Question 487
Mr D Smiles to ask the Minister of Basic Education:
(1) With regard to the provisioning of resources to Grade R classes in schools, what is the (a) current teacher to learner ratio (i) at national level, (ii) at provincial level and (iii) for the province with the (aa) highest ratio and (bb) lowest ratio, (b) ratio of learners per classroom and (c) number of qualified teachers for Grade R classes in each province;
(2) Whether any quota is applied per learner with regard to the provision of stationery and educational toys; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what quota;
(3) whether any vitamin supplements are provided in addition to food supplied through the school nutrition programme; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) whether any health checks are conducted with regard to the (a) ears, (b) eyes, (c) mouths and (d) body weight of the learners; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?
Reply:
Table 1: Grade R Information
Province: Eastern Cape
Educators: 4 105
Learners: 133 249
L:E Ratio: 32,5
Province: Free State
Educators: 508
Learners: 23699
L:E Ratio: 46.7
Province: Gauteng
Educators: 1 177
Learners: 54 979
L:E Ratio: 46,7
Province: KwaZulu-Natal
Educators: 3 430
Learners: 129 742
L:E Ratio: 37,8
Province: Limpopo
Educators: 2 233
Learners: 98 963
L:E Ratio: 44,3
Province: Mpumalanga
Educators: 914
Learners: 40 671
L:E Ratio: 44,5
Province: Northern Cape
Educators: 255
Learners: 9 575
L:E Ratio: 37,5
Province: North West
Educators: 577
Learners: 22 294
L:E Ratio: 38,6
Province: Western Cape
Educators: 689
Learners: 30 627
L:E Ratio: 44,5
Totals:
Educators: 13 888
Learners: 543 799
L:E Ratio: 39,2
NB: EMIS Snap-2008
(a) Table 1 above responds to questions (i), (ii) and (iii)
(b) Ratio of learner per classroom is the same as L:E ratio indicated by the Table above.
(c) Table 2: Number of Qualified Educators to teach Foundation Phase (Grade R–3)
Province: Eastern Cape
Educators: 608
Province: Free State
Educators: 6 721
Province: Gauteng
Educators: 382
Province: KwaZulu-Natal
Educators: 423
Province: Limpopo
Educators: 4
Province: Mpumalanga
Educators: 161
Province: Northern Cape
Educators: 295
Province: North West
Educators: 85
Province: Western Cape
Educators: 13
Total: 8 692
Footnote: The table above shows the number of qualified (REQV 13 and above) educators to teach foundation phase. It should also be noted that these educators are not necessarily teaching Grade R currently.
(2) No quota is applied. Provinces use their provincial allocation to supply stationery and educational equipment to Grade R classes.
(3) The national school nutrition programme provides one nutritious meal to deserving learners, which provides 30 percent of the daily Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). No additional vitamin supplements are provided through the programme, although many foodstuffs such as bread and maize meal already contain these. National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) menu specifications were developed jointly with the Department of Health and include a variety of foodstuffs like fresh vegetables and fruit. It is further compulsory for the schools to use iodated salt and fortified maize meal and bread flour. It is important to note that excessive consumption of vitamins may not only be useless and costly, but it can even be dangerous. When excessive amounts of water soluble vitamins are ingested, they are excreted through the bowel and bladder. It is known that excessive intake of fat soluble vitamins can lead to damage of organs such as, amongst others, the heart and liver. It is therefore critical that at all times, the RDAs are used to guide consumption for optimum health.
(4) One of the strategic objectives of the health promotion directorate in the Department of Education is the early identification of health barriers to learning. In this regard, the department has adopted a holistic approach to the early identification of barriers to learning by conducting provincial campaigns, termed Lethimpilo Campaign, that make available integrated service delivery to school communities. Through these initiative, other potential barriers to learning, beyond health, are also identified and addressed through partnership with other government departments and civil society. Services provided include health screening of learners (visual, auditory, oral as well as assessing immunisation status), birth registration (Department of Home Affairs), social security (Department of Social Development), food production (Department of Agriculture), sports and recreation, amongst others. Learners, as well as community members who are screened receive on-site treatment where possible. Referrals are also made to local institutions for further assessment and management.
Issued by: Department of Basic Education
8 September 2009
