the challenges faced with the provisioning of text books, the department will provide supplementary Learning and Teacher Support Material (LTSM) to the value of R46, 244 million to schools.
As part of the review of the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), the current textbooks will be revised to be in line with the new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) subject documents of the re-packaged NCS. Textbooks play a central role in the implementation of the re-packaged NCS and this initiative will aim to provide textbooks in subjects in Grades 4 to 9.
Technical schools
In recognition of the critical role played by Technical Schools towards contributing to the training of young people in technical subjects for improved skills development, the department will continue with the recapitalisation of technical high schools. The main purpose of this conditional grant of R14,428 million is to improve the conditions of technical high schools and modernise them to meet the teaching and learning requirements of learners in technical and vocational fields for skill development.
The project, which will include the re-designing of workshops, refurbishing of workshops, buying and installing of new machinery and equipment of technical high schools will continue in 2011. In addition, it will also provide for the training and up-skilling of teachers at technical schools to be exposed to new trends and practical skills in the respective subjects. This will effectively assist in improving overall conditions and modernising these schools.
Agricultural schools
The department embarked on a focused intervention to support and fund agricultural schools in the province in 2010/11. Unicom Agricultural School was assisted with R2,8 million, Seotlong Agricultural School with R3,5 million, Weiveld Agricultural School with R5 million and Nampo Agricultural School with R1 million. The funds were used for renovations, equipment, staffing and learner transport.
This support will be continued at the rest of the schools with R8,6 million allocated in 2011/12 to ensure that all 9 schools are progressively functioning as fully fledged agricultural schools. The department is also working closely with other government departments towards the upgrading of roads to these schools, the provision and renovation of physical infrastructure, the implementation of the agricultural curriculum and the professional development of educators.
Incentives and support to rural educators and the Teacher Laptop Initiative
Retaining qualified, experienced and skilled educators in rural areas remains a challenge. Providing financial incentives to approximately 2 000 of these educators in Farm Schools is underway and R29 million will be spent to incentivise these educators in the 2011/12 financial year. The department has made R15 million available for the roll-out of the Teacher Laptop Initiative. The first 4 800 qualifying educators were informed and the process of them entering into contracts with Approved Service Providers commenced.
ICT connectivity
The department will continue to invest in and promote the use of ICT in schools. In the 2011/12 financial year, R12,9 million will be used to roll out computers and connectivity to schools. Connectivity will take place in partnership with SENTECH and United School Sport Association of South Africa (USSASA). These two State Owned Entities (SOE) will play an important role in providing access to the needy communities.
Infrastructure development and basic services
In our quest to eradicate over-crowding and improve the physical conditions within which teaching and learning is taking place, we will continue to provide new infrastructure, upgrade and renovate existing facilities in the province. A total budget of R441,05 million will be spent on education infrastructure in the 2011/12 financial year. This budget includes R22,7 million earmarked to address water, sanitation and electricity backlogs in farm and rural schools in the province.
R23,4 million will be channeled towards the construction of three new schools (Letlotlo Naledi P.S in Bothaville, Bopa Setjhaba P.S in Parys and Kamohelo P.S in Grassland, Bloemfontein), which commenced in the 2010/11 financial year.
An amount of R20 million will be available towards to commencement of the construction of the final phases of six schools in the province i.e. Matla Primary in
Bloemfontein, Ipateleng Primary in Wesselsbron, Phahamisanang Primary in Virginia, Ntuthuzelo Primary in Bultfontein, Kopanelang Thuto Primary in Sasolburg and Kahobotjha- Sakubusha Secondary in Sasolburg.
The 2011/12 financial year will see the department spending R20,2 million on upgrading hostels for accommodation of farm school learners. R7,1 million will be available for construction of new Grade R facilities. R48,9 million and R55,5 million will be used for building new administration blocks in existing schools and addition classrooms respectively. R53,7 million and R33,4 million will be used for refurbishment of special schools and replacement of inappropriate / dangerous structures respectively.
Inclusive education
The Free State Department of Education aims to provide quality education that is responsive to the individual learning needs of all learners. This includes accommodating children who experience barriers to learning and development in either special schools or mainstream schools that have been converted into full service schools. The department will allocate R19,114 million to continue its support of the full service schools in the coming financial year.
The strengthening of special and full service schools take place with the aid of full service district based teams, training of official on inclusive practices to promote access to education by all learners and procurement of specialised LTSM for these schools.
The department is in the process of appointing 20 Social Workers at Special Schools across the province.
Bursaries, internships and skills
As clearly highlighted in the Honourable Premier’s State of the Province Address, this province is serious about investing in our youth through our Provincial Bursary Scheme. A total of 4 432 learners have received full-time bursaries to pursue their studies in scarce skills areas such as Engineering, Finance, Accounting, Medicine, Mathematics and Science. This includes new bursaries and the maintenance of existing bursaries. An amount of R154 million was spent on bursaries and in 2010. With this initiative, we can be proud that more than 400 bursary holders received their degrees and diplomas at the end of the 2010 academic year.
The department participated in the overall provincial programme for skills development and training through the implementation of Learnerships and interships, 55 interns were contracted from February 2010 until April 2011 and some of them will be permanently absorbed in the department. The rest were absorbed in the private sector and other provincial departments.
Learner support
The hostel project for farm schools learners is the most effective way of ensuring that alllearners have access to quality education. There are currently 21 hostels for farm school learners, accommodating 2 212 learners from farm schools. In 2011/12 an additional 24 blocks at existing hostels will be renovated to accommodate even more learners fromthe farm schools. An amount of R7 million has been set aside to build a complete hostel that will accommodate 300 learners at Bainsvlei Combined School.
During 2010/11 the department provided transport to 6 042 farm school learners by contracting service providers for the 299 routes in the 5 districts. In 2011/12 the department can afford to maintain the transport of these 6 042 learners.
The department has allocated 21 buses to the five districts and rural schools to assistwith the transportation of hostel and day learners, transportation of learners to sports and cultural events and officials to departmental activities. A bus was also allocated to Bainsvlei Secondary School to transport learners and a bus will also be provided to Breda Intermediate Farm School to transport learners to access the FET phase at the school.
The department transferred R2,5 million into the account of Weiveld Agricultural School for the purchasing of 6 buses used in the FIFA World Cup for learner transport. The Free State Department of Education, through the National School Nutrition program conditional grant has provided food to 444 042 learners during 2010/2011. In 2011 2012 an additional 61 367 learners will be fed to take the total number of learners to be fed to 505 409.
Local women cooperatives are prioritised for the provision of meals to these schools where these cooperatives exist thereby creating jobs for marginalised women. Where the cooperatives are not yet in place, 2 780 food handlers are paid a stipend of R600 per month for 10 months and R300 for the month of June (holidays) for preparing mealfor the learners, thereby creating jobs for the 2780 food handlers.
To date 103 Local Women Cooperatives are registered with a total number of 800 members. Out of the 103 registered LWC, 27 LWC are functional and are providing services to 48 schools which means that so far the project is providing employment to 255 women.
School sports and values in education
The department is proud of the fact that in 2010 more than 500 schools in the Province celebrated FIFA World cup through sport, art and culture activities. Phumelela School in Villiers won under 14 girl’s football gold medal at the national competition. More than 2000 learners received complementary tickets to watch the World Cup games hosted by this province. As continuation of establishing sport hubs for farm school learners the department bought sport equipment of R200 000 for farm schools around Reitz.
This year the country will compete with three national teams in the world competitions of Cricket, Netball and Rugby. The department will in partnership with Department of Sport, Art, Culture and Recreation launch local sport leagues involving 500 schools in the province. We therefore invite the Private sector, Federations, Municipalities and the community to adopt these local leagues and support participating learners with everything possible. These leagues will provide platform for mass participation and talent identification.
In 2010/11 the department purchased 68 music instruments including Pianos, Violins, Guitars, Micro phones and Recorders for Districts. We will for the first time this financial year launch school music instrument competition.
School Safety and supporting environments for all learners
We are definitely making progress in establishing safe and caring schools for our learners in partnership with South African Police Service (SAPS). The partnership is guided by a national protocol and focus on the linking of schools with police stations and establishing functioning school safety committees. The implementation of the protocol started this year and to date 553 schools are linked with police stations and there are already 380 schools with functioning safety committees.
This year 220 principals and educators from 104 schools were trained in the random seizure of dangerous weapons and drugs. Signs were supplied to 375 schools to declare these schools weapon and drug free zones. The remainder of the schools is targeted for the coming financial year.
Life skills and HIV and AIDS
The Life Skills and HIV and AIDS programme in schools will be executed in a more integrated manner by supporting schools and their communities. In terms of supporting communities, 23 Community outreaches were conducted in different towns throughout the province, where town schools and community members were gathered and provided with government services, within the proximity of their homes. Home affairs, Department of Health, SASA, and Department of Agriculture, SAPS, Social Development and private partners ensured success of these outreaches. The department has a budget of R11,772 million available for these activities.
Adult Education and Training (AET) and Further Education and Training (FET)
The focus of Adult Education and Training (AET) will be on implementing the revised curriculum as a result of the registration of the revised AET General Education and Training (GET) qualification in January 2009. The revised qualification will give adult learners a wider choice of vocationally orientated learning areas and provide a wonderful opportunity for AET learners to increase their employment generating skills.
The department will continue to support the Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign. Since the Free State Kha Ri Gude statistics indicate that for the past two academic years the campaign was able to equip approximately 50 000 adults with basic literacy skills, the department will target to recruit these graduates to proceed with AET Level 2 in 2011 and 2012 academic years.
Despite the imminent changes in the FET Colleges landscape, the department will continue to support the sector. A Conditional Grant of R257,074 million for FET Colleges will be administered by the department. This grant will support colleges with basic administrative and development costs as well as compensation of employees.
I would like to thank the Honourable Premier and my colleagues in the Executive Council for the unwavering support they gave the department and Members of Education Portfolio Committee for their insight and oversight role. Allow me to thank the HOD, Mr Malope, and his team in the department for their hard work and dedication in the delivery of education in the province. I also want to once again pay tribute to the principals and educators in the province for their dedication and commitment. The unwavering support of my family remains a source of strength in the execution of my work.
Education truly forms the bedrock upon which our efforts to reduce poverty, grow the economy, create an inclusive society and uplift a nation are based. The critical importance of the role and function of education make it imperative that we succeed in this quest!
I thank you.
