NW Department of Education reach a mere 57% of performance targets

20 March 2020

Note to Editors: Kindly find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by DA North West Spokesperson on Education, Gavin Edwards.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West is concerned about the evident deterioration in the Department Education’s performance after it came to light that it managed to spend 71.3% of its budget, but only achieved 57% of its annual performance targets during the first three quarters of the current financial year.

This information emanated from the Department’s 3rd Quarter Performance Report presented to the Portfolio Committee on Education at the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL) on Wednesday, 18 March.

The report further revealed that a mere 60% of targets relating to public ordinary schools have been achieved and that only 61.8% of the Maths-Science and Technology Grant has been utilised.

In the face of unrealistically large classes, dilapidated buildings, pit toilets, shortages of learning materials and shortage of schools, the Department will again be unsuccessful in spending its allocated budget or meeting its performance targets.

It is alarming that, since the invocation of Section 100(1)(b) intervention in May 2018, there has been no sign of improvement or even the will to improve.

The Department further forfeited more than R300 million allocated for infrastructure over the past two financial years – under the Administrator’s watch!

Clearly this intervention is not yielding the desired results and it is for this reason that the DA will write to the Minister of Education, Angie Motshekga, requesting that:

The reasons pertaining to this Department’s failure to utilise the allocated budget for two consecutive years, be investigated and that the Administrator explains his role in this;

An urgent investigation be launched into the reasons for the failed intervention; and

Consequence management be implemented as a matter of urgency.

The Department continues to fail the learners of this province by denying them the right to basic education as enshrined in Section 29 of the Constitution.

The trend of under-performance clearly demonstrates that neither the National Department of Education or the Provincial Department is committed to addressing the dismal state of education in the province.

The poor output by this Department is disconcerting and we will not sit back and wait for the Department to self-correct at the expense of learners.

The time has come for the National Department of Education to take education seriously.

Issued by Gavin Edwards, DA North West Spokesperson on Education, 20 March 2020