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Mr Speaker
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Introduction

In the opening statement of the Budget Speech for 2002/3, I made the point that the hopes and aspirations of our people to improve their quality of life rest heavily on the education system. Today, Mr Speaker, I want to develop this statement further by acknowledging that the road ahead will be more challenging and daunting as we approach the end of the first decade of democratic rule in this country.

We stand challenged to close the gap between policy formulation and implementation. Indeed the lessons we learned after 1994 remain instructive and invaluable. In our ongoing effort to refine and redefine the dialogue between policy formulation and implementation, we are obligated to ensure that:

* Our operations and actions as a Department must lead to the improvement of the lives of our people in a direct way. We have to translate our often glossy plans into actual deliverables that impact directly on enhancing the life chances of our communities. This occurs against the backdrop of the unique and vast inequalities that continue to characterise our society.

* In delivering educational services to our people, we do so in a manner that is consistent with our legislative mandate. As a department, we place a high premium on the notion of operational accountability - where the beneficiaries of our services are also regarded as active participants and not passive recipients.

* We commit ourselves to continuously enhance the efficiency and capacity of the Department to respond adequately to the ever-changing needs of the varied communities we serve. To that effect, the Department has embraced and committed itself fully to the implementation of Resolution 7 as agreed to with other social partners.

As I present the 2003/4 Education Budget to this House, Honourable Speaker, our aspirations as alluded to in the three points highlighted above will of necessity permeate every aspect and nuance of this speech. I will do so, also bearing in mind the enormous responsibility placed on the Department to fulfil the educational dreams of our learners, parents and communities in the context of increasing demand for educational opportunities in this province

Corporate Values

The corporate philosophy of the Department comprises of certain inalienable corporate values, which must be regarded as valid not only within the management system of the Department, but by every principal and educator.

These values derive from the Constitution, applicable legislation and policy. Accountability, professionalism and discipline are expected from all within the education system. The Department is also obligated to address the education and training needs of all learners by consistently delivering quality services in a cost-effective way, and by implementing redress and good customer care. It is still the responsibility of the Department to communicate with its clients and stakeholders in an honest, responsible and transparent manner.

Mr Speaker, our previous budget speech highlighted the thoughts of Dave Ulrich of Michigan University who maintains that employees are the most important assets. In this budget speech we will further indicate that the Department is adopting an investment approach and not only a cost approach. Our employees are not a cost to minimize but an investment to optimize. We therefore repeat near verbatim the statement of Bontis (2001, Vol. 3, Issue 1 International Journal of Management Reviews: 41 - 61) who observes that employees bring with them combined knowledge, skills, competencies, innovativeness, cultures, values, philosophies and abilities to meet the tasks at hand. In themselves they are committed public servants whose relentless urge to serve the public has simply made them respected public slaves. Indeed they are our most important assets. Each manager and the relevant support components commit us to a sound system of human resource management, including all aspects of human resource development

The National Minister of Education has placed the Life Skills & HIV/AIDS Education programme as first priority, Programme 1, within the Five Year Implementation Plan for Tirisano. In response, this financial year, we prioritise informing learners in regard to the prevention of HIV and AIDS.

School effectiveness, educator professionalism, quality teaching and learning, learner achievement, the implementation and refinement of Outcomes Based Education, school safety, sound and effective school governance, provisioning of school, adult literacy, the transformation of Further Education and Training and good organisational management are the priorities for 2003/4.

The Department remains committed to the provisioning of quality public education; learning support materials and information technology; the continued expansion of early childhood development; the implementation of inclusive education according to Education White Paper 6; and the drastic improvement of mathematics, science and technology qualifications of educators; and restructuring.
Financial Management

Mr Speaker, we remain fully committed to improve the financial management capacity throughout the education system, including schools. To assist government departments, the National Treasury developed Normative Measures for Financial Management to enable accounting officers to establish the extent to which their departments are functioning towards required and predetermined standards.

During the 2003/4 financial years, we will ensure that the Fraud Prevention Strategy and Risk Management Plan are implemented at all levels of the organisation. Finally, the training needs of financial and non-financial managers will be determined and the skills gaps will be properly addressed in the skills development plan of the Department.

Human Resource Management

Mr Speaker, let me also draw your attention to the massive restructuring that the Department will conclude by 30 June 2003. This process is undertaken in line with the national directives as embodied within Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) Resolutions 4, 7 and 8. Let me register, Mr Speaker, that this process is on course within the timeframes nationally set. The Department's macrostructure was approved in 2002 and 5 Executive Managers were appointed in the following regions of the Department of Education: Southern (Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom), Central (Mafikeng, Atamelang, Lichtenburg and some part of Zeerust), Bojanala West (Rustenburg, Brits and part of Zeerust), Bophirima (Vryburg and Mothibistad) and Bojanala East (Temba and Mabopane) regions.

A Transitional Steering Committee was set up to develop the microstructure of the Department. This committee concluded its work, which is now being considered by five Sectoral Departmental Task Teams (DTT) for submission to the Central Departmental Task Team. These task teams, on which all stakeholders serve, are responsible to implement the restructuring arrangements. This includes the absorption of all employees into appropriate posts to serve the best interest of the Department.

Mr Speaker, the Department is on course with the implementation of the Skills Development Act. For 2002/3 financial year, the Department achieved the following amidst tough administrative landscapes.
* Registration of the Departmental Skills Development Facilitator
* Payment of Skills levy of 10% Administration Fee to the ETDP SETA
* Establishment of the Provincial Skills Development Committee
The Education Management Development Programme is a hub of empowerment programs for principals of schools, School Governing Bodies and School Management Teams. Its overall objective is to guarantee school effectiveness in every respect.

With regard to educator development, Mr Speaker, the Department will continue to assist the under and unqualified educators to acquire the required qualifications. Prior to 1994, our In-Service Training (INSET) Unit did the upgrading of educator qualifications through distance learning programmes. After 1995, the Department utilised Teacher Training Colleges to upgrade educators.

The Department of Education is aggressively addressing the issue of under and unqualified educators within the system. In 1998/9 there were 14 649 under and unqualified educators. Between 2000/1, 11 029 educators upgraded their qualifications, leaving us with 3 620 still under and unqualified. The current number of the under and unqualified educators is 1811 (which is only 12,4% of 14 649 we had in 1998/9), as 1809 were approved to register for the National Professional Diploma in Education with the universities of Potchefstroom (705) and the North West (1104). We are proud to say that we are fighting the historical problem of under and unqualified educators in our province.

The new organogram of the Department establishes a Sub-Directorate for Educator Development under the Directorate: Human Resource Development. During this financial year, this directorate will develop a comprehensive plan for the upgrading of teachers' qualifications in line with the Provincial Skills Development Plan. As from January 2004, educators will continue to enrol at Higher Education Institutions to study towards the National Professional Diploma in Education supported by bursaries from the National Skills Development Fund.

During 2003, Subject Advisors, trained by the National Department of Education and Higher Education Institutions, will train school-based educators for the implementation of the Streamlined Curriculum 2005 in the Foundation Phase. As from 2004, however, Higher Education Institutions will train educators for the implementation of the Streamlined Curriculum 2005 in the Intermediate Phase. This training will be credit bearing, which will assist the upgrading of educator qualifications.

Mr Speaker, I must quickly add that the department is ready to take care of these assets in a manner that has not been done before. Our Employee Assistance Programme will be rolled out as a barrage of programs intended to provide employee support. These programmes include HIV/AIDS drug literacy, peer support, managerial support, personal finance for seriously indebted employees, voluntary testing, distribution of condoms and educative literature.
HIV/AIDS

The Life Skills HIV/AIDS Education Programme forms an integral part of the present interim syllabus, as well as Curriculum 2005, where it is included in the learning area: Life Orientation. Seventy-five master trainers have been trained to implement the programme at school level. To date, 1638 Primary Schools (2969 educators) and 496 Secondary Schools (1124 educators) have been trained.

The programme will be implemented in the last 27% of primary and secondary schools as per our 2003/4 business plan. During the past 3 years the programme has been implemented in 73% of our schools. Advocacy and training workshops will be arranged for educators, principals, SGB's and community leaders. Training will also be done for 450 special school educators, 260 ABET educators and 500 ECD educators. The training for educators will not only be on Life Skills HIV/AIDS, but also on substance abuse and child abuse.

We will identify 24 secondary schools for the piloting of a Peer Education Programme in which educators and learners of selected schools will be trained.

In districts where we have not completed First Aid and counselling training, we will complete this year and we will have refresher training for already trained educators. Advocacy workshops on orphan data collection will be held. Learning Support Materials will be ordered and distributed for all selected schools. During September, schools Aids events will be arranged.
Public Ordinary School Education

Early Childhood Development (ECD)

Learning at the Early Childhood Development (ECD) phase remains a critical area for education in the country. It is at this stage that the foundation for basic learning skills is laid. This stage further determines the success of life long learning in later years of the child's total development. Grade Reception (R) forms the first of 10 years of compulsory education envisaged in the South African Schools' Act.

During 2002/3 the Department was awarded R4 168 000 in conditional grants for ECD. One hundred and sixty (160) community-based sites were identified for implementing Grade R. There are 1269 ECD practitioners implementing Grade R in these sites, who receive R1 000 per month from the subsidy.

In addition to the subsidy, we have utilised the remaining amount for the purchase of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (delivered end March 03) and for training for both practitioners and office-based staff (to be conducted by Vukela and Khulisa respectively).

During the past financial year, the Department commissioned Technikon South Africa to research the state of Early Childhood Development in the Province. A very comprehensive report containing 52 recommendations was handed to the Department.

The conditional grant for 2003/4 is R7 040 000. In 2003 the subsidies will be extended so that 360 practitioners will receive R1 000 per month. Training will also be intensified.

Transnet Foundation has made a provision of educational toys for 20 Early Learning Centres, essential for the development of skills such as motor co-ordination skills and also enhance the teaching of the Educare Mothers.

Curriculum 2005 in the GET Band

Curriculum transformation remains central in the normalisation of South African schooling. Over the past five years tremendous inroads have been made in this area. There is certainly no looming crisis in the implementation of Curriculum 2005 or Outcomes Based Education (OBE) in our province. The National Curriculum statement for Grade R to grade 9 is in place and it has been implemented successfully across the entire General Education and Training (GET) Band.

Regarding the Streamlined Curriculum 2005 in the Foundation and Intermediate phases, we will run a pilot to test the viability of implementation in Grades R to 3. Educators will be trained and teaching and learning materials will be developed. We will also implement a language project to extend the offering of a 2nd additional language in secondary schools. The 2nd additional language initiative in the North West province received priority more so that its introduction will be addressing the promotion of multilingualism in the province. 23 Schools were selected for the pilot project based on the availability of physical and human resources on site.

We will further ensure that educators are capacitated in regard to the newly developed Learning Programme Policy Guidelines, and the development of assessment item banks. Common Tasks for Assessment will once again be administered this year and educators will be trained in preparation for the implementation of the General Education and Training Certificate.
Curriculum 2005 in the GET Band

There is no looming crisis regarding the implementation of OBE in the Further Education and Training (FET i.e. Grade 10-12) Band. According to the national schedule, this year, our Grade 10 educators will teach the existing syllabi following an Outcomes Based approach. Because of the review and streamlining of Curriculum 2005 in the GET Band, the Council of Education Ministers has decided the full FET curriculum programme implementation only be in 2006. This means that Grade 11 and 12 will follow the same programme during 2004 and 2005 respectively.

In line with the national schedule, during 2002, we have conducted two FET workshops training 308 trainers in OBE approaches, developing learning programmes and pace setters for Grade 10. These workshops also attended to the alignment of continuous assessment to Grade 10 and the development of lesson plans and worksheets. Within 2003/4 financial years, we will run advocacy campaigns, train educators, and develop teaching and learning support materials as part of our programme of implementing Outcomes Based Education in the FET Band.

Further Education and Training Colleges

Mr Speaker, the Council of Education Ministers has declared 2003 the Year of Further Education and Training (FET). During this year, advocacy within the FET sector will be very critical. This declaration will culminate in an FET Convention and Ministerial Awards in October. As a province we are poised to respond to this call with aplomb. One of the key achievements the provincial department has recorded includes the merger of eleven different institutions into three mega-FET colleges with new names and principals appointed at Directors level.

During the 2003/4 financial years, we will appoint the middle management and complete the restructuring of these institutions according to Resolution 4 of the Public Service Commission Bargaining Chamber (PSCBC).

The establishment of College Councils, Academic Boards and Student Representative Councils in terms of Section 9 of the Further Education and Training Act will be gazetted during this year. These governing structures will be in place by June 2003.

Although we pride ourselves on our achievements in this sector thus far, a lot still needs to be done. During this financial year, the new curriculum for FET colleges will be developed and implemented. Learnerships and courses based on Unit Standards will ensure that these curricula will respond to South Africa's true labour needs. At the same time, our people will obtain skills to enable them to qualify for jobs from which they were hereto excluded. We will develop structured instruments to recognise prior learning with prospective learners.

My trip to Denmark last year resulted in the Danish Government (DANIDA) having donated about R24 million for the capacity building of our staff in these Colleges particularly within the areas of Curriculum Development and Programme Design. We heartily thank DANIDA for their support. Additional support for institutional management and governance capacity building will be sourced from the National Business Initiative under the Colleges Collaboration Fund allocation.

Partnerships with the other institutions, organisations and the private sector will be critical during this year. As part of the FET Year, a range of activities will be organised by the different Institutions. These activities will culminate in a provincial FET Summit planned for the end of May 2003.

By implementing the unit standards and learnerships and recognising prior learning in a structured way, we hope to make our FET curriculum effectively responsive to the needs of the South African labour market and our communities. These are critical efforts by the Department of Education to push back the frontiers of poverty. In this way, we will narrow the gap between school and the world of work. We will cooperate with the Department of Economic Affairs to strengthen the FET training in Entrepreneurship. In line with the ANC's 51st Conference resolutions in Stellenbosch, 2002, we will implement a course on Cooperatives in our colleges, as we learned from the experiences of fellow African States that cooperatives can make a big contribution to our country's growth.

The 2002 Matriculation Examinations

The 2002 Matriculation examinations were conducted successfully and the results were being declared on schedule as was announced previously. We are proud that the examinations were conducted with precision and were also incident free, except for minor incidents including an internal investigation that had been conducted at St. Dominic's Private School in Rustenburg. Learners at this school finally wrote their outstanding subjects and the results will be out towards the end of April. In the light of this experience, we will step up our vigilance to maintain the integrity of our examinations.

Our results reflected the largest drop in English 2nd language HG. This needs serious attention considering that the majority of our learners register to write this subject. The Curriculum Directorate has developed a special intervention strategy implemented from January 2003, to attend to this concern.

There was a considerable increase in the pass percentage of First African Languages in the Province namely Setswana, Isixhosa and Sesotho. Considering that these are 1st languages (which the learner must pass) for the bulk of our learners, we can understand the positive influence of this on the overall Provincial pass percentage.

We are also pleased to register that there was a pass percentage improvement in Mathematics SG (6%), Physical Science SG (9%), Biology HG (2%) and Biology SG (5%). The support by Subject Advisors and the Mathematics, Science and Technology Unit (MSTU) is paying immense dividends. We can state categorically that our parent community and educator unions responded positively to our appeal and we applaud them for that.

Furthermore, the introduction of Continuous Assessment (CASS) and the fact that our teachers are getting more adept to the system assisted learners to work consistently

The overall pass percentage this year is 67,8%. This represents an increase in the percentage pass by 5,3% compared to last year's 62,5%.

Compared to 100 schools last year, this year, 124 out of 384 schools obtained a pass rate of 80% and more. This exemplifies the steady increase in the quality of our Grade 12 results.

The number of dysfunctional schools is reduced from 91 in 2001 to 59 in 2002. The Total Average Pass Percentage of Dysfunctional Schools in 2001 was 32.6% and in 2002 the number increased to 49.8%. The most improved School from those that were in this category is MOTSHEGOA HIGH SCHOOL in the Temba District, which has a Pass Rate of 80.33% from a Pass Rate of 23.18% in 2001; an improvement of 57.15%, followed by Lapologang Senior Secondary School in the Mafikeng district with a pass rate of 76.47% from a pass rate of 23.08%; an improvement of 53,39%. The third most improved school was Borakanelo Secondary School in the Klerksdorp District with a pass rate of 76.34% from a pass rate of 27.46% with an Improvement of 48.88%.

The Total number of A symbols in 2002 was 1050 for male students and 1459 for female candidates. We are pleased by the achievement of our girl learners.

Mr Speaker, because of the improvement of the matriculation results in our province and countrywide, a number of commentators expressed doubt about the quality of the passes and some even insinuated that the rules have been changed or manipulated to achieve this. Public scrutiny of our work is always welcome. However, we will appreciate such scrutiny to be based on fact considering the legal and policy framework that governs our Senior Certificate examinations.

Public Special Schools and Inclusive Education

Inclusive Education is intended to transform all education to ensure that disabled learners receive the support required in order to ensure access to education programmes and institutions. For the next 3 to 5 years the main focus will be on the implementation of the short to medium term goals as outlined in White Paper 6 on Inclusive Education.

The National Department of Education is in the process of implementing at provincial level a pilot to fieldtest the implications of how to translate into practice, the provisions of Education White Paper 6. The pilot entails the conversion of designated Special and Mainstream Schools into resource and Full Service Schools. National funding has been made available for this purpose. However, over and above this national initiative, our province will focus on major issues regarding the implementation of this policy on a wider scale.

As a priority we will focus on a broad information and advocacy strategy on this White Paper. Secondly, we will focus on the integration of out-of-school disabled children and youth into the formal education system. The province will furthermore concentrate mainly on institutional support within mainstream schools. Special attention will be given to the development and establishment of a support programme for orphans and other vulnerable children.

Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET)

Mr Speaker, education is a critical component for the development and transformation of South African society as a whole. Adult learning is one facet of this component. As government, we have developed a policy framework to guarantee that basic education becomes a legal entitlement to which every person has a claim. ABET was therefore established. Since 1998 we strove to transform public adult education into a dynamic, needs-based and pro-active instrument, capable of playing an integral and strategic part in the process of human resource development in our province and the democratic society of our country. The anticipated outcome was to provide an adult education system that would be linked to education transformation and human resource development within the broader context of nation building.

Mr Speaker, our efforts in transforming ABET, yielded positive results. We are proud to announce that ABET is restructured into a fully-fledged Directorate, presently managing 215 public adult learning centres with a total of 59 533 learners, as opposed to 197 centres and learner enrolment of 34 814 in 2002. Through our advocacy campaigns and perpetual recruitment strategies, we are confident that more adult learners will enrol in greater numbers to enable us to open more public adult learning centres.

Furthermore, adult learners showed a tremendous wizardry in mathematics literacy programme when their performance increased from 14% in 2001 to 67% in 2002. In addition, a total of 3148 adult learners registered for ABET level 4 and sat for examinations in 2002. One thousand four hundred and twenty six (1426) of these adult learners passed in the eight learning areas for which they sat for examinations. These achievements signify headway towards opening the doors of learning to our people, and indeed justifies that "...the tide has turned."

Mr Speaker, I am pleased to inform Honourable Members and the public about the IKHWELO poverty alleviation project initiated by National Department of Education, which will be launched in our province in August 2003. This project is part of an effort to push back the frontiers of poverty. It was implemented in January 2003 in the Presidential Nodal areas. In our Province, Mafikeng and Rustenburg were identified for implementation. The project, Mr Speaker, will create employment and bolster the sustainable economic empowerment of the poorest of the poor. The IKHWELO project will offer adult learners in identified ABET centres opportunities to start and sustain various income generating projects such as gardening, poultry, piggery, and so forth. The National Department of Education will provide the equipments required. Each project centre will be allocated four educators whose salaries shall be paid by National Department of Education.

As we approach a second decade of our democracy we believe, Mr Speaker, that this project and many others in various government Departments will cast a glimmer of hope for the poor and will accelerate the transformation of our Province into one that is prosperous, laying a solid foundation for a better life for all.
School Feeding Scheme

Department of Health is currently in the process of transferring the SCHOOL FEEDING SCHEME to the Department of Education. We'll be taking responsibility for the project effective April 2004. The Department of Education is accepting this project as an indispensable challenge. We have already set up a planning committee to begin with preparations to take responsibility for this project and to look at the possibility of extending the scheme to the poorest of learners in the ECD centres and secondary schools. We have spent R1, 2m on the purchasing of garden equipments. We want to instil in the children the culture of food production and understanding of the importance of gardening by realizing the relationship between the soil, water, food and themselves.

School Effectiveness

Mr Speaker, the establishment and maintenance of effective schools is a high on the Department's priority list. The Chief Directorate Quality Assurance through Whole School Evaluation, Systemic Evaluation and Quality Management Systems, is ensuring this. Because of our pioneering role in this area, the Provincial Education Department has been nominated by the National Department of Education as the champion of Quality Assurance in the country.

Our thirty appointed Whole School Evaluation Supervisors continue to evaluate the performances of schools to ensure the highest standards for teaching and learning. From these evaluations, recommendations are formulated to inform each evaluated school's Improvement Plan. In addition, an information system, fed by the Whole School Evaluation reports, will link the province and the National Department of Education.

Until now, we have participated in the Systemic Evaluation exercises driven by the National Department of Education. Over the past two years these exercises evaluated the system at the levels of Foundation and Intermediate Phases. During 2003, we will participate with other provinces in the evaluation of the system at Senior Phase level. The Systemic Evaluation surveys help both the Minister and the Department to inform the President, Premier and the nation about the status of education in the provinces and the country as a whole.

In the interest of promoting better understanding between the department and educators in schools, we held an Educationally Speaking Conference last year to create dialogue where educational policies were discussed.

Developmental Appraisal System

In 2003/4 financial years, we will place a special emphasis on the Developmental Appraisal System (DAS). This system is designed to guarantee the development and professional growth of educators. Over the past few years, this programme was not delivered successfully due to numerous challenges. Subsequently, we entered into an agreement with stakeholders/unions that make DAS the responsibility of the Chief Directorate Quality Assurance. We therefore expect the Whole School Evaluation Supervisors, in conjunction with regional personnel, to ensure that the system is implemented in all schools. A memorandum of understanding was signed with SADTU on WSE and DAS on the 26 March 2003. The Mail newspaper of the 4 April 2003 referred to this agreement as "Tolo, SADTU sign Truce".
Mathematics, Science and Technology

Confronted with the persistent problems of low participation and performance of the majority of learners in mathematics and science education, we established a specialized Unit for Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST Unit).

The MST Unit is in the process of implementing the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in our Province. The establishment of seven dedicated schools to take this strategy forward is a case in point. These seven schools are aptly called DINALEDI because we are confident that it is through this project that our strategy for increased learner participation in these learning areas will be enhanced. This year we will increase the Dinaledi schools to 15.

The Unit is also responsible for developing a Provincial Strategy for the improvement of mathematics and science education in this province. Funding of R3 368 830 from CENESA in the Netherlands makes the achievement of this aim possible.

The various activities that the unit embarked on during the year under review have begun to make a meaningful impact on learner performance and attitude towards these critical learning areas. Perhaps one of the most notable achievements of this unit was the motivational address given to learners by the astronaut, Mark Shuttleworth, during the provincial science day. During the same event, another milestone was reached when the North West Mathematics, Science and Technology Association (NOWEMSTA), which is a provincial organisation for maths and science educators was established with the view to continuously update and sharpen the skills of educators in these target learning areas.

In its first year, the MST Unit also piloted Learner Support Programmes in the form of Saturday Supplementary Tuition and Vacation Schools for Grade 12 learners. The aim of these is to expose learners to excellent teachers of mathematics, physical science, biology and English. Winter Schools were held at two centres and the Saturday Classes at seven centres across the province.

Anglo Platinum mines entered into partnership with the North West Education Department in an Aggressive Science Revival Programme. They have taken active role in projects like Lesedi, which is about the training of high school educators in the fields of maths and science; offering extra classes to Grade 12 learners on Saturdays; putting up computers in schools and at the Shuma centre at the Mankwe campus of the university of Northwest for the department; offering bursaries to outstanding learners in maths and science; conducting management courses for school managers and heads of departments and also helping in the building of schools. We appreciate the wonderful work you are doing by ploughing back into the society. Thank you so much.

The National Department of Education made available R300 000 for a Science Education and Technology (SET) week next month. In conjunction with the National Department of Education, the North West will hold the SET week and provide half of the funds.

In order to further consolidate and sustain our strategic intervention in these areas, plans are at an advanced stage to establish an institute for mathematics, science and technology education at the former Tlhabane College of Education in Rustenburg. Through this institute we hope to provide quality professional support for Mathematics and Science educators in the entire province.

The Africa Drive Project (ADP) is a pilot project between the department, the University of the North West, Software Application Product (SAP), Gesellschaft Fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GZT), Paragon Developmental Forum and Telkom South Africa.

The purpose of this project is to test a new learning strategy to enhance our educators through technology enhanced in-service training which will be provided by learning centres established by the University of the North West at its Mankwe and Mmabatho campuses, with e-learning as a core.

The Africa Drive Project will be a pilot project which will be rolled out to five of our high schools which have been identified in each region, namely; Batlhaping High School, Vaal Reefs High School, H.F. Tlou High School, Bakwena High School and Biatshoki High School. The project will thus deliver appropriate technology learning and equipment to these schools, which will then serve as centres and service a cluster of schools around them.

The Africa Drive Project (ADP) noted a serious shortage of qualified primary and secondary school educators in the strategically important learning areas of Mathematics, Physical Science, Biology, Technology, entrepreneurship and English. In response, the project was initiated to improve the knowledge, skills and competencies of in-service educators in order to enhance learning at secondary schools. Innovative learning strategies will be developed for the rollout of relevant blended e-learning for educators in the North West Province. The ADP will be piloted from the 1st of May 2003. The educators would benefit from a tailor made Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) programmes designed and delivered by providers such as the University of North West.

The Kgatelopele Initiative (KI) on the other hand is a Departmental Strategy designed to provide support and development for all site managers and educators in the Foundation and Intermediate phases as they implement national policies such as Outcomes Based Education (OBE) and the South African Schools Act (SASA). This strategy provides for the development of five Education Development and Support centres strategically situated throughout the province, which are to be responsible for the delivery of this support and guidance for educators at Hebron (Eastern region), Moretele (Eastern region), Tlhabane (Bojanala region), Lehurutshe (Central region) and Taung (Bophirima region). Sixty (60) primary schools are presently benefiting from the KI and receiving support and guidance in Maths, Science and language and Communication.

It has been proven scientifically that chess enhances the learners' scholastic performance. There were 356 schools participating in chess competitions last year with 17 854 learners. This year, we will expand the number of schools playing chess. On this note, it is my privilege to welcome in our midst Mr Watu Kobese, the Chess champion of Africa. We are proud to have you here sir. We hope that your presence will spark a renewal and increase interest in chess so that one day one can also boast with an African chess champion from our province.

Values in Education and Related Initiatives

The Department of Education launched The Values in Education Project during 2002, which forms part of Tirisano Programme 6. The project guarantees the implementation of values contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in schools.

During 2003, we will continue its advocacy campaign around values in education. Provincial Network Committees will be established and schools will be encouraged to participate in the Freedom Day Celebrations. The main theme of these celebrations will be "What Freedom Means to Me and My Community". On 24 September, schools will be involved in Heritage Day celebrations. Staff members will be trained to sensitise them to value laden issues in their teaching.

We are also running Equity in the Classroom project (EIC), which was introduced in 2001. This project is grounded in the belief that equity is fundamental to quality education. Our belief is that all learners have the capacity to succeed in the classroom provided their learning and other needs are acknowledged and catered for. Traditionally, our schools are not well equipped to educate children with diverse languages, cultures, experiences, abilities and differences in gender. These and other related challenges demand focussed intervention strategies to maximise learner interest and participation in the schooling system. We are therefore pleased to announce that we have a committed and well-trained team of twenty-five Electoral Independent Commission (EIC) facilitators to implement this programme.

Another related challenge is to ensure that there is adequate representation of women in management. To this effect the Education Management Development (EMD) Unit will deliver several programmes to empower women in management.

The Department would like to thank Mafikeng Primary School and Fields Primary School in Rustenburg for their fruitful participation in the Equity in the Classroom Project in 2002.

We'll be hoisting about 1200 flags in our schools in commemoration of our 10th anniversary. We also would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the Legislature for donating flags to our schools to augment our efforts. Once more we would urge honourable members to join us as we hoist flags in our schools.

Sports and recreation

Our sports and recreation programme plays a vital role in developing a learner in totality within the scope of the newly introduced Sport Learnership. We will continue to assist in the achievement of this goal and have put aside R10 815 000 to that effect. Some of our outstanding deliveries in this area during 2002/3 are the participation of approximately 45% of Rural and Farm schools in the Rural Sport Project in all districts. 41 schools participated in the sport for LSEN Project. The Northwest Wheelchair Basketball won the finals against Gauteng with 63 - 43 and it was spearheaded by Gift Mooketsi and Isaac Monti who are representing the country as we speak now at the Australian Junior National championships from 10-19 April 2003 in Adelaide. In the Girls Sport Festival 12 716 girls received the opportunity to participate in sport at all levels. The outstanding athlete, Ynthi Coetzee of Klerksdorp accumulated the highest points on the ABSA scale amounting to 1 260 in Javelin Throw and earned herself a gold medal.

The Northwest Whizz-kid in athletics, Lawrence Thabo Dire of Iketleetso High in the Bojanala West region, also the 6 times gold medallist (from 1998 to 2003 consecutively) is the most skilful cross country athlete ever to dominate 6 different age groups for six years consecutively and he never disappointed his province. Let us applaud the Golden boy from the Platinum Province who set the University of Port Elizabeth Stadium on fire on the 29 March 2003 when he collected his recent national gold medal.

During 2003, we will continue our sports programme in all codes at both Provincial and National levels. Significant will be our Girls Sports Day planned for Women's Day on 9 August. We also plan several sports events that will involve disabled learners.
Libraries

Reading is critical in learning. In the absence of a national multi media strategy, the North West Education Department plans to conduct workshops for the advocacy of reading as a learning activity in conjunction with Masifunde project coordinated by the National Department. Further workshops will be held for educators to provide them with information skills based on manuals distributed earlier this year.

The province will also participate in National projects such as READATHON, which is a National Reading Awareness Campaign initiated by READ 14 years ago. The purpose of this project is to focus public attention on the need to develop a culture of reading in South Africa. For the past two years, through cooperation with READ, our Foundation and Intermediate Phase Subject Advisors are involved in projects to strengthen English as an additional language. Our relationship with READ is ongoing and will extended to the Senior Phase. We are also looking forward to our world Book Day, which will be celebrated on Wednesday, 23 April.

The Rally to READ is a project sponsored by McCarthy Retail, Financial Mail and READ Foundation. During May every year, the 4x4 vehicles are set out loaded with books, equipment and Learner Support materials to 18 rural schools in the Zeerust, Swartruggens and Koster area to deliver books to learners and educators in these schools. Educators in these schools are trained by a READ trainer on the use of different methodologies to mediate books to learners. This year, the 3rd Rally will take place on 24 May 2003.

We are also honoured that the National Conference for the Library Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) will be hosted in our province during the week of 22-26 September 2003.

I am proud to announce that the U.S Rotary Club donated books and magazines to our schools; Sasol donated 350 dictionaries for Primary schools; Maskew Miller Longman donated 100 books and Transnet donated R50 000, which was used to purchase library material for Rethusitse Combined school. I thank you so much for taking keen interest in transforming our society towards literacy and improving on the love for reading.

School Governance

Mr Speaker, we remain focused on guaranteeing proper school management systems. To this end, we carried out the mandate of our policy provisions on all matters relating to school governance. We have since January 2003, conducted elections of new School Governing Bodies and Learner Representative Councils throughout the Province. These newly elected structures will be capacitated through various workshops on issues that cover all aspects of school governance. R2m has been budgeted for the establishment and training of SGBs. Council of Education Ministers has approved the review and functioning of SGBs this year.

School Safety

Mr Speaker, I want to emphasise that restoring the culture of teaching, learning and service has always been one of the strategic goals of the Department. In the budget speech for 2001-2002 we announced the launch of the Trauma Debriefing for traumatised school and "Adopt a Cop" campaign. I am pleased to announce that to this day we have established a policy document on school safety and that safety committees have been established in many schools. Members of these committees have received certificates for training on numerous aspects of school safety from University of Pretoria.

We are also pleased to report that the Adopt a Cop campaign is yielding fruits. Schools in Klerksdorp, Orkney, Potchefstroom and Ventersdorp have adopted cops already. Our appreciation goes to the MEC for the Department of Safety and Liaison for her partnership and hard work to make this project a success. I want extend a special thank you to the police constables (men and women) who already adopted a school to ensure the safety of our learners and educators. We are working very hard to spearhead this campaign throughout the Province.

A bleak picture in the education system in respect of discipline, is painted by the abuse of children in the care of teachers, corporal punishment, misappropriation of school funds, fraud, absenteeism, and so forth. Between 1999 and 2001, 129 cases of misconduct were reported. Of these a total of 54 cases were sexually related offences and 26 were of misappropriation of funds. In 2002, 32 cases of serious misconduct were reported. Of these 9 were sexually related offences by teachers against learners and 8 were related to misappropriation of funds and fraud offences. Offenders found guilty of these charges were dismissed in terms of the law. Our zero tolerance for serious misconducts yielded dividends as cases of abuse of learners and misappropriation of school funds are declining drastically. We remain steadfastly committed to rooting out these corrupt practices in schools.

We thank all communities for reporting some of the cases through our toll free hotline established for whistle blowing. We further thank all educators who condemn and report these evil practices by their colleagues.

School fees

Mr Speaker, we were currently confronted by a growing spate of discrimination against learners for non-payment of school fees by unemployed and poor parents/guardians. These moves also affected the orphans. We intervened by invoking regulations on The Exemption of Parents/Guardians from the Payment of School Fees, and spreading a strong message to schools to curb this evil practice. We remain committed to address the plight of the poorest of the poor and protect the constitutional right of learners. School managers, educators and SGB's will be charged with misconduct according to SASA for excluding learners due to parents/guardian's failure to pay school fees.

Section 3 (1) of the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 provides that it is compulsory for learners to attend school. It places the responsibility on parents to cause their children to attend school. Subsection 6 (b) provides that

"any other person who, without just cause, prevents a learner who is subject to compulsory attendance from attending a school, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months". Learners should not be expelled from school because their parents did not pay school fees.

The Department will invoke the provisions of section 18 of Employment of Educators Act 76 of 1998 as amended by Education Laws Amendment Act 53 of 2000. The Department can no longer tolerate lawlessness and disrespect for the Constitution. We have compelled managers, heads of schools, educators, school governing bodies and teacher unions to observe these Regulations and to play an active role in assisting parents with applications for exemptions when required to do so.

The National Norms and Standards for school funding set out the national norms and minimum standards for school funding in terms of the South African Schools Act, 1996 (No. 84 of 1996). It deals with the procedures to be adopted by the provincial education departments in determining resource allocations to their schools. Schools are allocated funds to ensure that the poorest schools in quintile 1 receive more funds than the well resourced schools in quintile 5. This ensures that each learner in quintile 1 is allocated R120.34 and a learner in quintile 5 receives R17.19:

Quintile 1
Per learner allocation: R120.34

Quintile 2
Per learner allocation: R85.96

Quintile 3
Per learner allocation: R68.76

Quintile 4
Per learner allocation: R51.57

Quintile 5
Per learner allocation: R17.19

Each provincial education department is required to produce a "resource targeting list" where all schools are ranked in five groups or quintiles from poorest to least poor. A resource Targeting Table or funding formulae is also implemented where 60% of R61.8m of the available resources are allocated to the poorest 40% of the total learners. This pro-poor funding, which was implemented in 2000, brings about more equity in schools and is used to effect expenditure redress in our public schools.

Infrastructure

The department has continued to build partnerships with different stakeholders to improve the status of infrastructure in our schools. We will continue to ensure that no learner receives education under trees and in dilapidated conditions. It is for this reason that we have budgeted R120, 8m for infrastructure this year to ensure delivery.

During the 2002/3 financial year, through partnerships with the Department of Roads and Public Works, The Independent Development Trust and The North West Education Development Trust, we managed to build 730 new classrooms, 40 new administration blocks, 52 new special function rooms, 83 new head of department rooms, 84 new store rooms, 110 new fencing, 15 major and 25 minor renovations.

The 2003/4 financial years will see the completion of the existing 29 projects at a cost of R 55 million and the erection of 7 new schools at a cost of R30 million through the Department of Roads and Public Works.

Through the North West Development Trust we managed to build 121 new classrooms, 7 new administration blocks, 5 special function rooms, 10 heads of department rooms, 12 store rooms, 5 major renovations and 5 new fencing.

Mr Speaker, on behalf of the Department, I extend our gratitude to our business partners and associates for their valuable contribution to the development and transformation of education in the Province. We further encourage other business sectors to direct resources towards these endeavours.

Phase two of Donor Funded Projects will be completed at a cost of R 5 million. These will include the extensions and or completion of Bakang Selebo Primary School, funded by Transnet; Osaletseng Primary School, funded by Uthingo; and Ikageng and Makgake Primary Schools, both funded by Nampak.
Toilet Building Programme

I declared 2002/2003 the year of Sanitation. During that financial year, we built 1545 new toilets. Through the North West Development Trust we managed to build 223 new toilets. In this new financial year, we are putting aside R30m to build 1094 toilets in 56 schools. A further 174 toilets from 7 newly built schools and 72 toilets from the two schools of the Thuba Makote Stage Two Programme in Ikageng and Stilfontein, funded by the National Department and managed by CSIR will be added to this number. In the 30 schools to be completed this financial year, a total of 572 toilets will be built.

Information and Communication Technology - Northwest Education on Line

Mr Speaker, the ever-changing global scenario demands extensive technological advancement to cope with new world inputs. These changes place Information Technology (IT) development agendas of the world at high levels of improvement. We are therefore bound to join the bandwagon to improve our IT systems.

Mr Speaker, we are in the process of finalising a 12 year E-Strategy. This Strategy covers both E-education and E-government, and takes into account the ICT infrastructure requirements, as well as the Human Resource Management and Development inputs required to ensure effective utilisation of ICT for effective operations within the Department.

I would to announce the 1st phase of the implementation of the North West Education On-line starting this financial year 2003/2004. We are starting by this phase by connecting 440 schools, in our province to the Internet and e-mail at a cost of R8 012m. This will be followed by 5 regional offices 8 area project offices and all three FET Mega Colleges. This will address the challenges towards the e-future.

In addition 80% of appropriate staff will have access to the Internet and training will be provided for end users within schools. Our programme will establish 10 computer centres in schools, train staff at institutions; establish a WEB presence, and develop an E-education and E-government Portal.

Mr Speaker, we are confronted by a few challenges: of specific significance is an infrastructure constraint. 892 of our schools do not have electricity and 985 do not have telephones. We are not deterred by the challenges as our integrated ICT strategy provides priority areas for the implementation of our IT programme. We are confident that by 2010 we will complete full implementation of E- education, E-governance, E-learning and E-administration in our Department.

Mr Speaker, once more, our partner in Education, Transnet Foundation, has identified Reivillo Primary school in the Vryburg district where they will build a media centre and furnish it with 21 computers and 2 printers. The media centre will serve as a hub of activity for surrounding schools within a 20km radius and for the neighbouring communities. The same donation will be extended to Pudumoe Primary school in the in the same district, both to the value of R660 000. We commend Transnet Foundation for their continued support.

Scholar transport

We are deeply concerned about learners walking long distances to and from schools. Many of these learners are from poor rural communities. To alleviate this state of affairs and to ensure access to schools for all our learners, we have rolled out a Scholar Transport Strategy with effect from April 2003. This will guarantee the provision of non-motorised scholar transport (bicycles), motorised transport (subsidised buses) and the erection of hostels to house learners in a controlled environment near schools.

By the end of March 2003, 4400 bicycles were distributed to the needy learners in Central region (500 bicycles), Southern region (500 bicycles), Bojanala East region (300 bicycles), Bojanala West region (200 bicycles) and Bophirima region (2900 bicycles). We will further mobilise 2675 bicycles for scholars annually, provide appropriate training on bicycle safety in collaboration with safety experts and the Department of Transport to ensure that learners are safe as they cycle to and from school.
Independent Schools

Mr Speaker, the department wants to remind the house that every person has a constitutional right to establish and maintain, at own expense, independent educational institutions that do not discriminate. The owner of such an institution has the responsibility to maintain standards that are not inferior. The South African Schools Act enables my office to grant subsidies to these independent schools provided that acceptable standards are maintained. Failure to do that could result in a school being de-registered. In this regard Mr Speaker, we allocated subsidies to 14 out of 42 independent schools for 2003/4 financial years, totalling R 4 327 733. 08.

The Department will continue to subsidise these institutions and determine the standards, systems and processes for them. It is our educational and constitutional responsibility to ensure that South Africa's children, in all schools, produce future citizens with a set of values, skills, competencies, behaviour and attitudes that will ensure that South Africa does not revert again to an apartheid state.

Farm schools
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Mr Speaker we have 390 farm schools in the Province. The physical conditions of some of these schools are poor. Between 1999 and 2002, together with business partners, we spent R12.9 million towards the upgrading of farm schools. Despite this, we still face a huge backlog regarding renovations for these schools. Some farm-owners are playing a proactive role in maintaining their schools and we deeply appreciate their efforts.

To improve the quality of farm schooling we reached an agreement with the Ministry of Defence through the intervention and assistance of the Premier to utilize the Klippan Military Base as an education facility for farm learners. The Premier made an announcement in his state of the province address in February to say, "The task of alleviating the plight of farm learners who walk long distances between home and school because of lack of transport and resources is of critical importance. In response to this challenge, the disused Klippan Military base will be transformed into an educational facility..." The facility can house about 800 learners comprising of 566 hostel-accommodated learners and 234 day-learners.

We will de-militarise the Base and turn it into a teaching and learning institution. This project will commence during this financial year and teaching and learning will begin in January 2004. About 25 farm schools in Zeerust, Mafikeng and Lichtenburg districts will be closed and their learners will be transferred to Klippan. We remain hopeful that partnerships with Anglo American and Anglo Plats will bring to this project a sponsorship of R9.8 million over three years. We are in the process of engaging the agriculture unions in the province for their support of this initiative.

Learner support materials, textbooks, stationery

Mr Speaker, we are proud to announce that 100% of the stationery and textbooks ordered for 2003 were delivered at the majority of schools by the 30th November 2002. This standard will be maintained in respect to delivery for 2004.

Special mention must be made of Open Learning Systems Education Trust (OLSET) an non-government organisation, which has made donations of materials to 1 183 schools, benefiting 93 299 learners and 2 348 educators of rural and farm schools, which include: Educator notes, activity books, posters, charts, radios, etc.

The amount put aside for leaner support material this financial year is R152m. This amount will purchase textbooks, top-ups for Grade 10 - 12, mathematical sets of instruments, laboratory equipment, library material etc.

Presentation of Budget per programme

PROGRAMME 1: ADMINISTRATION R312 906 000

The programme is responsible for the overall management of the Department and the implementation of strategic plans of our core business in terms of relevant legislation and policies. The following sub-programme is included in this programme to cater for ICT in the departmental offices.

ICT: R3,1 million

PROGRAMME 2: PUBLIC ORDINARY SCHOOL EDUCATION R4 071 115 000

The allocated funds for this programme cater for remunerations of all school-based employees, provisioning of norms and standards for school funding, learner support materials physical resource provisioning and development programmes for teaching and learning. The following sub-programmes are also included in this programme as follows:

ICT: R 8,012 million
In-school Sport: R 10,815 million
Scholar Transport Subsidy: R 50,000 million
Infrastructure: R120,800 million
Maintenance: R 25,765 million
Garden equipment: R 0,600 million
LSM: R152 million

PROGRAMME 3: INDEPENDENT SCHOOL SUBSIDIES R5 000 000

The budget allocated to this programme is targeted to guarantee that support services are rendered to registered independent schools as a Constitutional mandate, and in terms of South African Schools Act and related policies.

PROGRAMME 4: PUBLIC SPECIAL SCHOOL EDUCATION R76 061 000

The diversity amongst learner communities compels government to provide formal education to learners with special educational needs. These include effective and efficient special programmes and support services for both learners in this category and educators with special skills.

PROGRAMME 5: FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING R66 823 000

With the funds allocated to this programme, the Department will provide the necessary resources, services and professional support in all merged public FET colleges. The Department further targets to increase the intake of students in Engineering and Commerce programmes.

PROGRAMME 6: ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING R52 741 000

The budget will guarantee the provisioning of Adult Basic Education and Training in terms of the Act. More emphasis is put on ensuring effective adult education and training, capacity building for tutors in OBE and ABET methodologies.

PROGRAMME 7: EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT R137 353 000

Funding for this programme is scheduled to provide specific public ordinary schools and specific sites with suitable resources for Grade R, and render effective support to community centres with Grade R. Finally the budget has to meet the provisioning of Early Childhood Development in all levels in accordance with Education White Paper 5.

PROGRAMME 8: AUXILIARY AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES R45 820 000

Funds allocated for this programme are guaranteed to continue the process of transforming the Department in terms of Resolution 7, to invest in the human resources through development programmes, to provide effective management of examinations and to continue the battle against the scourge of HIV/Aids in education.

Total budget allocated for 2003/4: R4 767 819 000

Conclusion

Mr Speaker, I conclude by reiterating that we commit this budget to deliver the strategic plans of the Department with a view to realise our vision to guarantee a better education system for all our people. I also take this opportunity to thank managers and officials of the Department of Education, educators, members of school governing bodies, organised teacher formations, learners, and community structures with interest in education, for all their efforts in working together to guarantee the provisioning of effective and efficient education system in our Province.

I further extend words of gratitude to the honourable Premier of our province, Dr Popo Simon Molefe, for his unwavering support at all times; my colleagues in the Executive Council, fellow Members of the Provincial Legislature, members of the Standing Committee on Education under the chairpersonship of Honourable Mrs Bopalamo for their guidance and constructive criticism; Head of Department of Education, Dr Anis Mahommed Karodia, for his leadership; the National Department of Education for their continued support and assistance in opening the doors of learning and wisdom for the learning communities of our country as a whole and our business partners and all the others for their help and support. We value all of your contributions greatly.

Finally, I extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to my wife, Kapampa, the children and my family for their unconditional love, support and understanding throughout the year.

I thank you.

Source: North West Provincial Government (http://www.nwpg.gov.za)