DA welcomes SIU investigation into Eastern Cape Education Department
25 June 2015
The DA welcomes the full-scale and wide-ranging Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation into the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE). This investigation is very necessary, albeit it long overdue.
President Jacob Zuma, yesterday, signed a proclamation authorising the investigation which includes the following:
Serious maladministration
Unlawful appropriation or expenditure of public money or property; and
Intentional or negligent loss of public money or damage to public property.
I will therefore appeal to the President to commit to a date by which the investigation is to be completed and that he commits to release the findings of the investigation, in the interest of transparency.
Access to basic education is a right guaranteed in our Constitution. Quality education is essential to empowering young people to realise their full potential and enable them to work towards a brighter future.
The Eastern Cape performs the worst in the country on indicators such as matric pass rate (65%), Mathematics (42%), Science (52%) and bachelor passes (20%).
It has been abundantly clear for some time now that drastic action needs to be taken in the ECDoE. The DA has long called for President Zuma to intervene in the province. This is especially critical with regards to the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) who essentially runs education in the province to the detriment of the children. We hope that this is a sign that executive authority will no longer be trampled over by self-interested unions.
This Department has been under national administration since March 2011 but efforts to advance a turnaround strategy have been stifled at every turn by senior Eastern Cape officials and Sadtu. Consequently the national intervention has failed to render the Department functional.
The Department was put under administration as a result of a collapse in the recruitment and appointment of teachers, provision of transport, procurement and delivery of Learner and Teacher Support Materials (LTSM), and development and provisioning of infrastructure.
There were also problems with “ghost teachers” on the system, an inconsistent supply of teachers, some of whom were temporary, whilst new graduates were not getting employed. There were problems around payment and posts, including the need to rationalise principal and Head of Department posts and ensure essential subject teachers.
Statistics South Africa had to be called to the province to determine the actual number of learners in the system when it became clear that principals were inflating the numbers in order to increase their own salaries.
The Eastern Cape also spends an average of R32, 497 million to build a school. Yet the average cost for the 16 Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) schools that are being built in the province is R20, 5 million – 60% less than the Eastern Cape’s cost.
The list of problems are extensive and is a reflection of deep systemic failure in the Department of Education in the Eastern Cape.
The children of this province deserve an education department that puts their interests and futures before self-enrichment. The DA will never cease in the fight for the quality education so vital to the futures of our children and ultimately of our country.
Statement issued by Annette Lovemore, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, June 25 2015
