Daily Dispatch
Bold plans to boost education
The Eastern Cape education department is usually in the news for all the wrong reasons. If it is not poor matric results or non-expenditure of millions meant for crucial infrastructure, then it is problems with the school nutrition programme or even scholar transport.
Last year, around this time, this newspaper made a bold call on Premier Phumulo Masualle to fire Education MEC Mandla Makupula after the province failed to spend R530-million meant for building new schools and replacing so-called unsafe structures (read “mud schools”).
The province went on to deliver the worst matric results nationally for the Class of 2016. More calls were made for Makupula to step down. At some point it seemed the pressure was getting to him, as he told a press conference he was serving at the mercy of the premier and that had it not been out of respect for Masualle, he would have resigned from the position.
Suffice to say, Makupula survived the axe and earlier this month he presented his policy speech for the 2017-18 financial year.
In fairness, our education problems predate Makupula’s arrival.
But, slowly, we are beginning to see positive signs at the department. However, it is still too early to tell. One thing can be said though – it seems Makupula and his team finally have a solid plan in place. The appointment of the reputable Themba Kojana as the superintendentgeneral was the first step towards stabilising the department.
On Wednesday, at a business breakfast session, Makupula proudly announced that all the vacant positions within the infrastructure unit had been filled. It was weaknesses and lack of capacity within this unit that led to the national Treasury withdrawing the R530-million conditional grant meant for building schools.
The new chief director for infrastructure, Zama Mnqanqeni, also boldly declared that not a cent of the current R1.5-billion grant meant for infrastructure will be returned to the national fiscus.
If anything, said Mnqanqeni, the entire budget has already been committed to various projects. This is good news as it is widely accepted that our province has the most needs when it comes to infrastructure.
At the same event, deputy director-general Ray Tywakadi unpacked the department’s three-year plan to improve matric results.
This includes special attention being paid to 560 schools with matric classes of more than 200 learners. These learners account for about 66 000 (79%) of the 83 000 learners who will sit for their final school exams in 2017. The support will involve special classes and ensuring that they have enough teachers for the crucial subjects. Obviously, the focus cannot only be on matrics as the earlier classes are as crucial.
Fortunately a lot of money is to be spent on improving teaching – from Grade R right up to matric. Given the amount of taxpayers’ money that is spent on education, we all want to see change in that department.
Education got the lion’s share – almost R36billion (including conditional grants) – of the provincial budget of R74-billion.
The jury is still out on whether they will carry out all their plans successfully. But we will be watching with keen interest.