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The Organisation, Governance and
Funding of Schools (Education White Paper 2)
Department of Education
Pretoria
February 1996
General Notice 130 of 1996
Message from the Minister of Education, Professor SME Bengu
- Principles underlying a new framework
- The organisation of schools
- Governance in schools
- Building capacity for management and
governance
- The financing of schools
- Implementing the new system of school
organisation and governance
- Conclusion
Introduction
Cabinet has agreed that South Africa's pattern of school
organisation, governance and funding, which is a legacy of the apartheid system, must be
transformed in accordance with democratic values and practice, and the requirements of the
Constitution.
The white paper Education and Training in a Democratic
South Africa: First Steps to Develop a New System, approved by Cabinet in February 1995,
devoted a chapter to this issue. It described the process of investigation and
consultation that would be followed by the Ministry of Education in order to bring a new
pattern of school organisation into existence. My intention to appoint a representative
Review Committee was announced, and its terms of reference were specified, including a
statement of principles on which wide public agreement had been reached during the white
paper consultation process.
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The Review Committee's brief was to recommend to the
Minister of Education
a proposed national framework of school organisation and
ownership, and norms and standards on school governance and funding which, in the view of
the committee, are likely to command the widest possible public support, accord with the
requirements of the Constitution, improve the quality and effectiveness of schools, and be
financially sustainable from public funds.
The committee
I appointed the members of the Review Committee in March
1995. At their first meeting I emphasised that their task was one of the most important to
be entrusted to any group of South Africans in our new democracy. I requested them to work
together to find the highest common level of principled consensus, and to be creative in
interpreting their terms of reference.
The integrity of the committee won wide recognition. The
process of appointment ensured its acceptability across the broadest possible political
and educational spectrum. It included persons of stature with first-hand knowledge of
every existing category of school, and a balanced combination of experienced school
managers, researchers, policy analysts, and stakeholder representatives. Professor Peter
Hunter led his team with authority and tact.
The committee traveled to every province, visited 102
schools of all varieties, talked to stakeholders from across the spectrum, paid special
attention to schools in rural areas, commissioned studies, received specialised legal and
financial briefing, participated in four conferences on relevant aspects of its brief,
investigated the international experience and current trends, and studied nearly two
hundred written submissions. They completed their work in only five months.
The report
The report is a highly competent piece of work by a
representative group of South African education practitioners and specialists, who were
committed to finding solutions to the problems of school organisation consistent with the
letter and spirit of our new democratic order, and who availed themselves of the widest
possible range of information, advice, and expertise.
I am satisfied that no comparable committee working to the
same brief in the same time period could have done a better job or produced a
better-argued set of recommendations.
After extensive briefing by the Review Committee, formal
consultations with stakeholders, and careful consideration of the public response to the
committee's analysis and proposals, I concluded that their report provided the basis on
which new policy could be built, and I advised Cabinet accordingly.
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The draft white paper
A draft white paper was prepared and published on 24
November 1995, in order to indicate my Ministry's response to those findings and
recommendations of the Review Committee Report on which it was possible at that date to
indicate a position. The public were invited to comment before 10 January 1996 (later
extended to 20 January). I wish to thank all organisations, bodies and members of the
public who responded.
Legal, legislative and financial matters
Meanwhile, a legal panel has advised me on the intricate
legal and legislative implications of undoing the legacy of separate and unequal
schooling. The present document has taken full advantage of their opinion. A draft South
African Schools Bill is in preparation and will shortly be published for public
consideration.
The Review Committee's proposals on the reform of school
finance policy have attracted considerable public comment, as well as advice from the
Department of Finance and some reflections on the issue of user charges and related
matters in the Third Interim Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Certain Aspects of
the Tax Structure in South Africa (November 1995). The Department of Education has engaged
the services of international consultants to advise on this extremely complex matter. The
present document summarises some of the main considerations with which we are grappling.
Since consultations have not been concluded with the Department of Finance, the Financial
and Fiscal Commission, the provincial education authorities and other interested
stakeholders, I intend to make my proposals to Cabinet on school finance in a separate
document after the customary process of public consultation.
The Constitution provides at section 247 that the
government must undertake bona fide negotiations with the governing bodies of schools in
the public sector before alterations may be made to their rights, powers and functions.
The Ministry of Education's legal panel have advised me on the implications of this
provision, including the manner in which such negotiations could be carried out by the
government. The draft South African Schools Bill, the proposed school finance policy, and
the government's opening negotiating position will all be available to the public before
the negotiation process begins. At the conclusion of negotiations, the South African
Schools Bill will be revised and submitted for Cabinet approval. It is my intention to
have the revised Bill tabled in Parliament before the end of June 1996.
Labour relations matters
The achievement of a national framework of school
organisation, governance and funding necessarily affects the interests of all teachers in
the public school sector. The implementation of the government's policy will also affect
the conditions of employment of certain categories of teachers. These matters have been
the subject of consultation between myself and the two national organisations of the
teaching profession. Questions which are subject to the collective bargaining process will
be negotiated in the Education Labour Relations Council.
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Language and culture
While this document has been in preparation, the Ministry
and Department of Education have received visits from a number of delegations representing
organs of the Afrikaans-speaking population. Without exception they have expressed their
commitment to our democratic and non-racial Constitution, and have spoken strongly in
favour of the constitutional requirements for equitable funding of education, the
prohibition of unfair discrimination, the abolition of racial admissions criteria in
educational institutions, and redress measures to overcome past inequalities in
educational provision. At the same time, they have warned of a rising tide of grassroots
disenchantment and anxiety among their communities, based on the perception that the
government is not protecting linguistic and cultural diversity in the education system,
contrary to the guarantees afforded by the Constitution and the Ministry's policy
commitments in Education White Paper 1. The delegations have advised that actions of one
or more education authorities have given their constituents the impression that a campaign
is being waged to eliminate schools which teach only through the medium of the Afrikaans
language. The same points have been made with emphasis in many written comments on the
Review Committee Report and the draft version of this document. I wish to state in
writing, as I have done verbally, that I accept without hesitation the sincerity of the
representations which have been made to me on this matter. I wish also to make clear my
recognition that the community of Afrikaans-speakers is spread throughout the land and
across all population groups.
It is because of our nation's bitter experience of
political oppression and cultural domination by successive minority regimes, that this
government is committed to creating sufficient legal, political, linguistic and cultural
space for all our varied peoples to live in peace together. Non-racialism, democracy, the
protection of fundamental rights, and redress, do not mean that the idea of cultural
identity is denied, or that all cultural distinctiveness is to be obliterated, or that the
cultural and linguistic heritage of any of our communities can be disparaged. Our
Constitution forbids cultural exploitation and provides for the protection and advancement
of all our cultures, and the development of all our languages.
My Ministry does not support language imperialism. We will
not promote, under any circumstances, the use of only one of the official languages as the
language of learning (medium of instruction) in all public schools. Language policy in
education cannot thrive in an atmosphere of coercion. No language community should have
reason to fear that the education system will be used to suppress its mother tongue.
My Ministry is also vehemently opposed to the misuse of
cultural and linguistic distinctiveness as a pretext or camouflage for the perpetuation of
racial privilege in public school education. Any such attempt would be repugnant to our
democracy and false to our nation's history. No single community has the moral right to
claim that the schools erected with public funds in the past belong exclusively to them
and to no one else. Those funds were raised out of the taxation and the labour and
enterprise of all South Africans.
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The Ministry of Education's first white paper contains
these words:
"New education and training policies to address the
legacies of underdevelopment and inequitable development and provide equal opportunities
for all will be based principally on the constitutional guarantees of equal educational
rights for all persons and non-discrimination, and their formulation and implementation
must also scrupulously observe all other constitutional guarantees and protections which
apply to education....
"It should be a goal of education and training policy
to enable a democratic, free, equal, just and peaceful society to take root and prosper in
our land, on the basis that all South Africans without exception share the same
inalienable rights, equal citizenship, and common national destiny and that all forms of
bias (especially racial, ethnic, and gender) are dehumanising.
"This requires the active encouragement of mutual
respect for our people's diverse religious, cultural and language traditions, their right
to enjoy and practice these in peace and without hindrance, and the recognition that these
are a source of strength for their own communities and the unity of the nation." (Education
White Paper 1, pp. 19, 22)
I re-affirm these statements. Education policy-makers and
administrators have the responsibility to ensure that these principles are upheld in our
laws, regulations and executive practices, on behalf of all citizens.
Language policy for education is under active development.
The Department of Education published a discussion document in November 1995 entitled
Towards a Language Policy in Education, with the approval of the Heads of Education
Departments Committee. In announcing it, I referred to the commitment of the Department of
Education "to promote multilingualism in the education system and to remove all forms
of linguistic discrimination". I also made the following statements:
"A key feature of a new multilingual policy will be
that it promotes the use and development of two or more languages throughout schooling in
such a way that no language should be introduced at the expense of another. Learners' home
languages, as well as the additional languages they wish to acquire, will all form part of
a dual process of self-affirmation and cognitive development....
"Where it is appropriate and immediately feasible,
schools should be strongly encouraged to offer at least two languages of learning and
instruction from Grade One, at least one of which should be a home language among
significant numbers of learners in the schools."
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The department's proposals on language policy in education
are being widely and vigorously debated. The department will consult with the Pan-South
African Language Board before it brings the debate to a conclusion. This is not the place
for an extended discussion of these matters. I wish to state the view, however, that
language policy in any particular public school ought to be determined in consultation
between the governing body of the school and the provincial education authorities, in
terms of the circumstances and language requirements of that school community, the
language policy and laws of the province, the relevant national norms, and the
requirements of the Constitution.
Policies are stated in general terms and cannot provide for
all situations. Our legacy of injustice and mistrust continuously throws up problems which
need the wisdom of Solomon to settle. In this protracted transitional period, in which new
policies for a democratic society are being developed and implemented, the chances are
that we shall collectively make many mistakes, either in conception or execution. They
must be recognised and corrected. The possibility of damage will be reduced if new
policies are based on knowledge of our charter of fundamental rights and on sufficient
consultation with those who are affected by them, if conflicts are negotiated, and if
principled compromises are sought.
Conclusion
Parliament and the provincial legislatures both have
legislative competence in matters affecting schools, and provincial governments have
executive responsibility for the administration of schools. I have therefore worked with
my colleagues, the provincial Ministers of Education, to reach as much agreement as
possible on the way forward, even though we have not always achieved unanimity. I am
grateful for their advice, which is based on intimate grassroots knowledge of schools in
their provinces and the views of their constituents. I also highly appreciate the advice
of the Parliamentary parties.
This document has limited but very significant objectives.
It sets out the policy of the Government of National Unity on the organisation and
governance of schools, and the development of capacity for school leadership and
governance throughout the country. It also describes how the Ministry of Education intends
to meet its obligations to negotiate with public school governing bodies whose rights,
powers and functions are to be altered. It gives notice of the Ministry's intention to
publish a draft South African Schools Bill for public comment, to publish its proposed
policy for school finance and to make its negotiating position publicly known prior to
engaging in the negotiation process.
I appeal to all who will be involved in these public
processes to show their faith in the democratisation of the public school system of our
democratic nation.
I believe that this document will go a long way towards
providing an acceptable framework for the achievement of truly democratic school
governance in a diverse society. In general it can be said that the country now has the
main elements of a solution in its grasp. I trust that the opportunity and the challenge
will be accepted with goodwill, and a determination on the part of all concerned to make
the new policy succeed for the sake of all our children.
Professor SME Bengu MP
Minister of Education
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Summary
1.1 The new structure of school organisation should create
the conditions for developing a coherent, integrated, flexible national system which
advances redress, the equitable use of public resources, an improvement in educational
quality across the system, democratic governance, and school-based decision-making within
provincial guidelines. The new structure must be brought about through a well-managed
process of negotiated change, based on the understanding that each public school should
embody a partnership between the provincial education authorities and a local community.
Dealing with the inheritance of inequality
1.2 The new structure of the school system must deal
squarely with the inheritance of inequality and ensure an equitable, efficient,
qualitatively sound and financially sustainable system for all its learners. A coherent
national pattern of school organisation, governance and funding is therefore absolutely
necessary in order to overcome the divisions and injustices which have disfigured school
provision throughout South Africa's history.
1.3 The distribution of resources for education provision
must address the fact that almost half of South African families live in poverty, mainly
in rural areas. A primary objective of the new strategy for schools must be to achieve an
equitable distribution of education provision throughout the nation, in such a way that
the quality of provision in under-resourced areas is raised, and reductions in public
funding to better-resourced schools are responsibly phased in.
1.4 The school system must therefore be unified through a
managed process of change based on respect for constitutional rights and freedoms,
redress, equity and an improvement in the quality of learning.
Structure and process
1.5 This document comprises two kinds of policy positions.
The first includes decisions on a new structure for school organisation, including a
framework of school categories, proposals concerning school ownership and governance, and
observations on school funding. The second comprises decisions on processes of negotiation
to bring the new structure into existence, and processes of capacity-building which must
occur if the full scope of the Ministry's proposals on governance is to be realised.
1.6 The huge disparities among South African schools
require a new structure of school organisation and system of governance which will be
workable as well as transformative. Both organisational structure and governance must be
adequately uniform and coherent, but flexible enough to take into account the wide range
of school contexts, the significant contrasts in the material conditions of South African
schools, the availability or absence of management skills, parents' experience or
inexperience in school governance, and the physical distance of many parents from their
children's schools. The South African population has a right to expect that a redesigned
school system for a democratic South Africa will be manifestly new, more equitable, and
empowering to all who have a direct stake in the success of schooling.
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1.7 As a guide to negotiated change in the school system,
the Ministry of Education therefore proposes that the new structure of school
organisation, governance and funding must aim to:
- ensure both national coherence and the promotion of a sense
of national common purpose in the public school system, while retaining flexibility and
protecting diversity;
- enable a disciplined and purposeful school environment to be
established, dedicated to a visible and measurable improvement in the quality of the
learning process and learning outcomes throughout the system;
- enable representatives of the main stakeholders of the
school to take responsibility for school governance, within a framework of regulation and
support by the provincial education authorities;
- ensure that the involvement of government authorities in
school governance is at the minimum required for legal accountability, and is based on
participative management;
- enable school governing bodies to determine the mission and
character or ethos of their schools, within the framework of Constitutional provisions
affecting schools, and national and provincial school law;
- ensure that the decision-making authority assigned to school
governing bodies is coupled with the allocation of an equitable share of public
(budgetary) resources, and the right to raise additional resources, for them to manage;
- recognise that a governing body's right of decision-making
is not linked to the ability of its community to raise resources;
- ensure both equity and redress in funding from public
(budgetary) resources, in order to a achieve a fair distribution of public funds and the
elimination of backlogs caused by past unequal treatment;
- improve efficiency in school education through the optimum
use of public financial (budgetary) allocations, and publicly-funded staff resources.
1.8 The application of the principles underlying the
Ministry's approach to school organisation, governance and funding will be a very complex
matter. That is because any solution to the inheritance of injustice in the schools will
be difficult to apply and will take time to work through the system. It is all the more
important, therefore, that policy goals are clearly stated on the basis of defensible
principles, so that they may properly guide the practical decisions which will be required
in the course of drawing up legislation, in the process of negotiation with school
governing bodies and teachers' organisations, and in the development of administrative
arrangements to implement the new system.
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1.9 The Ministry of Education will not disguise the
difficulties, but commits itself to working out a balanced and principled approach to
dealing with them. The expectations and fears of South Africans who are looking for a
clear statement of national policy must be taken seriously. The Ministry endorses the
Review Committee's observation that:
"South Africans must be given grounds for confidence
that the new system of education which is being developed will be professionally planned
and carried out, democratically governed, and effectively managed; that the structures and
strategies developed will be such as to enhance quality; and that the resources will be
equitably distributed over the population as a whole. It must be clear that the national
system is being effectively integrated." (Review Committee Report, p. 39)
Parental rights
1.10 The Ministry of Education has strongly endorsed
parental rights in their children's education:
"Parents or guardians have the primary responsibility
for the education of their children, and have the right to be consulted by the state
authorities with respect to the form that education should take and to take part in its
governance. Parents have the inalienable right to choose the form of education which is
best for their children, particularly in the early years of schooling, whether provided by
the state or not, subject to reasonable safeguards which may be required by law. The
parents' right to choose includes choice of the language, cultural or religious basis of
the child's education, with due regard to the rights of others and the rights of choice of
the growing child." (Education White Paper 1, p. 21).
Thus parental rights, though inalienable, are not absolute
or unlimited, but must be exercised within the full context of fundamental rights which
all government organs have the obligation to protect and advance.
1.11 The Ministry's proposals include a major role for
parents in school governance, to be exercised in the spirit of a partnership between the
provincial education department and a local community.
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Summary
2.1 The policy of the Ministry of Education is that there
shall be just two broad categories of schools in future: public schools and independent
schools.
2.2 The public schools category will comprise all schools
which are currently known as community schools, farm schools, state schools, and
state-aided schools (including church schools, Model C schools, mine schools, and others).
Collectively, these comprise just over 98 per cent of the country's primary and secondary
schools, and almost 99 per cent of school enrolments. The category is broad, but there is
room for variety within it.
2.3 The independent schools category will comprise all
schools currently known as private or independent schools. Together, these account for not
quite two per cent of primary and secondary schools, and about 1,2 per cent of enrolments.
The public schools category
2.4 The Ministry of Education has an irrevocable obligation
to ensure that the new pattern of school organisation breaks with the past and lays a
foundation on which a democratically-governed and equitable system of high quality can be
built.
This requires firm, sustained and co-operative action by
the national and provincial education authorities, within their respective spheres of
legislative and executive competence, in keeping with the constitutional guarantees of
fundamental rights and due process of law.
2.5 Decisive action by the national and provincial
governments to introduce a new pattern of school organisation and ensure that it takes
root, must go hand in hand with the empowerment of school governing bodies to assume
responsibility for their schools within national and provincial policy frameworks.
2.6 Once the necessary negotiations in terms of section 247
of the Constitution have taken place, the Ministry of Education intends to table a South
African Schools Act during the 1996 session of Parliament, which will bring all the
inherited varieties of state and state-aided schools within a single category of public
schools based on explicit principles and characteristics, in keeping with the principles
stated in paragraph 1.7 above.
2.7 Each public school will represent a partnership between
the provincial education department and the local community. This concept is of
fundamental value in reconciling the respective responsibilities of the government and the
community. It is the basis for reconstructing the system of public education. Once the
concept has been given legislative form, the terms of the partnership between state and
community will be negotiable between the provincial education departments and the schools.
In this way, the offensive disparities in the inherited pattern will diminish, and public
schools serving South Africans will progressively enjoy common characteristics based on an
evolutionary model of local school governance. This is not to say that all public schools
will be the same.
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2.8 The decision to bring all present varieties of public
sector schools into a single broad category of public schools therefore marks the start of
a process of orderly change which is intended to maintain the positive characteristics of
all existing models, and enable a spirit of partnership between provincial education
authorities and local communities to thrive. This will ensure that
"the characteristics which defined schools as 'farm',
'state', 'state-aided' or community' schools will have less and less relevance, and the
schools will take their place in the public schooling sector with the combination of
powers and functions which best reflects the capacity and will of the community, and the
policy priorities and accountability of the provincial authorities." (Review
Committee Report, p. 49)
2.9 It is envisaged that public schools will have at least
the following features in common:
- Each public school will represent a partnership between the
provincial education department and the local community;
- Public schools will be funded totally or largely from public
resources, that is, from provincial education department budgets, and with few exceptions
their property will be owned by the state;
- The admission policies of public schools will be determined
by governing bodies in consultation with provincial education departments, in terms of
national norms and provincial regulations, and will uphold constitutionally guaranteed
rights and freedoms;
- The mission, policy, and character or ethos of each public
school will be determined within national and provincial frameworks by a governing body
comprising elected representatives of the main stakeholders of the school;
- The salaries of teachers in each public school will be paid
by the provincial education department according to a staff provisioning scale, and such
teachers will be appointed in each public school by the provincial education department on
the recommendation of and in consultation with the school's governing body.
2.10 The public school category is very broad, and there is
room for variety within it:
- All public schools will have representative governing bodies
with significant responsibilities, but some will take on wider responsibilities from the
province than others, especially financial responsibilities, depending upon their
capacities and inclinations;
- Schools presently known as farm schools, community schools
on communal land, schools for learners with special education needs (LSEN), and technical
schools, will be governed in essentially the same way as other public schools, but the
distinctive needs and contexts of such schools will be accommodated;
- All state and state-aided schools for learners with special
education needs will become public special schools;
- Some not-for-profit schools which serve the general public,
and which are owned and may continue to be owned, by religious organisations, or
industries (like mines or plantations), or educational associations, could be taken into
the public school system, subject to certain conditions, on the basis of partnership
agreements negotiated between the owners and the provincial education department
concerned. The Department of Education is open to discussion on the principle and terms of
such partnerships.
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2.11 The act of designating all schools in the public
sector as public schools will make a fundamental point of policy: All public schools
embody the broad public interest in education and need to be organised, governed and
resourced in a manner which is faithful to the Constitution, and which enables the
government to discharge its obligations under the Constitution. Foremost among these
obligations is the need to base the public provision of schooling for all South African
children on the principles of equity and redress of past inequality and discrimination.
The independent schools category
2.12 The Ministry of Education's policy is that schools
presently known as private schools will henceforth be known as independent schools. This
designation will be legislated in the South African Schools Act. The independent schools
sector is very small, but it is important and appears to be growing. Independent schools
are privately owned schools which appoint their own teachers.
2.13 All independent schools should be required by law to
register with the provincial education department and to comply with the conditions of
registration laid down by the province. Such regulation of independent schools through a
registration process under provincial government law is consistent with international
practice. It would be resisted only by unscrupulous operators whose exploitation of the
public must be curbed and eliminated.
2.14 Several representative councils and associations in
the independent school sector have informed the Ministry of Education of their wish to be
associated with the government's programme of reconstruction and development, and their
willingness to make available the professional resources of their schools in suitable
forms of partnership with the government and with schools in the public sector. The
sentiments and the offers of collaboration are appreciated. As with similar suggestions
made by school organisations operating in the public sector, the Department of Education
is open to discussion on how such partnerships may be implemented.
2.15 Home schools are evidently a specific case of
independent schools. There is a variety of circumstances in which home schooling might be
a reasonable option for a child or a family. The Ministry of Education is aware that the
education laws of many countries recognise home schooling as a valid option for parents
under certain circumstances. The Department of Education is examining the relevant laws of
other countries in order to determine the most suitable framework for the recognition of
home schooling in this country. Again, the Department of Education has indicated that it
is open to discussion with representatives of the home schooling movement in order to
clarify the legal and educational grounds on which home schooling should
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Summary
3.1 Governance policy for public schools is based on the
core values of democracy. It is envisaged that representative governing bodies will be
established in all public schools following negotiations prescribed in section 247 of the
Constitution, and the enactment of the South African Schools Act. Governing bodies will
have substantial decision-making powers, selected from a menu of powers according to their
capacity. Teachers in public schools will be employed by the provincial education
departments on the recommendation of and in consultation with governing bodies. The
intention is that all public schools will be granted a legal personality in recognition of
the responsibilities of their governing bodies.
3.2 Governing bodies in all schools need to make suitable
arrangements to meet their responsibilities to learners with special education needs.
3.3 The constitutions of independent schools should include
appropriate provision for governance.
Governance policy for public schools
3.4 The Ministry of Education bases its approach to school
governance policy on the Constitution and on Education White Paper 1.
3.5 The Constitution establishes a democratic national,
provincial and local government order, and binds all governments and public schools to
observe fundamental rights and protect fundamental freedoms, many of which have direct
implications for decisions made by school governors and management's. The Constitution
also obliges governments to negotiate with school governing bodies before changing their
rights, powers and functions, and to fund all public schools on an equitable basis in
order to achieve an acceptable level of education.
3.6 In Education White Paper 1, the Ministry of Education
announced that the decision-making authority of schools in the public sector would be
shared among parents, teachers, the community (government and civil society) and the
learners, in ways that would support the core values of democracy. A school governance
structure should involve all stakeholder groups in active and responsible roles, encourage
tolerance, rational discussion and collective decision-making. National and provincial
policy should allow for the fact that such capacities may be underdeveloped in many
communities and therefore need to be built.
3.7 Working definitions of the concepts of
"governance" and "management" assist in clarifying the role of
governing bodies. The sphere of governing bodies is governance, by which is meant policy
determination, in which the democratic participation of the schools' stakeholders is
essential. The primary sphere of the school leadership is management, by which is meant
the day-to-day organisation of teaching and learning, and the activities which support
teaching and learning, for which teachers and the school principal are responsible. These
spheres overlap, and the distinctions in roles between principals and their staff,
district education authorities, and school governing bodies, need to be agreed with. the
provincial education departments. This would permit considerable diversity in governance
and management roles, depending on the circumstances of each school, within national and
provincial policies.
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Structure of public school governing bodies
3.8 The term "governing body" will be used
uniformly to describe the body that is entrusted with the responsibility and authority to
formulate and adopt policy for each public school in terms of national policy and
provincial education regulations.
3.9 The government is required by section 247 of the
Constitution to undertake bona fide negotiations with existing public school governing
bodies before making alterations to their rights, powers and functions. Thereafter, but
before January 1997, each public school should have a governing body, either new or
adapted from an existing structure, which conforms to the norms and standards laid down in
the envisaged South African Schools Act and provincial education legislation. During the
transition to the new system, schools without governing bodies will continue to be
governed by the provincial department of education until local capacity has been developed
and formally empowered.
3.10 Other representative and deliberative structures
within schools, such as student representative councils (SRCs), parents' associations, and
staff meetings, are important for successful democratic practice and school management.
They should support, but not substitute for, the governing body. An SRC in each school
should be mandatory.
3.11 The Ministry of Education will propose, as a basis of
negotiation, that public school governing bodies should comprise at least the following
members:
elected representatives of
- parents or guardians of learners currently enrolled at
school;
- teachers;
- learners (in secondary schools only);
- non-teaching staff;
- the principal (ex officio);
- members of the community, elected by the governing body.
3.12 The implementation of these proposals will mark a
major advance in the decentralisation of educational control, and the fulfilment of a goal
for tens of thousands of parents, teachers, students, former students and community
workers who have campaigned to secure the achievement of democracy in schools. At the same
time, the new policy marks a decisive shift toward a national, democratic and non-racial
system of schools.
3.13 Good public school governance requires a flourishing
partnership, based on mutual interest and mutual confidence, among the many constituencies
which make up and support the school. The appropriate balance of different constituency
rights and interests in the composition and operations of each school governing body is
therefore a matter of importance.
3.14 Some of the anxieties which have been expressed about
multi-constituency representation on governing bodies would be allayed if the roles of
each constituency were specified. For instance, it would not be appropriate for learner
and teacher representatives to participate in discussions concerning the contracts or
performance of currently employed staff members, but they should be encouraged to
participate in discussions on policy matters affecting the teaching staff and learners
respectively, and relations between staff and the body of learners.
[ Top ]
3.15 The Ministry of Education requested advice from the
public on the balance of constituency membership on school governing bodies. On the
question of the representation of parents, the Ministry of Education stated in Education
White Paper 1 that "Parents have most at stake in the education of their children,
and this should be reflected in the 'composition of the governing body, where this is
practically possible." (p. 70) The Review Committee was of the same opinion. (Review
Committee Report, p. 44) The parent body has a vested interest in the welfare of the
school, and provincial departments should be able to count on parents and guardians to
make every effort to improve the school's effectiveness as a place of learning and
development for their children, and to act decisively to balance the interests as well as
encourage the mutual co-operation of all other school constituencies. The Review Committee
proposed that parents and guardians should have the strongest numerical representation on
governing bodies. Having carefully weighed the advice it has received, the Ministry has
concluded that, because of the legal and financial decisions for which governing bodies
would be responsible, elected representatives of parents and guardians should be in the
majority on public school governing bodies. However,, a school which prefers a different
pattern of representation should be permitted to apply to the provincial education
department for an alternative pattern of representation to suit its requirements.
3.16 The Ministry of Education is of the view that
community representatives on governing bodies should be acceptable to all the school-based
constituencies. This could be achieved by inviting nominations of community
representatives from all the school-based constituencies, and requiring that the election
of such representatives should be by consensus or by two-thirds majority.
Roles and responsibilities of public school governing
bodies
3.17 Public school governance is part of the country's new
structure of democratic governance. It must be a genuine partnership between a local
community and the provincial education department, with the education department's role
being restricted to the minimum required for legal accountability. Because communities
have such varied experience of school governance, it is inevitable that the department's
role in ensuring accountability will differ considerably from one school to another. The
balance of decision-making would rest with the school governing body in accordance with
its capacity.
3.18 The model of public school governance supported by the
Ministry of Education is therefore evolutionary. Each public school governing body will be
responsible for a set of basic functions ("basic powers") which will be agreed
between the province and the governing body in accordance with the governing body's
experience and capacity. Any governing body will be entitled to negotiate with its
provincial education department to take responsibility for additional functions
("negotiated powers") as and when it is willing and believes it is able to do
so.
3.19 All public school governing bodies need not apply for
and receive an identical set of basic powers. Schools differ vastly in their material
conditions and the managerial experience of their school communities. Not all governing
bodies would be likely to choose the same level of responsibility from the outset. In
fact, there is every reason to believe that schools which have never experienced
representative governance structures with real decision-making power should start more
modestly than schools with a successful tradition of responsible governance, whatever
previous department they belonged to in the old racial and ethnic organisation of schools.
[ Top ]
3.20 The provincial departments of education, which are
accountable for the funding and the performance of schools, will wish to be assured that
governing bodies have the necessary capacity to take on important functions and run them
well. The delegation of such powers would need to be conditional, and subject to
regulation. The governing body would be required to satisfy the provincial education
department that it had the capacity to manage its functions according to the standards of
provision specified by the province, and that the school community had the will to sustain
this responsibility. If schools wished to exceed the province's standards of provision
(for example, with respect to school maintenance standards), they would have to do so from
their own funds. The province would need to reserve the right to intervene to ensure that
law and policy were being upheld, and in particular that funds were properly administered
and accounted for. There would need to be provision for the provincial authority to
withdraw certain responsibilities from a governing body at its own request, or in the
event of seriously unsatisfactory performance.
3.21 The menu or list of powers which the Ministry of
Education will propose to public school governing bodies in the section 247 negotiations,
will be compiled after detailed discussion with the provincial education departments, in
the light of advice which has been received from stakeholder bodies. The following list,
derived from the Review Committee's proposals, provides a starting point, but is bound to
be amended before being adopted in the Ministry's negotiating position. The vital matter
of school finance policy, which will be decided separately, has a major bearing on the
responsibilities which will be on offer to governing bodies.
Proposed menu of responsibilities of public school
governing bodies Broad policy
- the school's mission, goals and objectives
- development, implementation and review of governing body
policies
- promoting the best interests of the school community
Personnel
- recommending and negotiating teachers' temporary or
permanent appointments (in consultation with provincial department)
- recommending the appointment of administrative staff (in
consultation with provincial department)
Admissions
- admission policy (in consultation with provincial
department)
Curriculum
- school times and timetable (following provincial guidelines)
- language policy (within the appropriate framework, provided
that no form of racial discrimination may be practised in exercising its policy)
- school-level curriculum choices (within national and
provincial frameworks)
- extra-mural curricula
- codes of behaviour for staff and learners (following
provincial guidelines)
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Financial
- raising and controlling funds
- school budget priorities
- purchase of textbooks, materials and equipment
- payment of light and water accounts
Maintenance
- maintaining buildings
Communication
- reporting to the parents
- school-community communication
Community services
- local services for children and youth
- community social, health, recreational and nutritional
programmes
3.22 The capacity-building programme described in the next
chapter will be designed to enable governing bodies progressively to increase their load
should they wish to do so. However, public schools from across the system whose governing
bodies already have a successful record of significant decision-making responsibility
should experience as little disturbance of their powers and functions as possible,
consistent with the observance of national norms and provincial regulations. It must be
borne in mind, however, that all public school governing bodies are likely to be
restructured once the new South African Schools Act comes into effect.
3.23 The idea that all public school governing bodies must
have responsibility for a basic list of functions is deceptively simple. Once implemented,
the vast majority of South Africans will recognise that this decision constitutes by far
the most significant devolution of responsibility to school governing bodies in the
history of South African education.
Employment of teachers in public schools
3.24 The Ministry of Education's position is that all
teachers in public schools who are paid by the provincial education departments should be
appointed and employed by the departments on the recommendation of and in consultation
with school governing bodies. This proposal has two parts, which must be considered
separately.
3.25 Firstly, public school teachers will be employed by
the provincial education authorities. This will not change the status of the overwhelming
majority of teachers in the public sector who are employed by government departments, nor
will it materially affect the position of teachers in state-aided schools. At present, the
Minister of Education, acting after due process in the Education Labour Relations Council,
determines the conditions of service of all educators whose salaries are paid or whose
posts are subsidised out of public funds. The latter include teachers in state-aided
schools, such as Model C schools and special schools for LSEN, who are currently employed
by their respective governing bodies, and teachers in state-aided farm schools, who are
employed by the farmer.
[ Top ]
3.26 The new policy will overcome a legal anomaly which has
come to light in the Rademan and George cases in Gauteng and Western Cape respectively,
where by implication the Minister of Education has been held to be co-responsible for the
actions of governing bodies of Model C schools, even though he is not specifically defined
as the employer in the Educators Employment Act, 1994 (Proclamation No. 138, 1994).
3.27 A unitary teaching service is vital for the health of
the new system of public schools. Provincial education departments and the organised
teaching profession are at present negotiating new staff provision scales, in terms of
guidelines agreed between employers and employees in the Education Labour Relations
Council in September 1995. This historic exercise to achieve a rational, equitable and
nonracial distribution of teachers will mean that some teachers will be asked to transfer
to other schools, while by far the majority of teachers will remain in their present
posts. Given that our inherited school system has been modeled on racial differentiation
and the perpetuation of privilege, it is essential that the responsible education
department should be enabled to negotiate the deployment of teachers in an equitable and
educationally sensible manner. In order to make fair and professionally sound decisions,
provincial authorities need maximum flexibility in staff deployment, which means that
teachers in presently state-aided schools should be an integral part of the pool. A change
in the employment status of teachers in these schools will only occur once all
constitutional and legal stipulations have been complied with, including negotiations with
teachers' organisations.
3.28 Secondly, appointments will be made by departments of
education on the recommendation of and in consultation with school governing bodies. This
balances the prerogatives of governing bodies with the necessity for government decisions,
while providing strong safeguards against arbitrary administrative action. The Ministry of
Education appreciates that the responsibility of making teaching staff appointments would
be the clearest indication of the extent to which real devolution of decision-making power
to the school level has taken place. The Ministry's position is that this matter is a
shared interest of the governing body and the provincial education authority, with the
initiative rightfully belonging at the school level. The appointment would be made by the
provincial department in consultation with the governing body, in a true display of
partnership. All public school governing bodies would have the authority to recommend the
appointment of teachers to their respective provincial education department. The
department would have the discretion to decline a recommendation on grounds of
professional incompetence, inappropriate qualifications, misconduct, or prima facie
evidence of improper influence. The department would be required to state its reasons if
it declined a recommendation, and to negotiate the matter if the governing body so wished.
For most governing bodies, this represents an extraordinary gain in authority and
influence. For many personnel practitioners in provincial education departments, it means
a significant change in relations with schools. Both parties have much to learn.
[ Top ]
3.29 As with the change in employment status referred to in
paragraph 3.27, the employing departments are obliged to refer these proposed alterations
in employment practice in public schools to the Education Labour Relations Council. The
constitutional and statutory rights of teachers must be upheld. The new Labour Relations
Act, 1995, which has been passed by Parliament and is scheduled to come into effect in
1996, gives applicants for posts the same access to unfair labour practice procedures as
serving employees. Any applicant, including a teacher, now has a new and easily accessible
avenue to challenge decisions by an employer, for instance on grounds of unfair
discrimination in terms of section 8 of the Constitution. The maintenance of a school's
ethos cannot be at the expense of an employee's or would-be employee's constitutional
rights.
3.30 The Ministry of Education has considered the merits of
enabling governing bodies, should they have the desire and the means, to employ additional
teachers on contract and pay them from their own funds. The issue is particularly pressing
for large numbers of schools in view of the relatively austere staff provisioning scales
which are currently under negotiation between provincial education departments and the
organised teaching profession.
3.31 The Ministry recognises that it will be the duty of
public school governing bodies to enhance the quality of educational provision in their
schools by all means within their power. The Ministry of Education is committed to local
initiative in school governance as a means to enhance the effectiveness of schools, and
must in principle support and encourage governing bodies who wish to improve the teaching
conditions or enrich the curriculum in their schools. The Ministry of Education has the
responsibility to provide an enabling legislative or regulatory environment within which
this can happen. On the face of it, this should permit, even if it does not encourage,
governing bodies to engage additional teachers outside the provision from public sources.
3.32 The Ministry of Education regrets that it is not yet
in a position to decide this point of policy, since several other considerations must
still be taken into account and resolved. Firstly: the question is linked to the larger
issue of school finance policy which is still under consultation, namely, the manner in
which school governing bodies will be entitled to raise and use additional
(extra-budgetary) revenues for their schools. This involves broader questions of fiscal
policy. It is undeniable that the ability of schools to raise the funds to pay for
additional teachers would be related to the relative wealth or poverty of their parent
communities. The government is both obliged and committed to deploy public funds equitably
for the provision of a public service such as education which is a fundamental right
guaranteed by the Constitution. However, is it either desirable or possible, from the
perspective of public policy, to attempt to regulate the revenue raising capacity of
school communities outside the budget process?
[ Top ]
3.33 Secondly: in law, as has been pointed out in paragraph
3.26 above, the Minister is regarded as co-responsible with governing bodies for the
actions of teachers employed by school governing bodies. Is it desirable to reproduce this
anomaly in the South African Schools Bill? Thirdly: the provisions of the
soon-to-be-implemented Labour Relations Act may have the effect of compelling teachers
employed by governing bodies (rather than provincial authorities) to seek membership in
labour organisations other than recognised teachers' organisations, outside the purview of
the Education Labour Relations Council. If this were to occur, the labour relations
environment of public schools could become exceptionally complicated. These questions must
be taken up and clarified with the organised teaching profession.
3.34 A clear position on the question will be provided by
the Ministry of Education in its proposals on finance policy, and suitable provision will
be made in the draft South African Schools Bill, as well as in the Ministry's negotiating
position for the section 247 negotiations. These documents are scheduled for publication
by March 1996 at the latest.
Legal personality of schools
3.35 The Ministry of Education has sought legal advice on
the question of the legal personality of schools. The Ministry has been advised that our
courts have defined a legal person as any entity which by law is allowed to acquire its
own rights and to incur its own duties and obligations, not on behalf of the individual
members but for the body as a whole. By this definition, public schools with
representative governing bodies, exercising responsibilities and taking decisions
affecting the conduct and well-being of their schools, are likely in law to be regarded as
legal persons.
3.36 In the light of the advice it has received, the
Ministry of Education intends to provide for this matter in the proposed South African
Schools Bill. This enabling legislation will prescribe the conditions for the assumption
of prescribed powers and responsibilities by public school governing bodies, and will
state clearly and unequivocally that legal personality attaches to such schools. This
intention will be explained in the negotiating position document published by the Ministry
of Education prior to the commencement of negotiations in terms of section 247 of the
Constitution.
Governance of schools and ELSEN
3.37 The Minister of Education will shortly appoint a
National Commission on Education for Learners with Special Education Needs. The Ministry
of Education's policy, stated in Education White Paper 1, is that the education of
learners with special education needs (ELSEN) should be provided within a continuum of
integrated services in both ordinary and public special schools.
[ Top ]
3.38 The general principles of school governance should
apply in public special schools, but the membership of governing bodies should be adapted
to their circumstances. In general, the governing bodies of specialised schools for LSEN
tend to have strong representation of the sponsoring bodies and relatively small
representation of parents and other stakeholders. Their membership should in future
include representatives of the appropriate stakeholders, which would result in a governing
body comprised somewhat as follows:
- elected representatives of
- parents or guardians of learners currently enrolled at
school;
- learners, where appropriate (in secondary schools);
- teachers;
- non-teaching staff;
- the principal (ex officio);
- a member of the education support services team such as
psychologist, school social worker, guidance counsellor ;
- a member of the sponsoring body, where applicable;
- members of the community, elected by the governing body, who
would include representatives of:
- parents' organisations representing LSEN;
- disabled people's organisations;
- the disabled community.
3.39 In ordinary schools, it would be appropriate for a
sub-committee of the governing body to be established with similar representation, in
order to care for the interests of learners with special education needs.
3.40 In both special and ordinary schools, the governing
body would serve as the participatory mechanism for planning and monitoring educational
provision, to secure the most enabling environment for learners with special education
needs. Responsibilities suitable to each environment are suggested in the Review Committee
Report. (pp. 55, 60, 91)
3.41 The National Commission on ELSEN will be examining and
reporting on the governance issue, but in the interim the Department of Education will
arrange for the matter of governance to be examined and advice given by the National
Co-ordinating Committee for ELSEN which has been established by the Heads of Education
Departments Committee (HEDCOM).
Governance in independent schools
3.42 Schools in the independent sector have been
established as educational trusts, Section 21 companies not for gain, close corporations,
or under proprietary ownership. They must comply with educational laws and regulations and
register with provincial education departments. Conditions of registration should include
approval of the school constitution, which should include provisions for governance.
The Ministry will support provincial legislation or other
measures to encourage private school owners, directors or trustees to introduce
representative governing body or consultative arrangements in their own schools, where
they have not already done so.
[ Top ]
Summary
4.1 The re-organisation of the school system, and the
establishment of democratic school governing bodies throughout the country, require a
comprehensive programme to build capacity for management and governance, especially at
school and district levels. This would include an inter-school programme for sharing
expertise, the development of provincial capacity-building units, an Education Management
Information System, and a National Education Management Training Institute. The Department
of Education is establishing a task team to prepare a plan for the institute within one
year, and facilitate within three months the development a programme of leadership
training and capacity building for education field staff and school governing bodies, in
co-operation with provincial education departments.
Capacities for management and governance
4.2 The new organisation and governance system, to say
nothing of new funding arrangements, involve a radical decentralisation of management and
governance responsibilities to local schools and communities. It is no exaggeration to say
that decentralisation and democratisation will not succeed--that is, they of education
throughout the system, at national and provincial levels. We need a national sense of
urgency in these matters. The Ministry of Education undertakes to give them the necessary
priority in our consultations in the Council of Education Ministers (CEM), and ensure that
appropriate action is coordinated through the Heads of Education Departments Committee
(HEDCOM).
4.4 Using the Review Committee's terminology,
"capacity" may be defined as the power to act, and "capacity-building"
as empowerment. School management's, school governing bodies and district education
offices must be empowered to implement effectively the new system of democratic management
and governance.
4.5 The provision of basic physical plant, equipment,
materials, and administrative and professional support is an essential pre-condition for
many school communities, especially in rural areas, to provide learning opportunities of
quality and to undertake efficient administration and governance.
4.6 Democratic institutional management makes considerable
demands on school principals and their teachers. Already, many skillfully manage the
contributions of assertive constituencies of teachers, students and parents in a balanced
exercise of leadership and authority. Systematic programmes are needed to develop such
skills more widely. In addition, the new departments of education must ensure that
effective in-service programmes on essential administrative processes like record-keeping,
budgeting, financial control, reporting,' staff selection and the running of meetings are
provided, and that they embody the spirit of the new democratic education policy.
[ Top ]
4.7 New governing bodies, and the constituencies from which
they are elected, will need clear information on their basic powers and functions, the
negotiable powers for which they might be eligible, and the implications of exercising
their governance responsibilities. These include defining and implementing a new school
ethos and policy, including sensitivity to race, gender and LSEN issues, as well as
essential procedural and administrative matters.
4.8 Capacity-building programmes for governing bodies are
needed since large numbers of members will be performing their roles for the first time.
However, such programmes will be able to draw on extensive decision-making and
consultative experience from other contexts which many members will bring to their new
tasks, and on the accumulated knowledge, skills, administrative expertise and resources
for effective governance which many school communities already exhibit. District-level
programmes should enable well-resourced and successful schools, both public and
independent, to share their experience with under-resourced schools whose management and
governance capacities need to be built.
4.9 The Ministry of Education places high value on the role
of district education offices and their officials. They will be in the closest contact
with schools. They will provide professional leadership and support to school principals,
teachers and governing bodies and monitor their development, and identify local priorities
for resourcing. They will facilitate co-operation among schools, co-ordinate the use of
specialist personnel, advisory services, teachers' resource centres, and community
learning centres, and provide an administrative service to district-level consultative
bodies. To perform these diverse roles effectively, district education officials will
themselves need professional knowledge and skills of school management and governance.
4.10 Provincial education departments will need
capacity-building units to identify the priorities and develop and implement the
programmes for district and school management and governance, in close collaboration with
stakeholder bodies, including teachers' and parents' organisations. The Review Committee
recognised the inter-dependence of management development for school principals and
district education officials, and capacity-building for school governing body members. The
proposal for provincial capacity-building units provides the germ of an idea which some
provinces are already developing in different ways. The experience of provincialisation
thus far demonstrates the importance of co-ordination across provinces, in which the
national department can play a facilitating role.
4.11 The management of the new system will require an
Education Management Information System (EMIS) which links all schools to the provincial
education departments, and the provinces to the national department, and generates the
information, including an index of need, on which the norms and allocation decisions on
resources can be based. The necessity of a national EMIS, built collectively by the
national and provincial education departments, was recognised in Education White Paper 1.
The EMIS is being designed as a new information system appropriate to the democratic era,
and for use as an active management tool for performance monitoring and quality
enhancement. The conceptualisation and planning of the new system are being spearheaded by
an EMIS steering committee, whose members are drawn from the national and provincial
departments and several research institutions, with significant international financial
and technical support. The steering committee is also designing the instrument and
procedures to secure data on every school for a national Index of Need. These matters are
considered further in the next chapter.
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4.12 The preparatory work for the establishment of a
National Education Management Training Institute is under way. The Council of Education
Ministers has endorsed the project, to service national, provincial and sub-provincial
management and governance needs. The new institute is intended to become the centrepiece
in a national strategy to raise the quality of leadership in public schools and in the
support services provided to schools by provincial education departments, especially at
district level. It would be a mistake, however, to allow the institute project to deflect
attention from the immediate need for capacity-building for school management's and
governing bodies. Planning for the institute should go hand-in-hand with organising a
national programme of capacity-building in schools. It is conceivable that the institute
could grow out of practical action, rather than the reverse.
4.13 Having sought the advice of the Heads of Education
Departments Committee, the Department of Education is in the process of establishing a
task team and reference group, the former to undertake the planning study for such an
institute on the basis of wide consultation, and the latter to provide guidance and act as
a sounding board for the team.
4.14 The objectives of the task team are:
- To develop a detailed plan and budget for the establishment
of a national institution responsible for education management development (EMD) including
education planning.
- To simultaneously facilitate, in co-operation with
provincial education departments, the planning and delivery of a series of programmatic
activities aimed at improving and delivering the capacity of education managers at
national, provincial, district and school levels and of school governing bodies.
4.15 The terms of reference of the task team are:
- To develop a one-year workplan and budget to cover all the
tasks that arise from the objectives set out above.
- To consult with and actively involve the national and
provincial departments, client groups, providers, stake-holders and the international
community in the process of fulfilling the brief.
- On the basis of an audit of management development needs at
national, provincial, district and school levels, to develop a set of priorities in terms
of the needs to be addressed.
- To conduct, or cause to be conducted, an audit of current
and potential capacity for the delivery of EMD activities in departments of education,
tertiary institutions, NGOs and the private sector.
- On the basis of a set of priorities referred to above, and
in co-operation with provincial departments of education, to facilitate the development
and delivery of a programme of management development activities.
- To examine the international experience, particularly the
experiences of such institutions elsewhere, as well as the latest trends in the delivery
of management development.
- To develop a detailed plan for the establishment of a
national institution, including its mandate, financing, staffing structure, governance,
location etc.
- To prepare workplans, recruiting strategies, budgets, draft
statutes or any such documentation that will be required in order to operationalise the
institution.
- To disseminate information, seek co-operation, and lobby
support, including financial support, for the creation of such an institution.
- To present regular reports to, and seek the advice and
guidance of the Reference Group which will be established for that purpose.
- In fulfilling the above, to conduct or commission research,
engage consultants, contract out work and utilise outside expertise as may be deemed
necessary and affordable.
4.16 The institute will thus be designed to support the
capacity-building programmes of the national and provincial education departments,
focusing particularly on the district and school levels, and thus appropriately the Task
Team's report to the Director-General of Education will be tabled in the Heads of
Education Departments Committee (HEDCOM). The team's final report on the first objective
(paragraph 4.13) will be made no later than the end of 1996. Its proposals on the second
objective will be required within three months, so that the facilitation, with provincial
education departments, of a programme of capacity building for school governing bodies and
education managers at field and head office levels can be begun without delay.
4.17 UNESCO's International Institute for Educational
Planning (IIEP) in Paris has pledged to partner the Department of Education in this
endeavour, making available its renowned professional resources and international network.
The department is also in consultation with several bilateral development co-operation
agencies which have also expressed strong interest in supporting this project and the
capacity-building programme. The task team will be working with the IIEP and these
agencies to ensure that the maximum benefit can be derived from the international
experience in this field.
[ Top ]
Summary
5.1 The Review Committee proposed a new financial system
for public schools based on a partnership between the government and communities, on the
basis that nothing else is affordable under present conditions. In terms of these
proposals, provincial budgets would be restructured to secure fundamental constitutional
requirements and policy objectives. School operating costs would be funded partly by
subsidy, and partly by income-related school fees which would be obligatory for all
parents who could afford them. Poor parents would not pay fees, and no child would be
refused admission to school. The same system would apply in the compulsory and
post-compulsory phases, with a reduced per capita subsidy in the post-compulsory phase.
The system should be reviewed after five years.
5.2 The committee recommended that public special schools
should be financed on essentially the same principles as ordinary schools. However,
priority in funding should be given to reaching the majority of out-of-school learners
with disabilities, and the distinctive costs of education for learners with special
education needs should be recognised in capital, staffing and operating budgets.
5.3 The committee proposed that the practice of providing
subsidies to independent schools should continue, subject to a number of conditions.
5.4 The Ministry of Education has sought advice from
international consultants on the merits of the options presented by the Review Committee.
At the time this document was prepared, their reports were still being studied. The
implications in terms of fiscal and budget policy, as well as for the powers and functions
of governing bodies, are extremely far-reaching. A separate school finance policy document
will thereafter be prepared by the Ministry after public discussion and consultation with
the relevant state departments. The South African Schools Bill and the Ministry's proposed
negotiating position for the Section 247 negotiations, will make provision for the new
school finance policy.
Previous trends and present realities
5.5 The approach to school financing and budget reform
presented in Education White Paper 1 was confirmed by the Review Committee's own analysis.
5.6 The former racially and ethnically organised
departments of education embodied substantial inequalities in per capita spending, the
largest disparities being accounted for by "the skewed distribution of teacher
qualifications, inappropriate linking of salary levels to qualifications, and disparities
in learner:teacher ratios". Taken together with the inequitable distribution of
education facilities and learning resources, these disparities have resulted in both
unequal access to education and unequal learning outcomes. Spending disparities reflect
the racial hierarchy of the old dispensation. (Review Committee Report, pp. 63-64)
[ Top ]
5.7 The committee identified four dimensions of reform as
the cornerstones of government's education budget policy and the basis of its own
proposals for transforming school financing: measures to address "the central
question of equity", to reduce unit costs and raise productivity levels, to redesign
the inherited unsystematic pattern of user charges while meeting the commitment to free
and compulsory education, and to establish new funding partnerships for educational
development. (pp. 64-65)
5.8 After analysing budget allocations for education from
1988/89 to 1995/96, the committee concluded that the public funds allocated in recent
years were inadequate to meet the government's development goals. While South Africa's
budgetary allocation for education is relatively high by international standards, the
historic concentration of resources on a minority of the population has left the country
"without the depth of human resource availability which would otherwise be
expected". Even if efficiency savings are significant, without a substantial real
increase in budgetary provision, estimated by the committee at five per cent per annum
over the next five years, the requirements of restructuring, qualitative improvement,
reducing construction backlogs, enrolling out-of-school learners, and absorbing net growth
in the school-age population, will not be met. (pp. 65-67)
5.9 The committee concluded that even if the economy were
able to support substantial real growth in the education budget, the "optimum
affordable level" of per capita expenditure would be somewhere between the current
levels in the former Department of Education and Training schools and those in the former
House of Representatives schools. This would represent serious reductions in the better
resourced parts of the system, and "modest to substantial increases for the vast
majority of learners in schools". Arguably, a shift of this kind is required by the
constitutional imperatives of equity and redress. (p. 67)
5.10 Since the current budgetary trend represents virtually
no real year-on-year growth in education spending, the committee's conclusion emphasises
the extremely difficult funding choices which the national and provincial departments of
education must continue to confront. Given the imperative necessity to redress past
educational neglect, to make provision for the annually increasing growth of student
numbers, especially in urban and peri-urban areas, to make appropriate investments in
educational productivity, through the upgrading of teachers, the supply of teaching and
learning resources, and the diversification of educational programmes (to attend to early
childhood learning needs, special education needs, adult basic education and training, and
community colleges, to name only a few), the Ministry of Education regards the current
trend in budgetary allocations with dismay.
[ Top ]
The Review Committee's three options for reforming school
financing
5.11 The committee presented three broad approaches to
reforming school financing, all of which assume the new structure of school organisation
and governance. The committee emphasised that the elements of the three options could be
recombined in various ways.
5.12 Option One: the minimalist-gradualist approach. In
terms of this option, most of the present varieties of school types would continue, under
the broad title of public schools. A school model closely resembling the current Model C
would be retained, with some governance powers reduced. Schools from other ex-departments
would be encouraged to adopt the same features as this type of school, including a
juristic personality and the authority to levy and enforce compulsory fees. Nevertheless,
a commitment to equity would require the equalisation of staff provision scales across all
school types, possibly over a five year period, and the redistribution of all
non-personnel expenditure, either on an equal or an affirmative action basis. All schools
would be entitled to raise additional school development funds. (pp. 68-69)
5.13 The Review Committee's appraisal of Option One was
that this approach would not redistribute resources sufficiently to make a tangible
difference to the majority of under-resourced schools, which would be "further
ghetto-ised" in an unequal, bi-polar system. Access to free and compulsory schooling
would be available only in the poorest, low quality schools. The committee is therefore
convinced that this approach "will not deliver enough change, rapidly enough, to meet
the government's policy objectives". (pp. 77-78, 82)
5.14 Option Two: the equitable school-based formula
approach. This approach lays heavy emphasis on equity and redress, and is directed to
raising quality and efficiency in the poorest schools. The fundamental objective is per
capita equity in the allocation of resources, in order to enable the government to meet
its constitutional obligation to ensure a minimum quality, basic education for all
learners. The starting point is to develop a formula to determine funding for each school,
based on a calculation of what gross per capita budgetary allocation can be afforded in
the compulsory school phase. The formula would be based on the school enrolment, weighted
for redress and affirmative action factors (such as school location, LSEN, and parental
income), as well as policy incentives (for instance, to increase the number of girls in
science streams). The formula would need to be phased in over four to five years, so as to
avoid severe disruption in well-resourced schools. If the education budget remains
relatively constant in real terms, the per capita allocation per school would stabilise
somewhere between current levels in former DET schools, and those in former House of
Representatives schools. This is the "optimum affordable level" referred to in
paragraph 5.9 above. All schools would be encouraged to raise voluntary school development
funds. No compulsory fees would be permitted. (pp. 69-71)
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5.15 The Review Committee's appraisal of Option Two was
that it is equitable and transparent, permits adjustments to local circumstances and to
variations in budgetary allocations, and fulfils the constitutional requirements on school
financing. The main disadvantages are that it requires an effective management information
system, a school index of need based on agreed indicators, and the skills of financial
planning and management to apply them. In the committee's view, this is therefore a
long-term option, but it should remain the objective of budgetary reform. The rapid
phasing in of equal staff provision scales and non-personnel costs, and "resolute
steps" toward reducing the disparity in average personnel costs, could be undertaken
while the information system, index of need and capacity-building programmes were being
prepared and implemented. These steps would also be required by Option Three. (pp. 78,
83-83)
5.16 Option Three: the partnership funding approach. This
approach seeks to balance the principles of equity, redress, quality and efficiency within
a framework for partnership funding between government and communities. It is based on a
recognition that the provision of quality education for all at no direct cost to parents
and communities is not affordable in terms of current or anticipated budgetary allocations
to education. The problem is particularly acute during the transition from the old
apartheid system, when the phasing in of equitable allocations and the additional costs of
the redress agenda must be addressed simultaneously.
5.17 Provincial budgets for schools would be re-structured
to secure the following components:
- Capital: an allocation to each province on the basis of an
index of need;
- Redress: an allocation to each province for an Education
Redress Fund, which would channel resources for reconstruction and quality improvement to
disadvantaged schools, and leverage additional funds from other sources;
- Core: funds for core services such as administration,
quality assurance and monitoring, teacher support, and planning;
- Salaries: for support staff, and for teachers (based on the
provincially-negotiated standard staff provision scale, within national norms);
- Operating costs: funds to pay for enrolment-driven operating
costs (like textbooks, stationery and teaching materials), and costs which can be
calculated on an enrolment-linked formula (like maintenance, electricity and water
costs)-.
5.18 The committee recognised the need to mobilise
additional resources for item (5), operating costs, to supplement the budgetary
allocation, which is assumed to be relatively static in real terms. Assuming that the
government would not agree to levy an additional tax earmarked for education, the
committee favours legally obligatory fees payable by all parents who can afford them.
Parents would be required to disclose the income bracket within which their income fell.
Fees would be payable on an income-related sliding scale, with those at the lower end
paying nothing. The provincial department's contribution to operating costs would be in
inverse relation to the assessed fee income from parents. The fee scale would be set by
the governing body of each school in relation to the assessed income of the parents,
subject to an upper limit fixed by the department. Schools with special circumstances
could apply for a higher fee limit. All schools would have the right to raise additional
funds through voluntary contributions or other means.
[ Top ]
5.19 The Review Committee's appraisal of Option Three was
that it seemed to offer the most advantages as a strategy for financing schools during the
transition from the past to the future system of organisation and governance. The
committee examined the criticism that this approach would compromise the commitment to
free and compulsory schooling. On the basis that the fundamental objective of free and
compulsory education is to ensure that no child is denied access to a minimum quality
basic education, simply because of an inability to pay, the committee concluded that
"this option will in fact ensure that free and compulsory education is available to
all who require it", and that children of poorer families would have access to
education in a range of public schools, not only lower quality, fee-free schools.
5.20 In the committee's view, the main disadvantages of
this approach would be administrative, because of the complexity of assessing family
incomes, determining fee structures, and managing a more flexible and creative provincial
planning and budgeting system. The committee believes these would not prove to be
insurmountable obstacles.
5.21 The committee therefore recommended that:
- the partnership funding approach be adopted and implemented;
- the developmental work on information systems, the school
index of need, and capacity-building initiatives be commenced simultaneously;
- the entire system be reviewed after five years, to gauge the
feasibility of introducing an equitable funding formula; and
- regardless of which option is adopted, serious consideration
be given to providing subsidies for transport and accommodation of rural learners,
especially farm workers' children, to enable them to exercise their right to basic
education. (pp. 71-79, 83)
Comment and a fourth option
5.22 The Ministry of Education has high appreciation for
the committee's work on the development of the options, within the framework of an
envisaged new, unitary system of school organisation and funding, which has lifted the
policy debate on school financing to a new level. A drawback of the presentation is that
the committee did not have the time to undertake detailed cost analyses of the
implications of each option, for the budget, individual schools, or parents. The committee
makes it clear, for instance, that realistic estimates of possible fee levels can only be
made on the basis of known national funding norms, estimates of provincial resources,
school costs and personal income. Such information is not yet available.
5.23 The committee's options assume, for purposes of
analysis, a relatively complex level of policy influence and allocative control, by the
national level of government, of the budgetary allocations for education in the provinces.
It is far from certain that such assumptions will turn out to be justified. Future
inter-governmental budgetary relationships and the advisory role of the Financial and
Fiscal Commission (FFC) are still far from clear, more especially relationships between
national line departments and their provincial counterparts in planning a budgetary
strategy which is directed to the transformation of a strategically important national
sector such as education. The Review Committee had completed its report before the FFC
published its framework document.
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5.24 The Department of Education's economic consultants
(Professors Christopher Colclough of the Institute of Development Studies, University of
Sussex, and Luis Crouch, of the Research Triangle Institute, North Carolina) have
meanwhile examined the Review Committee's options and proposed a fourth option for
consideration. Their analysis favours a variation on Option Two from among the Review
Committee's proposals. The committee's version of Option Two would, in their view, have a
fatal consequence. In the consultants' view, over the five year period during which
budgetary allocations to schools are re-organised in favour of equity and redress, the
decline in public funding for the previously privileged schools would propel middle-class
parents out of the public school sector and into the independent school sector. Among
those departing would be many opinion-formers and decision-makers whose influence in
favour of sustained or enhanced public funding for public education would consequently
tend to diminish. This inference is based on observation of international trends in other
transitional economies.
5.25 The consultants argue that it is bad politics for the
public education system to permit a situation to arise where the independent sector grows
in attraction and through the adherence of the middle class parents. This tendency would
result in depriving the public school sector of the financial, managerial and persuasive
capacities of an increasing proportion of the better-educated and better-off segment of
the population, regardless of race. The remedy, according to the consultants, would be to
find an acceptable means of enabling school communities to raise sufficient resources to
maintain school quality at levels acceptable to the parents who would otherwise drift
away. This argument does not centre on the desire to do favours to the better off, but on
a recognition that the commitment of the middle class to public school education is a
pre-requisite for maintaining adequate levels of both public and private investment in
public education for the benefit of all the population, especially the poor who have
neither financial means nor influence to improve the condition of their children's
schools.
5.26 The consultants propose a fourth option. This begins
with allowing governing bodies to decide on targets for raising revenue, to finance
expenditure beyond what would be afforded from the provincial education department's
allocation. They would be empowered to raise fees and/or voluntary contributions from
parents at levels determined by themselves in the light of their collective income
resources, the needs of their school and their expenditure targets. Once determined by the
governing body through a collective process, the fees would be compulsory, and defaulting
parents could be sued for payment. However, a national income threshold should be
established below which no parent could be compelled to pay. A governing body could decide
to devise a progressive scale of fees beyond the threshold income. No child would be
excluded from school on grounds of a parents' default. Governing bodies would not be
compelled to charge fees. The level of fees would not be prescribed. These matters would
be determined by the governing body in relation to the quality of education they wished
the school to provide (and their own collective financial capacity).
5.27 This brief summary does not do justice to the
consultants' proposal, nor to their awareness of some of its problems. The Ministry of
Education recognises it as a serious option based on a thought-provoking analysis, which
must be interrogated and discussed as widely as possible.
[ Top ]
The Ministry of Education's position
5.28 The constitutional, legal, financial, political and
administrative implications of new policy options for school finance are still being
analysed and will need to be extensively discussed before a clear proposal can be put to
Cabinet. The Department of Education has engaged specialist advisors to assist it in the
process of clarifying the financing options. Detailed technical discussions on all aspects
of education finance policy are being undertaken with the Department of Finance and other
state departments and agencies.
5.29 The 1996/97 budget estimates for education continue
the progressive shift toward equitable allocations, take into account the newly-negotiated
learner-educator ratio guidelines, and include an element of earmarked funding for
redress. However, there is no possibility of incorporating the full implications of a new
government policy on school finance into the budget which will be presented to Parliament
in April 1996. The 1997/98 budget is therefore the earliest in which the new policy could
be fully incorporated. Special arrangements will need to be considered in order to
implement the new funding policy from the beginning of the school year in January 1997.
5.30 A new policy for school finance which alters the
powers, rights and functions of school governing bodies must be negotiated with them in
terms of section 247 of the Constitution, and reasonable notice of such alterations must
be given. The new finance policy, or relevant parts thereof, must be part of the
government's negotiating position. The negotiations themselves will occur between April
and June 1996.
5.31 Thereafter, the South African Schools Bill and such
provincial legislation to bring about the new system of school organisation and governance
as may be required, must precede the full implementation of a new school finance system.
The South African Schools Bill will reach Parliament in mid-1996. Provincial legislation
is expected to follow in the second part of 1996. The earliest date for implementing a new
national school finance policy, in terms of norms and standards set by the Minister of
Education, would be January 1997.
5.32 Meanwhile, progress has been made on three important
measures relating to school finance which were announced in Education White Paper 1 and
endorsed by the Review Committee.
5.33 A single learner-educator ratio. A single ratio on
which provincial staff provision scales can be based must underlie an equitable school
financing system. On 29 September 1995, the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC)
signed an agreement on guideline learner-educator ratios of 40:1 in ordinary primary
schools and 35:1 in ordinary secondary schools. These ratios do not stipulate exact class
sizes, but provide parameters within which each provincial bargaining chamber will
negotiate staff provisioning scales for its schools. This is a major step towards equity
in the provision of educators to all schools. Separate agreements will be negotiated for
other institutions including special schools and technical schools.
[ Top ]
5.34 An Education Management Information System (EMIS). In
June 1995 a steering committee was established by the Department of Education to oversee
the development of an EMIS. The committee comprises representatives of the national and
provincial departments of education, the organised teaching profession, and a number of
NGO and academic research units. The committee has undertaken an international
investigation and is consulting international specialists in EMIS. A fully integrated and
effective system will take two to three years to become fully operational, but the first
phase will be implemented in 1996. By providing information to all ten departments of
education, the new EMIS will support budgetary and personnel planning for 1996/97.
5.35 A School Index of Needs. The index is required as a
planning tool for departments of education. It will be compiled on the basis of a census
of all 29,000 schools in the country, and will supplement the data gathered for the EMIS.
The fieldwork task is immense. A tender to undertake the investigation was awarded in
January 1996 to a consortium comprising the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the
Education Foundation, and the Research Institute for Educational Planning (RIEP) at the
University of the Orange Free State. The construction of the national data base and
provisional analysis of needs is targeted for late June 1996. The index will enable
provincial departments, their regional and district offices, and school communities, to
make more informed and equitable decisions about financial allocations to schools, for
expenditure on redress and quality improvement.
Financing the post-compulsory school sector
5.36 The Review Committee's proposals for the senior
secondary sector are based on the government's policy as outlined in Education White Paper
1, and are not intended to pre-empt the work of the proposed enquiry into Further
Education. The proposals strongly support government subsidies to post-compulsory
education, especially for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, so that a significant
proportion of the age group is able to proceed to the matriculation level and above. The
fact that the majority of secondary schools (and secondary school teachers) cover both the
compulsory and post-compulsory phases argues for a common funding mechanism for both
phases.
5.37 The committee therefore recommends their Option Three
(described in paragraphs 5.16-5.20 above) for the post-compulsory phase as well. The
government subsidy to fund the basic requirements of all learners in post-compulsory
education in each school, would cover the following items:
- personnel costs based on equal provision scales;
- capital expenditure;
- a redress and development fund;
- departmental core costs;
- some operating costs in inverse ratio to the income raised
from obligatory fees.
The overall per capita subsidy to the post-compulsory phase
would be "substantially less" than the corresponding subsidy in the compulsory
phase.
[ Top ]
5.38 Schools would charge compulsory fees on a sliding
scale based on family income, in order to fund operating costs "as well as other
items of expenditure". Any additional costs would need to be funded through voluntary
contributions, fund-raising activities or business sponsorships. (pp. 79-80)
5.39 The Ministry of Education's response is deferred for
the reasons given in paragraph 5.28 above.
Financing schools for the education of learners with
special education needs (ELSEN)
5.40 The Review Committee proposed that all schools for
LSEN, except private schools, should become public special schools. The committee
acknowledged that new policy for ELSEN would be recommended by the forthcoming national
commission, but two principles should guide financing decisions in the mean time. Firstly,
priority should be given to redress funding for the majority of LSEN who are not in
school. Secondly, since special education needs cover a wide spectrum of need ranging from
low to high, there must be a continuum of placement options for LSEN related to available
resources and infrastructure. Financing decisions must therefore support a continuum of
provision, including infrastructure, from mainstream schools to separate schools for LSEN.
5.41 The committee recommended that the distinctive costs
of ELSEN should be recognised in capital, staffing and operating budgets, and it made
several specific proposals:
Capital
- Within any cluster ofWithin any cluster of mainstream
schools, one school should be targeted for the placement of learners with specific
disabilities, and in such schools the physical structure would have to be modified and
upgraded to improve accessibility and safety for LSEN.
- Within any cluster ofSeparate schools for LSEN should be
comprehensive and equipped for students with a wide diversity of need.
Staffing
- A single staff provision scale should be phased in over five
years.
- The inherited differences in levels of qualification of
educators serving different parts of the ELSEN system must be addressed.
Operating
- The system of obligatory fees on an income-related sliding
scale (summarised at paragraph 5.17 above), with zero-rating for the poor, should apply to
parents of LSEN as to all other parents.
- Schools should be encouraged to raise funds from sponsoring
bodies, business sources, and their own efforts, in order to supplement the government
provision and fee revenue.
- Transport provision, which is one of the costliest items for
schools serving LSEN, should be rationalised at the district and local level.
- Inter-departmental collaboration between Education, Health,
Welfare and Transport should be promoted as an aid to achieve efficient provision of
services. (pp. 80-81)
[ Top ]
5.42 The National Commission on Education and Training for
Learners with Special Education Needs will be enquiring more systematically into the
matters reported here. Meanwhile, the Ministry recognises that the committee investigated
the ELSEN sector in accordance with its terms of reference, and received specialist advice
from among its own number and from the ELSEN constituency. The Ministry welcomes the
emphasis given to these matters in the report, and endorses the objectives of redress and
equity which are served by its recommendations, as well as the principles summarised at
paragraph 5.41 above.
5.43 The committee's recommendations relating to capital
costs involve significant policy decisions. These are deferred pending further advice.
5.44 The recommendations on staffing costs are in line with
the government's policy and agreements have since been reached in the Education Labour
Relations Council.
5.45 The recommendations on operating costs are supported,
with the proviso that no decision has yet been taken on the question of obligatory fees.
5.46 The Department of Education will refer the committee's
recommendations to HEDCOM's National Co-ordinating Committee on ELSEN, to advise on which
recommendations ought to be endorsed and taken up for implementation by the departments of
education in advance of the national commission's report.
Financing education in independent schools
5.47 It is beyond question that many independent schools
make an important contribution to the education of their clienteles and undertake
significant development work in curriculum and outreach, that independent school
clienteles vary from very poor to very rich, that many independent schools embraced a
nonracial enrolment policy well before it was officially approved, and have made
imaginative adaptations to the new non-racial and democratic order.
5.48 It is also beyond question that many current private
school operators are unscrupulous and exploitative, and that the field needs to be
rigorously regulated.
5.49 The right of persons to establish independent schools
is internationally recognised and is no doubt constitutionally protected, subject to
generally applicable limitations which are imposed by law and which are consistent with
the spirit of a democratic society. There is no constitutional obligation on the
government to support independent schools from public funds. A decision to do so (or to
continue to do so) is a matter of policy.
5.50 Approximately one per cent of total education
expenditure from public funds is spent on subsidies to independent schools, which enrol
less than two per cent of all school students. Since independent school provision may
represent savings to the government, and since the total independent school subsidy is so
small, the Ministry of Education is of the view that:
- the practice of providing subsidies to registered
independent schools should continue;
- the per capita subsidy should not exceed per capita spending
on public school students;
- serious consideration be given to a single level of subsidy,
based on a clear and transparent formula (for example: enrolments divided by
learner-teacher ratios of 1:40 and 1:35 for primary and secondary schools respectively,
multiplied by an average educator's remuneration package, or part thereof);
- only private schools maintaining satisfactory scholastic
standards be subsidised;
- the conditions of subsidy should enable provincial education
departments to ensure minimum standards of professional competence, health and safety, and
proper pedagogical practice, and should specify grounds which would disqualify a school
from receiving a subsidy, such as unfair discrimination in admissions or staffing, or
teaching which opposed the fundamental rights upheld by the Constitution.
5.51 These views will be examined in relation to the
broader analysis of school finance policy which is currently under way, and further
reflections on subsidy policy for the independent school sector may be included in the
resulting policy document.
[ Top ]
Summary
6.1 The implementation of the new school organisation and
governance system will require legislation at national and provincial levels. The Ministry
of Education is preparing a South African Schools Act for this purpose, for tabling during
the 1996 parliamentary session. The new Bill, together with the Ministry's policy document
on school finance, and a document setting out the Ministry's negotiating position, will be
published in advance of the negotiations required in terms of section 247 of the
Constitution. These negotiations will comprise the issuing of a proposal by the Ministry
to public school governing bodies, the opportunity for governing bodies to reply, and a
series of meetings which will be conducted on behalf of the Ministry in order to afford
governing bodies an opportunity to state their views orally
The context
6.2 The transformation of the South African public school
system, in which the work of the Review Committee has played a leading part, is taking
place within the context of the transition era in South African politics. The emergence
throughout the society of practices of negotiation and stakeholder participation, in order
to democratise the institutions of governance and the provision of public services, is one
of the most remarkable trends of this era. The 1993 Constitution has been a symbol of the
politics of negotiation. It both entrenches rights and prescribes practices which ensure
that South Africans will continue to negotiate the construction of the new pattern of
public life. In Education White Paper 1, the Ministry of Education emphasises repeatedly
its commitment to achieving transformation in education through processes of public
inquiry and principled consensus-building.
6.3 The task of implementing the new school organisational
structure and governance system is therefore embedded within the national and provincial
governments' constitutional and legal obligations, as well as the country's new political
culture and national education policy. It is indisputable that the change to the future
system of school governance must be negotiated. But its new direction and moral basis are
already decided, both in the Constitution and in the government's policy. Even in the
context of a Government of National Unity and the new culture of negotiation, some matters
are non-negotiable. It has been well said, for instance, that between apartheid and
democracy there can be no compromise. This Ministry will not negotiate to protect a
historical legacy of unjust privilege in the schools.
6.4 It is appropriate to cite the chapter on "School
Ownership, Governance and Finance" in Education White Paper 1:
"In creating a Constitution based on democracy, equal
citizenship and the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms, South Africans
have created a completely new basis for state policy towards the provision of schooling in
the future. Unavoidably, because inequality is so deep-rooted in our educational history,
a new policy for school provision must be a policy for increasing access and retention of
Black students, achieving equity in public funding, eliminating illegal discrimination,
creating democratic governance, rehabilitating schools and raising the quality of
performance....
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"The issue is not whether the organisation, governance
and funding of the education system will change. Change is inevitable and cannot be
delayed. The issue is whether a new and just dispensation in the schools will be brought
about in the new South African way, by negotiating peacefully, according to the spirit and
letter of the Constitution, in the service of both national unity and cultural diversity.
"For its part, the Ministry of Education is convinced
that peace in the schools is a prerequisite for democratic transformation in education.
All the educational goals and programmes of the government depend upon achieving and
maintaining a disciplined and purposeful school environment, dedicated to the improvement
of quality throughout the system. The Ministry of Education is therefore committed to an
inclusive process of negotiated change toward the full democratisation of school
organisation and governance ...... (Education White Paper 1, pp. 67, 69)
6.5 Taking into account all the processes of consultation
and participation on the issue of schools organisation which have occurred since May 1994,
associated with the development of Education White Paper 1, the work of the Review
Committee, the publication of its report, and the preparation of Education White Paper 2,
it is time to announce closure on the main conceptual and structural issues. Cabinet's
approval of this document is a milestone in the transformation of the organisation and
governance of schools, with many more to come.
National and provincial legislative responsibilities
6.6 Detailed macro-planning work to assess the financial,
legislative, logistical and other implications, has been under way for some months.
Frequent workshops and consultations between the political and administrative heads of
education in the national and provincial governments are helping to improve mutual
understanding between the national and provincial ministries and departments of education
on the respective roles of each level of government in legislating for and implementing
change.
6.7 Because education (except for universities and
technikons) is a concurrent function of both the national and provincial legislatures and
governments, it cannot be expected that decisions will be taken in perfect harmony and
with perfect synchronisation between the national and provincial levels, or among the
respective provinces. The Council of Education Ministers and the Heads of Education
Departments Committee are the two invaluable formal structures within which mutual
interests are continuously reviewed and, as far as possible, actions are coordinated.
Provincial ministries also maintain active channels of communication among themselves. No
doubt it would have been desirable if the provinces had been able to address their
responsibilities from the outset within an agreed national legislative framework for
school transformation and at more or less the same time, but given the complexities of the
transition process and the different circumstances among provinces, and between the
national and provincial spheres, it is hardly surprising that this has not happened.
[ Top ]
6.8 In the event, the timing of the enactment of the
provinces' first round of educational legislation has varied considerably. Several
provinces have enacted schools legislation in order to provide an appropriate and
legitimate working basis for their completely new non-racial and democratic administrative
and professional environments. Meanwhile, the national Ministry of Education, which has
the responsibility to direct the educational agenda of the country as a whole, has moved
as rapidly as possible through the processes of investigation, consultation and policy
formulation, and is now preparing the draft South African Schools Bill.
6.9 The different legislative rhythms of the national and
provincial levels, and possible or actual differences among national and provincial laws,
are not in themselves problematic. They are the inevitable outcome of our constitutional
arrangements and in particular the concurrent legislative powers of Parliament and the
provincial legislatures. The authors of the Constitution anticipated that both Parliament
and provincial legislatures would be enacting legislation on a matter, such as education,
in which each had competence. The Constitution provides that such laws should co-exist and
be regarded as compatible with one another, unless and only to the extent that, they are
definitely inconsistent. It is only if there is an "express" or definite
inconsistency between a provincial law and an Act of Parliament that the question would
arise as to which law (or part of a law) should prevail in the province in question. The
provincial law would prevail unless the Parliamentary Act met one or more of the criteria
provided by the Constitution in section 126(3). Irrespective of the "override"
criteria in the Constitution, a provincial government might decide quite voluntarily, in
the interest of education in its province, to bring a provincial education law in line
with the national law.
6.10 The Ministry of Education has been advised that the
implementation of the new school organisation, governance and funding system will require
an Act of Parliament. It is the intention of the Ministry to publish the draft South
African Schools Bill for public comment, and to undertake the consultations envisaged in
section 6 of the National Education Policy Bill, 1995, with the Council of Education
Ministers and the organised teaching profession. The Ministry will work for the highest
possible level of agreement on the Bill between itself and the provincial Ministers, since
the Bill will be designed to establish the pattern for the progressive re-organisation of
the school system and the democratisation of school governance throughout the country, in
line with this white paper.
6.11 The constitutionality of disputed provisions of the
Gauteng School Education Bill, 1995 (now enacted, with the exception of the disputed
sections) and the National Education Policy Bill, 1995, will be decided by the
Constitutional Court in cases set down for 29 February and 7 March 1996, respectively. The
court's findings will clarify important aspects of constitutional interpretation which are
bound to have a bearing on the national and provincial legislation which will be needed to
bring the new system of school organisation into effect.
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6.12 It is highly desirable for the Ministry of Education
and the provincial MECs for Education to achieve a common mind on the nature of the
legislative responsibility of each level of government, the objectives and contents of the
South African Schools Act, and the sequence and timing of activities which must ensue in
order to bring the common system of school organisation and governance into effect
starting in January 1997. This issue has the highest priority for the Ministry.
Schedule of events
6.13 With the adoption of this white paper by Cabinet,
three linked processes will be accelerated. They are, the completion of the Ministry's
school finance policy document, the draft South African Schools Bill, and the Ministry's
negotiating position, which will set out the alterations it proposes to make in the
rights, powers and functions of public school governing bodies. All three processes will
be subjected to public scrutiny and consultation before final adoption.
6.14 The Ministry of Education intends to table the South
African Schools Bill in Parliament during the 1996 session, preferably by the end of June.
This goal sets the pace for all three processes, since they are linked to one another. The
Ministry intends to seek Cabinet's approval for all three documents before the end of
March 1996, or as soon thereafter as possible.
6.15 The publication of the three documents in early April
1996 will enable the process of formal negotiations on school governance to commence, as
contemplated in section 247 of the Constitution. The negotiations are scheduled to
conclude by late June 1996. Thereafter, the South African Schools Bill will be tabled in
Parliament, together with whatever amendments are required as a result of the
negotiations.
6.16 The Ministry of Education will encourage provincial
ministers to prepare whatever legislation may be required for passage in their provincial
legislatures before the end of 1996, in order to implement the new framework of school
organisation, governance and funding starting in 1997.
Section 247 negotiations
6.17 On the advice of its legal panel, the Ministry of
Education intends to undertake the process of negotiating its proposals for school
governance in the following manner, ensuring at all times that its intentions and its
processes are open, fully disclosed to all school governing bodies, and in every other
respect bona fide.
- A formulation of the new policy and its effect upon the
rights, powers and functions of the existing public school governing bodies referred to in
section 247 of the Constitution, accompanied by a copy of the draft South African Schools
Bill, will be made available to all such bodies by the Department of Education in early
April 1996. The department will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the governing
bodies are informed about the contents of the policy and the draft Bill in a manner which
enables those which wish to enter into negotiations to do so meaningfully.
- The provision of these documents will be accompanied by an
invitation to submit written comments, should they so wish, by a stipulated date. In
making their submissions, governing bodies will be asked to indicate whether they wish to
be given an opportunity to make further oral representations to the Minister or his
representatives.
- Meetings will be held at previously-announced venues around
the country, so that governing bodies which made submissions and requested an oral hearing
will have the opportunity to expand upon their submissions and engage in debate with
representatives of the Minister. This step in the process is expected to be concluded by
late June 1996 at the latest.
6.18 Thereafter, the South African Schools Bill will be
revised, taking into account all relevant matters raised by the respondents, and normal
legislative procedure will be followed.
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School ownership
6.19 The issue of school ownership is among the most
complex of the legacies of the previous system of school organisation. It has also
generated and continues to generate high emotions. Clear policy decisions are now required
in order to bring closure to the issue as far as the government's intentions and line of
action are concerned.
6.20 The committee advised as follows:
"The [committee's) new governance proposals provide
for public ownership of school land, fixed assets and state-provided movable assets in
case of former Model C schools and former farm schools. Where this requires transfer of
these assets to the state, this can best be achieved through a process of negotiation
which will provide for agreement on practical arrangements regarding timing and
compensation (where applicable).
"Any movable assets which were-acquired using school
funds or private donations would remain the property of the school. "In the case of
privately-owned former state-aided schools or former community schools [but see paragraph
6.31 below], this ownership of private assets may remain with the community or church or
mine, but arrangements will be made to secure the state's interests with regard to the
land and premises.
"The process of transferring assets to public
ownership will vary significantly from one context to another. The argument for public
ownership of assets in public schools is premised on the position that if the state is to
meet its constitutional obligations with regard to educational provision, and its legal
obligation of protecting the public interest with regard to public assets, it must ensure
that there is some guarantee of continuity in educational provision, and that expenditure
of state resources on land, buildings and infrastructure is a secure investment in the
public interest." (Review Committee Report, p. 87)
6.21 The Ministry of Education agrees with the committee's
argument and the main lines of its proposals. The Minister's legal panel has now made a
thorough study of the matter and has delivered clear advice, on which the following
positions are based.
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Model C schools
6.22 The system of schools known as Model C schools was
introduced under the It own affairs" dispensation of the previous government, in
terms of the Education Affairs Act (House of Assembly) (No. 70 of 1988). Part of the Model
C arrangements included the recognition of the schools as legal personae and the transfer
of ownership from the state to the schools concerned, subject to certain conditions. The
schools were converted from state to state-aided, with the education department concerned
being responsible for the salaries of teachers (but not their employment, since governing
bodies became the employers), and the governing bodies being responsible for the raising
of all other recurrent costs, through mandatory fee charges or other means. It is common
cause that the former House of Assembly schools had been favoured for decades with by far
the largest per capita budgetary allocations of any of the country's racially and
ethnically-divided school systems, and that by and large their school plant and facilities
had been generously endowed out of public funds.
6.23 The precise reasons for the introduction of this
variety of school in the early 1990s (after the country had begun its decisive transition
to democracy and equal rights), by the education authorities of the former House of
Assembly, do not concern us now and may safely be left for future historians to elucidate.
However, the practical effect of the adoption of this model by the overwhelming majority
of state schools falling under that body is a crucial matter of public concern. The
practical effect is that the introduction of the Model C system ensured a perpetuation of
substantial advantages and privileges to the community whose children were served by these
schools. The provision of state aid to a semi-privatised school system served to entrench
existing privileges and retain the best schools, the best facilities and the most highly
qualified teaching staff in the interest of those who had historically been most
advantaged by the policy and practise of racial preference in this country. This is
notwithstanding the fact that the colour bar had been officially lifted from the rules of
admission under which the schools operated, and that many Model C schools have since
successfully implemented non-racial admissions policies.
6.24 The Constitution forbids unfair discrimination and
guarantees equality. The Ministry of Education i's progressively eliminating the
structural inequalities in the budget process and staff provisioning scales, the latter by
agreement in the Education Labour Relations Council. In terms of this document, and the
further steps it outlines, the categories of state and state-aided school inherited from
the past will be eliminated, in order to convey the powerful message that schools in the
public sector are the joint inheritance of all the people of this democratic society, and
must be managed wisely and justly in their interests, within the guarantees and
protections of the Constitution and according to the laws of our democratically-elected
legislatures. All public schools will be governed by representative governing bodies with
substantial powers and responsibilities for the good conduct of their schools. Under such
circumstances, in the Ministry's considered view, it is impossible to eliminate the other
discriminatory features of the former Model C system while retaining its distinct system
of property ownership.
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6.25 It is therefore the Ministry of Education's policy to
ensure that the property which was transferred in the past from the state to the legal
personae of these schools is re-transferred to the state. The Ministry is advised that, in
law, this step will amount to expropriation and will need to be undertaken in terms of the
law governing expropriation. However, the Ministry is further advised that the government
would not be required to pay compensation, considering the history of its initial transfer
from the state and the interests of those affected by the re-transfer to the state.
Section 28(3) of the Constitution states:
"Where any rights in property are expropriated
pursuant to a law ... such expropriation shall be permissible for public purposes only and
shall be subject to the payment of agreed compensation or, failing agreement, to the
payment of such compensation and within such period as may be determined by a court of law
as just and equitable, taking into account all relevant factors, including, in the case of
the determination of compensation, the use to which the property is being put, the history
of its acquisition, its market value, the value of the investments in it by those affected
and the interests of those affected."
The land which was granted to these schools with the
specific purpose of conducting a school thereupon, will be retransferred to the state
subject to the same condition.
6.26 The question of property which may have been donated
or bequeathed to former Model C schools or received in trust by them subject to specific
conditions will need to be considered on a case by case basis.
6.27 These matters will be provided for in the South
African Schools Bill.
Farm schools
6.28 On the matter of farm schools, the Review Committee
advised as follows:
"The situation of public schools on private farms
represents a special case. All submissions to the Committee indicated that the farm school
system, which had been part of the Verwoerdian ideal of 'a school on every farm', has
outlived its usefulness even for those parties who had benefited from it in the past. If
South Africa is to develop an internationally competitive agricultural production
capacity, it must create a supportive education system to ensure that learners who wish to
follow an agricultural career have the requisite education and skills to meet these
demands. The current system, with its high drop-out rate, the critically limited provision
at secondary level and the lack of resources to implement an appropriate curriculum cannot
meet such demands. Farmers and workers alike recognise this imperative.
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"The under-provision of education facilities in rural
areas, and the fragmentation of facilities resulting from the different policies followed
by former departments, indicate that education provision must be integrated and
rationalised at district level in order to optimise resources. In addition, it is
particularly important in rural areas for the development of the education system to be
integrated into the development strategy in the region. Moreover, administering thousands
of schools with very small enrolments and multi-level classes presents a logistical
nightmare for the state which now has a constitutional responsibility to provide for the
education needs of all children.
"On the basis of these factors, the Committee took the
view that it would be preferable for arrangements to be made to effect the transfer of the
land and assets of farm schools to the state." (Review Committee Report, pp. 88-89)
6.29 The Ministry of Education is in agreement. The legal
panel has studied this matter. The Ministry is advised that whatever contracts are in
force between the previous departments of education and the owners of the land upon which
farm schools have been erected, should remain in force for the time being. It is essential
for the continuity of education services at farm schools not be interrupted while the
reform of this sector of the school system is under way. Contracts also affect the value
of the land and the premises which have been devoted by the farmer for the purposes of the
farm school.
6.30 In order to guarantee the control, access to and use
of farm schools for educational purposes, for the benefit of the community at large, the
Ministry has been advised that it will be essential to expropriate the land upon which the
farm school has been erected, and servitudes of right of way to grant access to these
schools, wherever such servitudes may be necessary. The acquisition of the farm school
must be the subject of negotiation, in cases where the consent to control over and access
to a farm school cannot be obtained from the relevant land owner and the education
department concerned wishes to continue with the provision of education at the school.
6.31 Provision will be made for these matters in the South
African Schools Bill. Since the owner of the land will be entitled to compensation in the
event of expropriation, the Bill will make provision for a suitable arbitration procedure
to determine the value of expropriated land in accordance with section 28 of the
Constitution, in all cases where the parties cannot reach agreement, with provision for
review by the Supreme Court on common law grounds. An arbitration procedure will enable
the government to deal with all claims quickly and cost-effectively.
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Community schools
6.32 More than a third of all school students are enrolled
in community schools.
The Review Committee remarked that:
"The case of public schools on community-owned land is
very complex. The ownership of the land and assets is already in public hands as property
of the community [but see paragraph 6.33 below]. However, this form of ownership does not
provide a role for the state authority, and it is necessary for the new dispensation to
ensure that the provincial department is able to ensure continuity of service, open
access, and a secure environment for the investment of public funds in buildings and
infrastructure." (Review Committee Report, p. 91)
6.33 The legal panel has studied these matters and advises
that community schools are situated on land which in virtually all cases is held by the
President, or the Zulu King in terms of the Ingonyama Trust Act, in trust for future
generations. In theory, community schools are managed by the community subject to the
control of various education departments. Prior to 27 April 1994, these were the
departments of the former self-governing territories and so-called independent states. In
most instances, de facto control is now in the hands of the present provincial education
departments, and it appears that the structures in terms of which the community was, or
should have been, in management control have largely broken down. As with farm schools and
former Model C schools, teachers are generally supplied and paid by the education
department.
6.34 The Ministry is advised that, under the circumstances,
it is unnecessary to expropriate the land upon which community schools are conducted. The
South African Schools Bill will, however, provide that control over community schools will
vest, subject to the powers of the relevant governing body, in the relevant provincial
education department, and that access to the school by interested parties may not
unreasonably be denied, and that no such school may be closed without the approval of the
relevant department.
6.35 This process would also form part of the negotiation
procedure.
[ Top ]
Legal, legislative, administrative and negotiating
processes
6.36 The legal and administrative processes which are
required to put the new school framework into effect are reported here only in outline and
not exhaustively.
Some processes overlap with others, and the sequence may
well vary from what is indicated here.
- Section 247 negotiations on proposed alterations to
governing body rights, powers and functions.
- South African Schools Bill enacted by Parliament.
- Provincial schools bills or amendment bills enacted.
- Re-designation of all schools falling within the
"public school" category.
- Establishment of new, representative governing bodies in all
public schools.
- Formal assumption of initial powers by all public school
governing bodies under the new regulatory framework.
- Request to negotiate additional powers by governing bodies
which seek to demonstrate their capacity and commitment to manage them.
- Negotiation of assumption of additional powers with
governing bodies.
- Transaction of ownership and related issues in respect of
Model C, farm and community schools.
- Negotiation of district school development plans for farm
schools in order to integrate them into regional education provision.
- Negotiations in the Education Labour Relations Council of
the change of status of educators in public schools who are currently employed by a school
and not by an education department.
- Negotiations with independent schools seeking to become
public schools, or vice versa.
6.37 Merely to list these items gives an indication of
their complexity. The Department of Education will continue to work with the Minister's
legal panel and the provincial education departments on these matters. They are matters of
exceptional importance and touch the rights and interests of very large numbers of people
and communities. The department therefore expects to make available the legal advice it
receives in an appropriate form to all interested parties, as an aid to clarifying the
questions of legal responsibility, and administrative and negotiation processes, which
will need to be settled before the implementation of the new framework can proceed.
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7.1 The Review Committee concluded its report on a note
which the Ministry of Education can only endorse:
"In a spirit consistent with the perspective of the
White Paper [Education White Paper 1], the Review Committee has proposed a framework of
school organisation, and norms and standards for school governance and funding. We have
been concerned to suggest a foundation upon which a policy could be built that would
promote the development of long-lasting quality and equity in education. The Committee has
also set out the processes entailed in those changes which require negotiation, and has
indicated a very substantial programme of capacity-building required in many contexts if
school governance and management are to be effective in the democratic structures being
developed.
"We trust that the Report will contribute effectively
to the work of the educational policy-makers, planners and education managers in
implementing a reformed education system which is truly democratic in the sense that it
provides quality education to each and every South African child." (p. 101)
7.2 The Ministry of Education launches Education White
Paper-2 in the same spirit of hope and determination.
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Last modified: 23 April 2008 12:54:21. |
