Education crisis: DA demands urgent debate on basic education annual report

The 2011/2012 Annual Report of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) perpetuates the growing trend of government's use of smoke and mirrors to deny the true state of education in South Africa (see here - PDF).

 The DA will request that the DBE's Annual Report be discussed by the Basic Education portfolio committee as a matter of urgency and that Minister Angie Motshekga be called to account for the report.

 When the government department responsible for delivering on the constitutional right to basic education is missing 53% of the targets that it set for itself, the decision-makers must be held to account. 

Key challenges that warrant scrutiny include the following: 

• The Auditor-General found that the DBE underspent on the programme that includes infrastructure development by more than R 1 billion.
• The Auditor-General found that the DBE underspent on teachers and education human resources by R43 million.
• The Auditor-General found that only 47% of targets set by the DBE in 2011/2012 have actually been achieved.

Even amongst the 47% of targets reported as achieved there are numerous misleading targets and accomplishments:

• Targets are set fundamentally low, e.g. the target set for schools finding the services provided by district offices acceptable is a mere 30%.
• Targets are set in a manner that does not reflect the actual situation, e.g. the figure given of 50% of court cases resolved does not reflect the fact that the number of court cases reported increased from 5 in the previous year to 37 in the year under consideration.
• Targets are set in such a way that the impact on learners is not immediately clear, e.g. the target for the percentage of learners who are in a class of no more than 45 learners was 70%, with the actual achieved percentage 65%. The 5% variation is described as minimal, but equates to approximately 4.4 million learners in classes with 45 or more classmates.
• Targets are set in ways that do not allow for the measurement of critical outcomes, e.g. delivering books to every learner is not measured; rather the percentage of the order that was distributed, even if only to warehouses, was measured.

I will be writing to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, Hope Malgas, to request that Minister Motshekga appears before an urgent meeting of the committee to discuss the findings of the DBE Annual Report for 2011/2012.

 Education is a basic human right and the best possible opportunity to develop our nation. Meaningful targets must be set and achieved to ensure quality education for every learner. If the Minister is serious about the welfare and future of the learners under her charge she will appear before Parliament and account for the Annual Report on her Department. 

Statement issued by Annette Lovemore MP, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, October 2 2012

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