Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube this week said there was a need to objectively assess the outcomes of the department and the impact it was making in the lives of learners.
Gwarube said it was important to do so in the context of the public purse being under severe pressure.
“If this department does well, it creates a path to success for many who have been excluded from the economic advantages of having a good education. Therefore, we must be bolder, ambitious and set high evidence-based targets for ourselves,” she said.
Gwarube made the comments when she was tabling the department’s R32.3 billion budget and highlighted the allocations made to various programmes.
The newly-appointed minister noted that her budget speech was not to announce detailed implementation plans other than being making allocations of the funds.
“Given that this government was sworn in halfway through the school and academic year, there is little to be gained and it would be irresponsible to change programmes and initiatives already in operation.
“However, going forward, I must make it clear that I will not implement policies or programmes without evidence of their value in our concerted efforts to improve the quality outcomes of the system.”
Gwarube announced that she has begun the work of critically assessing the department’s targets and milestones.
“While there have been some improvements, our literacy and numeracy rates remain unacceptably low. My team and I will obsess about getting learners at all levels in the system to be able to read for meaning.”
Gwarube also intends to review the implementation, funding and desired outcomes of all the department’s programmes carefully.
“These programmes simply cannot be allowed to be implemented if they stand little chance of succeeding or having an impact on the lives of learners.
“My reading of the five-year plan for the department up to 2024/2025 is that there were a number of activities in its Impact Statement for which outcomes and indicators were provided when the plan was launched.
“Many of these outcomes and indicators were scheduled to be achieved prior to 2024. In my coming to understand my portfolio better, I will certainly be asking to see these results,” she said.
Gwarube announced that she would be critically assessing whether the department’s efforts to monitor quality in the system were truly driving improvements.
“To address these and other pressing education issues, I intend to establish an advisory council representative of the basic education system as soon as possible. This needs to include all our key stakeholders across the sector, as well as experts in key disciplines.
“This council, once up and running, will be an invaluable resource in ensuring that our efforts to strengthen our education system are targeted, evidence-based and informed by best practice.”
Gwarube stated that she would carefully review the recently published norms and standards for school infrastructure to ensure that they offer greater clarity and drive meaningful improvements.
“We cannot have learners in danger of drowning in pit toilets or learning in inappropriate structures, 30 years into our democracy.”
The minister said she will next week meet many stakeholders, starting with the teacher unions, the school governing body associations, the principals’ associations, national organisations responsible for learners with special needs, and independent schools’ associations.
“These are the partners and stakeholders who do the work on the ground so their wise counsel is appreciated and will inform our work.
“In the coming weeks, I will also be visiting each of our nine provinces to engage with my provincial colleagues and their respective departments to ensure that my work is informed by the provincial realities and needs that they are experiencing.”
Cape Times