Clearly, not all SGBS are created
Power struggles, corruption and poor record-keeping are just some of the challenges facing school governing
More than 24,000 public schools in South Africa voted in their school governing bodies (SGBS) last month. The schools are led by these bodies, functional or dysfunctional.
Experts urged schools to elect representatives who would propel teaching and learning forward to improve the lives of learners. At the same time, South African public school education laws are being reviewed through the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) bill.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) select committee on education and technology, sports, arts and culture adopted the law on 27 March. The majority of votes from provincial legislatures were in favour of the bill after public hearings were held by provincial portfolio committees on education. Only the Western Cape did not accept it.
The committee will now examine clauses to confirm amendments, forward the bill to the NCOP to pass and then to President Cyril Ramaphosa to sign into law.
Bela will detail, among other things, who will have the final say between SGBS and education authorities on matters such as language and admission policies at schools.
Daily Maverick spent weeks investigating issues affecting SGBS and the management of South African public schools.
Education ecosystem
The Department of Basic Education states in its 2018 Strategy to Improve School and Governance, the latest report accessible on SGB matters, that effective school management is universally accepted as being the critical element in the success of schools.
“Many South African schools are struggling to meet their own, community and department criteria for success,” the report reads. This is usually related to the capacity, competency and nature of the school’s management team, particularly the principal.
The department identified a need to formulate strategies as a response to the challenges faced by schools to create a conducive environment for teaching. It reads:
These strategies are meant to support the Action Plan to 2019: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025, which contains commitments made in the education sector plan.
School management has been highlighted as a crucial aspect that can improve the performance of schools by the National Development Plan, the country’s blueprint setting out government targets to be met by 2030, according to the report.
The Office of the Auditor-general, it says, also found that the functionality of SGBS to ensure oversight and monitoring of school performance was not executed effectively and efficiently because, in some schools:
⬤ meeting minutes were not available;
⬤ meetings were not held quarterly as required
by the South African Schools Act; and
⬤ there were no attendance registers and agendas to confirm there was a quorum. “Schools did not have updated asset management registers and the process of disposing assets was not properly understood,” the report reads.
Monitoring curriculum and content coverage was not consistently implemented, and managing staff attendance and leave was also not consistent.
SGB impact
Education activist Hendrick Makaneta told Daily Maverick that a functioning SGB is made up of individuals who have the best interests of learners at heart.
“These are parents and teachers who are driven by the desire to see progress of learners at school,” Makaneta said.
Such an SGB is guided by relevant policies, which are enforced in the school without fear or favour. “The impact of an SGB can be seen on the conduct of learners, teachers and the principal.”
A functioning SGB, according to Makaneta, creates a conducive environment for learning and teaching in which teachers complete the curriculum on time and learners are obedient. They do not compromise on discipline. Learning and teaching is often disrupted by ill discipline among learners in schools with dysfunctional SGBS.
“People who have integrity should be elected to SGBS. SGBS should be led by individuals who are able to at least familiarise themselves with relevant legislation and policies for schools.”
SGB challenges
Makaneta said the biggest challenge faced by most SGBS is the mismanagement of funds meant for school development. There is a correlation between poorly resourced schools and mismanagement.
Sometimes, he said, parents serving on the SGBS in poor schools are unemployed and principals often manipulate them.
Parents, he said, often struggle to make inputs on key matters and leave decisions to the principal because they trust that this person as well as the teachers know what they are doing.
‘Complexities’
Faranaaz Veriava, the head of education at civil society organisation Section27, said the issue of functional and dysfunctional SGBS is complex.
Many parents in schools in historically disadvantaged areas are not professionals and therefore do not have accounting skills and access to computers to draw up agendas. She said these parents often cannot attend SGB meetings.
In contrast, “in the historically former Model C schools [fee-paying schools usually in urban areas] you have a lot of professionals. Those people will have a lot of skills and are able to participate more effectively.”
Corruption is another issue, as are the power dynamics between the principal and SGBS, she said. Bela is trying to close opportunities for corruption in schools.
“I think training of SGBS is very important. They perform a very important function,” she said.
Fee-paying school’s functioning SGB
Parktown High School for Girls in Johannesburg is a fee-paying school that has a functional SGB. It has more than 1,000 learners and prides itself on providing a holistic education.
SGB chairperson Imraan Osman, who was re-elected to serve in the body for a second term, said the school is extremely dependent on fee income to appoint additional teachers and provide for its extensive extramural programme.
Success in any organisation, he said, is premised on sound policies, procedures, financial discipline, detailed planning and efficient execution.
The role of a chairperson in any organisation, Osman said, is first to set and maintain
its culture with a strong focus on leadership and governance, both procedural and financial. At schools, key to this is having the right people on the SGB – people who are committed, passionate about education and have a skill set that can enhance the schools’ value proposition.
Osman said Parktown High School for Girls is extremely fortunate to have active parent participation in elections and, more importantly, to be able to secure skilled professionals for the SGB.
Given that there is no vested interest other than to give selflessly to ensure the continuing success of the 100-year-old school, the SGB is completely functional and its members have a healthy working relationship. However, Osman singled out cash management as the single largest challenge for any institution and said the school is no different.
“With mounting financial pressures, rising cost of living and increased unemployment, fee collection remains a challenge.”
The school can only offer the heightened value proposition it does if fees are collected.
Clear roles and responsibilities
Osman said it is of the utmost importance to have a healthy and constructive working relationship among all stakeholders. To achieve this, clear roles and responsibilities need to be set and understood.
At the school, the role of the SGB is well understood and management has a clear understanding of their responsibility and the support at their disposal in the form of the body.
The body is not tasked with management, but instead was established to provide leadership support and guidance, governance and financial oversight to the management