Question 38
Mr J J Gunda (ID-NC) to ask the Minister of Basic Education
1) Whether her Department is reviewing or has reviewed the quintile ranking system for schools; if not, when will it be done; if so, when will it be completed;
2) Whether the review will be tabled in Parliament; if not, why not; if so, when;
3) Whether her department is considering any other funding systems in schools; if so, (a) what are the relevant details and (b) what effect will this have on the budget?
Reply:
The current status of quintiles is as follows:
Quintiles are currently still used to determine whether schools may charge school fees or not. It is also used to differentiate the amount of funding allocated to schools in a pro-poor manner. The following are the 2010 national quintile amounts: Q1 = R 855 per learner; Q2 = R784 per learner; Q3 = R 641 per learner; Q4 = R428 per learner; Q5 = R147 per learner. These amounts are a considerable improvement on the quintile amounts in previous years.
The replies to the questions asked are as follows:
1) Yes, the department is in the process of reviewing the appropriateness of the use of the quintile system in determining the level of funding allocated to schools. It is envisaged to publish the draft policy amendment for public comments by the end of this financial year.
2) The review will be presented to the relevant parliamentary structures as soon as the review process is completed;
3) Yes
a) As part of the review process an alternative funding system is being researched that will address the shortcoming of incorrectly classifying a school for purpose of funding but would still continue to distribute funds in an equitable manner.
b) Preliminary estimations are that additional funding would be needed if envisaged changes are adopted. The new structure will differentiate only between no-fee and fee charging schools. The proposed funding structure is that all no fee schools will be funded at the same level (basically the projected quintile 1 amount), while fee paying schools will be funded according to a formula based on their ability to collect school fees.
Issued by: Department of Basic Education
1 June 2010
Source: Department of Education (http://www.education.gov.za/)
