Head of Department; Mrs Mahlased Mhlabane
Members of Senior Management present
Representatives from different media houses
Members of the community who are tuned to different radio stations
Sanibonani
Let me utilise this opportunity to express our appreciation to all of you for making it to this press conference.Through this press conference we intend to indicate the extent to which the department has planned to ensure a flawless start of the 2014 schooling process. All inland public ordinary schools are going to re-open on 15 January 2014.
The department has already made positive strides to ensure that all schools commence with teaching and learning on the first day of re-opening.
Admission of learners
Following the guidelines that were issued by the Head of Department as well as the advocacy campaigns that started early this year almost all schools have embarked on the process of admitting learners for 2014.
It is encouraging that the process is at 80% completion and we have already advised all District Managers to work with Principals and School Governing Bodies (SGBs) to ensure that it is finalised by the end of this month.
Parents are therefore urged to cooperate with schools and schools are equally directed to work collaboratively with all parents to make sure that critical cases are dealt with professionally and timeously in accordance with the timeframes provided.
Districts are already anticipating overcrowding of classrooms; this may mean that some learners may be taken to schools that are within the same area but which may not necessarily be the first choice of the parent. This is intended to ensure that all classes are maximally utilised.
We also want to encourage all our schools to report instances where a classroom is used to stock old and obsolete textbooks, so that these textbooks could be taken to Hoxane Former College of Education which is our temporary storage, disposal and recycling hub. This will ensure that every classroom throughout the province is used for its intended purpose which is an enabling space for teaching and learning.
My view is that the admission of learners to schools is not supposed to be a hectic exercise for schools and parents. It must be a simple and easy exercise that all role players appreciate.
For this reason, I have given a directive that guidelines for admission of learners for 2015 must be issued before schools close this year. This will give schools ample time to plan properly and to ensure that adherence is at no stage compromised. The School Governing Bodies will be consulted through their respective associations this month.
Storm damaged schools
While we intend to utilise every classroom for its intended purpose the heavy rains are not doing us any favours as schools continue to be causalities. As of October 2013 there were at least 22 schools which were reportedly damaged by the storms.
This number is likely to increase as reports are being consolidated. These damages are hitting the purse of the department hard considering that the interim measures such as the provisioning of mobile classrooms is proving to be very expensive and unsustainable.
We have already dispatched officials to all municipalities to assess the damages in order to determine the magnitude of the damages and the scope of interventions required. We will endeavour to repair damaged schools’ infrastructure where possible and provide alternative schooling space where feasible.
I request School Governing Bodies to work with and support departmental officials at all times to remedy whatever infrastructural challenges that exist in our schools. There is absolutely no need to close the gates of a school when one block has been damaged by strong winds. We advocate for an open door policy and I request that this must be observed in all instances in order to support and to expedite the repairs of schools.
New schools that will be operational for the first time next year:
The following new schools that will be operational for the first time in 2014 and are:
- Acorns to Oaks in Green Valley, Bohlabela District, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality;
- Tsakane Special School in Green Valley, Bohlabela District, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality;
- Thekwane Secondary School in Thekwane South, Ehlanzeni District, Mbombela Municipality;
- Izimbali Science Boarding School in Amsterdam, Gert Sibande District, Mkondo Local Municipality;
- Ubuhle Buzile Secondary School in Piet Rietief, Gert Sibande District, Mkhondo Local Municipality; and
- Coronation Secondary School in Klarinet, Nkangala District, Emalahleni Local Municipality.
This adds impetus to our desire to create a conducive environment for teaching and learning.
We had also planned to operationalize Emakhazeni Boarding School in Emakhazeni but construction challenges are preventing the opening in January 2014. It is for this reason that I have not mentioned it in the list above.
Learning and teaching support material
Stationery
The department has done all it could to ensure that stationery is procured and distributed to schools on time.It gives me pleasure to indicate to you that the department has managed and administered 100% of orders from schools and that deliveries were at 100% at the end of August 2013.
The department has spent R 126.6 million to fulfil this mandate. The stationery must be given to all learners before 15 January 2014 so that they may be in a position to use it on the first day of school re-opening.
Delivery of textbooks
The department purchased textbooks for grades 4 to 7 as well as grades 8, 9 and 12. These have already been dispatched to all schools. At the end of October 2013 deliveries were at 100%. The department has used R329.2 million to achieve this.
We always emphasise that the life span of a textbook is 4 to 5 years as such we will expect schools to be meticulous in retrieving textbooks as well as to ensure that our learners take good care of them. We are working hard to ensure that there is a textbook in every subject for every learner in our schools.
Workbook delivery
The workbook procurement and delivery remains the competence of the Department of Basic Education which of cause work in collaboration with provinces. Deliveries are at 94% and we are of the view that by the end of the month significant progress will be made to ensure that we are at 100%.
No learner may be refused LTSM on the basis that their parents have not fulfilled a particular obligation to the school. Parents are not expected to pay anything in order for learners to receive LTSM.
We request communities and parents to contact the department through our toll free line 0800 203 116 should there be a learner that may be refused LTSM for whatever reason.
School furniture
This financial year, the department set aside R30 million to procure furniture to ensure that every child has a desk and a chair. Procurement was done and deliveries made to identified schools respectively however the information at our disposal suggests that the list of needs is still long. To this effect the department will in the next financial year set aside R40 million for the procurement of school furniture.
In the interim, we request School Governing Bodies to ensure that what is presently in schools is properly maintained because the department can really not afford to buy school furniture every year.
Paper budgets to schools
The department has already distributed paper budgets to schools. This will enable School Governing Bodies to convene their annual meetings to present budgets and plans for 2014 to parents.
It is our desire that School Governing Bodies should at all times administer school resources in a transparent manner and ensure 100% accountability and adherence to the prescripts of the South African Schools Act. Failure to do so causes unnecessary tensions and unrest in schools and our view is that this can be avoided.
The department has taken a decision to assist in this regard by ensuring that transfers to schools are done in two instalments, namely in April and November each year in keeping with the dictates of SASA and to make it easy for schools to manage their financial affairs without serious challenges.
Post provisioning for 2014
The post provisioning certificates were distributed to all schools by the end of September 2013. The timely issuing of the post provisioning for the 2014 academic year is vital as schools are afforded sufficient opportunity to conduct their human resource planning.
The department has maintained the pool of teacher posts (32 637) for distribution to public schools as previously approved, in view of the fact that learner numbers in Grade 1 to 12 in the province does not warrant any increase in respect of the teacher posts to be allocated to the school sector in 2014.
Of the 32 637 educator posts, 392 were distributed to schools with Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) to service the 3 757 learners in Grade 1 to 12, at an average Teacher: Learner ratio of 1:9. The remaining 32 245 educator posts were distributed to public ordinary schools to service the 974 823 learners in Grade 1 to 12 at an average Teacher: Learner ratio of 1:30.
The 32 637 posts thus distributed for the 2014 academic year to service a total Public School Learner enrolment of 975 580 in Grade 1 to 12, will result in an overall educator. Learner ratio for public schools of 1:29. These ratios are very favourable in terms of teaching and learning processes.
Educators posts in schools
The serving educators posts per school has been analysed in terms of the 2014 educator posts provisioning, and the department has advertised all newly vacated Principal posts as well as all Deputy Principal and Departmental Head posts that are approved and vacant in terms of the 2014 post provisioning certificates.
The existence of vacant posts will however not impact on the department’s readiness for the re-opening of schools in January 2014 since vacant promotional posts are filled in acting capacity until such time that these posts are effectively filled.
Schools have subject to specific conditions been mandated to effect the re-employment or employment of temporary teachers in approved vacant posts up to 31 December 2014.
This contractual arrangement will enable the department to re-employ / employ temporary teachers with effect from 01 January 2014 thereby ensuring that teachers are in class while placements of both permanent educators as well as bursars continue.
Support staff posts in schools
In the 2012/13 financial year, the department commenced a process to identify schools without Administration Clerks and to advertise one Admin Clerk post per school with a view to relieve the administrative load on principals.
The department will maintain this initiative by advertising recently vacated Admin Clerk posts in schools that are now left without any Admin Clerk in the November 2013 vacancy list.
Maths and Science Academy
At the occasion of the 2013 State of the Province Address, the Honourable Premier, Mr DD Mabuza stated that this year will bring to fruition the finalising of plans to ensure that the first Mpumalanga Maths and Science Academy is established.
A lot of ground work has taken place leading to the achievement of this and to link the academy with four schools that are going to serve as hubs and with 96 schools that are linked to the academy. The department has made a lot of advancement in ensuring that these schools receive the required resources.
To this effect, these schools will connect through radio link using line of sight as phase 1 linking 35 schools in Bohlabela and Ehlanzeni to be running by January 2014.
These schools have already received smart boards, laptops, data projectors, web camera and audio systems for broadcast lessons, document viewer per school, Physical Sciences Laboratory equipment; Life Sciences and Maths kits.
In addition, the department has already appointed some staff members including the principal for the Academy. This will enable the programmes of the Academy to start without major hassles in January 2014.
Rhandza Xi Kolo Xa Wena campaign
It has become a tradition that the department makes a clarion call every time that School Governing Bodies should be in a position to request parents and members of the community to volunteer their time to ensure that an enabling school environment for teaching and learning is established at schools.
I request that where possible this be done from 06 to 14 January 2014 throughout the province so that on 15 January 2014 when schools re-open teaching and learning process could start in earnest without teachers and learners having to worry about dust, long grass and neglected yards.
Grade 12 examination
The Grade 12 examinations entered the fourth week with the writing of Life Sciences Paper 2 yesterday and today learners are writing Engineering Graphics and Design and Afrikaans Home Language as well as First Additional Language.
The department is so far satisfied with the way these examinations are proceeding since there were no serious glitches that were reported. We anticipate that the writing will continue in this fashion as it happened in the past three years with incident free and credible examination process in our Province.
I wish to take this time again and express our heartfelt appreciation to all role-players who are making this possible.The examinations will end next week Friday, 29 November 2013.The internal examinations have commenced and are proceeding as scheduled.
We continue to request our learners to stay focused and to study until the last day of the examinations.
Conclusion
I take this time to thank the provincial community and the leadership of the province for the undivided support rendered to the department. Our view is that we can still do more only if we work together to fulfil the constitutional mandate of providing quality education to all the citizens of this country.
Thank you once more for attending this press conference. We also thank and wish all the listeners from the different radio stations well.
Sisonke sifundzisa Sive
Ngiyabonga
