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The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education has urged provincial education departments to reconsider reducing the number of teachers next year and to look for other ways in which it can cut costs to address budget cuts.
 
The committee today met with the Northern Cape Education Department (NCED) and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) following the committee’s recent oversight visit to these provinces.
 
“The committee conducted its first oversight visit to these provinces. We had many concerns and noted challenges to which no responses could be provided at the time. Since then, we have received written responses, but further clarity was needed as senior officials like the heads of departments and MECs were not at the oversight,” said Committee Chairperson Ms Joy Maimela.
 
Today, the WCED confirmed that its current educator workforce will be reduced by 2 407 educators but assured the committee that this does not mean that any educator will be retrenched. The WCED said that this number includes educators who are currently on contract and whose contracts will not be renewed.
 
The committee further heard that a matching skills exercise will be done in an attempt to accommodate those educators who are permanently employed by the WCED. Schools in the province have until next month to indicate which educator posts it can do without.
 
Ms Maimela said: “We are indeed concerned that it seems like a greater focus is being placed on budget than on our learners. The province complains regularly about migration of learners to the province, yet it is doing away with more than 2 400 educator posts. We foresee an increase in learner/teacher ratio. We also requested a breakdown of which schools will be affected and the subjects in question.”
 
The NCED assured the committee in consultation with the Premier that there will be no impact on the 663 teachers who will not be covered in the current budget. An agreement was reached that other cuts, such as cancelling projects, should be made instead to ensure that no teaching posts are lost.
 
“We also requested that greater and renewed efforts should be made regarding social cohesion and thereby excluding racism,” Ms Maimela said.
 
Regarding preparations for the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, the WCED assured the committee that the WCED is in support of the universalisation of the sector. The committee noted the WCED’s commitment to review the application for scholar transport to Morrisdale Primary School in Ceres.
 
Ms Maimela said the committee highlighted in today’s meeting several of the key observations it had made during the oversight visit. “The language policy and even application forms in some of our schools is exclusionary, as they are only in Afrikaans. By default, they are excluding any person that does not speak Afrikaans. Here we included both Duineveld Hoerskool in Upington and Brackenfell High School in the Western Cape,” she said.
 
Ms Maimela said the committee also requested clarity on the late placement of learners in the WCED, with conflicting reports reaching the committee during the oversight visits of March and July. The issue of programmes to foster social cohesion, lack of textbooks in some schools and exorbitant municipal accounts were also highlighted.
 
“Not all the issues raised were completely ventilated. We will be sending further or follow-up questions to the departments in order exercise our oversight responsibility,” Ms Maimela noted.

Issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, Joy Maimela