| 1. |
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) receives numerous enquiries regarding the application of the personnel provisioning scales (PPS) for the allocation of Public Service personnel posts to public ordinary schools. The current PPS applicable to public ordinary schools, was set out in Circular 0017/2000 of 3 September 2000, which should thus be read together with this circular. For convenience, the PPS is attached hereto. In order to provide more clarity regarding the application of the PPS, as was explained during the roadshows of the Chief Directorate: Human Resource Management, the following information is provided: |
| 1.1 |
The current provisioning of posts to schools is based in the 1999 learner enrolment of individual schools. The financial position of the WCED does not allow for the approved PPS to be funded fully. The current mandate is that approved posts may be filled to a maximum of 2 administrative clerks, 1 general caretaker and 4 general assistants. For the sake of convenience, this mandate is referred to as the 2:1:4 mandate. |
| 1.2 |
There are schools that exceed the 2:1:4 mandate. The relevant schools were, however, willing to absorb excess personnel into vacant posts on their approved establishments. Some schools have had a full personnel complement since 1999, which remained in place over the years. |
| 1.3 |
Since 1999 there had been, for various reasons, either an increase or a decrease in learner enrolment of individual schools, even though there were no major changes in the total number of learners on the system. Where a decrease in learner enrolment occurred, the status quo regarding the provisioning of posts is maintained until such time as the PPS and/or the Public Service personnel establishments can be revised. It should be noted that the abolishment of posts will lead to an excess in personnel, and will have a negative effect on the morale of personnel. |
| 1.4 |
Where learner enrolment has increased to such an extent that a school falls within a next category of the PPS, additional posts are only allocated if the increase was more than 30% of the minimum of the next higher interval of the PPS, e.g.:
At a school with an enrolment of 420, the following posts are allocated according to the 401 to 700 interval:
1 X administrative clerk
1 x general caretaker
1 x general assistant (cleaner)
If the enrolment at such school has risen to 801 and this number is maintained for 2 subsequent years, it means that the school has experienced abnormal growth, as the increase was more than 30% into the next higher interval (701 to 1000). The growth of 30% is determined as follows:
The same formula is applied consistently with regard to all other intervals. |
| 2. |
It should be emphasised that in spite of paragraph 1.4, the creation of posts brings about additional financial expenses. There may thus not be funds available at a given moment to spend on expanding establishments, and the request will have to stand over until funds become available. If this should be the case, the relevant institutions will be informed of the position.
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SIGNED: GJ ELLIOTT
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2005:12:21
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