Debate on Vote 5: Education Adjustment Budget
Speech by Minister David Maynier, Minister of Education Western Cape
This has been a particularly challenging year for the Western Cape Education Department.
And this has been an incredibly difficult time for our teachers, for our principals, for our schools, for our parents, and for our learners.
Despite this, we continue to draw inspiration and hope from our education system.
At last week’s National Education Excellence Awards:
- Hoёr Meisieskool Bloemhof in Stellenbosch was announced as the best Quintile 5 school in the country.
- Rhenish Girl’s High School, also in Stellenbosch, was awarded 3rd place in the same category.
- And Isalathiso Primary School in Mossel Bay received an award as one of the schools with the best kept and maintained school grounds in our country.
And at the National Batho Pele and Innovation Awards:
- One of our Overberg Education District officials, Johan Clarke, received two awards for his Learner Transport Scheme app;
- And our Rapid School Build team received a Bronze Award for the outstanding work that they are doing to build beautiful schools serving poor communities faster than before.
The continued pursuit of excellence by these schools and officials brings hope and inspiration to the Western Cape.
Members may also be aware that the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS) results were released this week, which indicated that the Western Cape achieved the top scores for Mathematics and Science in Grade 5 and Grade 9.
But there is still work to be done so that we reach higher international benchmark scores.
It is not merely a case of reversing the losses from the Covid-19 pandemic. It is about improving scores beyond what they were before the pandemic started.
Shifting the needle on these international assessments, as well as our own annual systemic tests, takes a substantial investment in quality education in the Western Cape.
The 2023/24 Main Budget – a new direction
But we cannot say that a child is receiving quality education,
- If there are too many learners in a class,
- If there are too few teachers in a school, and
- If there are too few schools in our province.
That is why we set out a bold new direction in Education in our budget speech last year, to improve learning outcomes, to expand access to education, and to support learners with special education needs.
We announced that the Education budget had become the largest in the provincial government, and the largest budget we had ever allocated to Education in the Western Cape.
We announced the creation of a #BackOnTrack programme to provide academic support to 18 000 learners and 6 200 teachers, to reverse the learning losses cause by the Covid-19 pandemic.
We announced that we would build 21 schools in one year through an innovative Rapid School Build programme, to rapidly expand access to education.
We announced that an additional allocation of R135 million had been made to build new special schools and classrooms, as well as provide additional support for learner with Autism, and Learners with Profound Intellectual Disabilities (LPID).
The impact of the 2023 wage agreement
But by the middle of the year, we began to hear that something was seriously wrong, and that the national government was in trouble.
We heard rumours that national government couldn’t afford the 2023 public sector wage deal, and that a full-blown fiscal emergency was looming.
And once the national Minister of Finance announced the mid-term budget on 1 November 2023, the sheer scale of the national fiscal emergency hit us.
Our department received only 64% of the cost of the wage agreement, which meant we were short-changed by the national government to the tune of R537 million.
At the same time, the Department of Basic Education cut our conditional grants by R179.4 million, thus dealing our department a massive R716.4 million blow to our ability to build and maintain schools, and pay teachers.
We took action to deal with the in-year cuts, and the deficit in the new financial year in order to fight for our teachers and avoid a reduction in the Basket of Posts.
- We froze public service posts in our Head Office and District Offices, leaving these offices with a 21% vacancy rate.
- We made R2.5 billion in non-personnel budget cuts, including a R436 million cut to the #BackOnTrack Programme and a R1.2 billion cut to infrastructure spending.
- We sped up the conversion of contract appointments to permanent appointments.
- We stopped the provision of substitute teachers, except to cover teachers on maternity leave.
- We stopped the provision of post level 1 contract teachers in place of those acting in vacant School Management Team promotion posts.
- We required any post level 1 vacancy to be advertised in a Vacancy Bulletin, and not to be filled with a contract appointment.
- And we required any vacant public service posts at schools to be advertised in a Vacancy Bulletin, and not be filled with a contract appointment.
We did all of this to try to avoid a Basket of Posts reduction and deliver on a balanced budget for the 2024/25 financial year.
And I remind the members that we announced all of this in last year’s adjustment budget speech, and this year’s main budget speech.
Unfortunately, it was not enough.
The projected savings from these measures were not what we hoped, leaving us with a R3.8 billion budget deficit over the next three years.
In essence, the national fiscal emergency wiped out our bold new vision for education.
We were left with no choice other than to reduce the Basket of Posts by 2 407 posts.
This has put tremendous pressure on our schools and our teachers.
It was not a decision that was made lightly, and it is a position that we should never have been put in.
The 2024/25 Adjustment Budget
Now, after implementing the Basket of Posts reduction, we brought the budget deficit in the current financial year down to R405.8 million, meaning that we were still short on funds to break even and cover our expenses.
So, an additional allocation of R250 million was provided to help us close the gap, and we dealt with the remaining deficit by making even more severe non-personnel budget cuts.
This all had to be done just to break even at our current learner numbers and our current staff level after the post reduction.
The unearmarking of R600 million in infrastructure funding gives us some maneuverability in finding ways to deal with growth pressure in the 2025 school year.
But, the R600 million is allocated to infrastructure projects such as new schools, replacement schools, and additional classrooms.
These projects are already underway, and it is vital that they be delivered, so using this facility will be an absolute last resort.
Admissions pressure for 2025
As I said during the second reading debate earlier this week, the challenge going forward is providing the infrastructure, the teachers and the school resources needed for the 2025 school year, given the expected increase in learner numbers.
As of 4 December 2024, we have allocated places for 117 407, or 97%, of the learners for whom applications were received for Grade 1 and 8 for the 2025 school year.
Placement is in progress for 3 698, or 3%, of Grade 1 and 8 learners.
We understand that this is a stressful and anxious period for parents, and we are asking parents to work with us as we try to accommodate their children as soon as possible.
We are exploring all available options to find a place for these learners for the start of the school year.
In addition, from 1 January 2025, we expect to receive extremely late admission applications for around 4 000 Grade 1 and 8 learners.
We will work to place every learner for whom an application is received going forward, but we want to be clear that Western Cape schools are full, and we appeal for patience from parents submitting new applications as they may not be placed before the end of the first term in the 2025 school year.
To provide new school places for learners in the 2025 school year, we are building new schools and classrooms through our Rapid School Build programme.
We are scheduled to complete 6 new schools and 180 additional classrooms at existing schools in time for the start of the school year in January 2025.
But that is not all.
We aim to complete a further 3 new schools and 85 additional classrooms at existing schools by the end of March 2025.
This brings the total to 9 new schools and 265 additional classrooms for learners in the 2025 school year.
We will also have to make provision for new schools, and for new classrooms, to have teachers, and we are considering all available options ahead of 2025 school year.
Risks
Dealing with admissions pressure is always tough, but this year is likely to be exceptionally challenging.
And we must be upfront and honest about the risks that we face.
We face the risk of delays in placing learners, especially those who only arrive next year, several months after the application window closed.
We do not know where they will seek placement, or what their grades, languages, ages, or subject choices will be.
This makes planning our resource allocation for these extremely late applicants in advance very difficult, and their parents will have to wait some time before their child is placed.
And we face the risk of declining learning outcomes. Teacher workloads are increasing, and class sizes are increasing, so we know that this will affect teaching and learning.
As always, we will manage these risks to the best of our ability, and in the best interests of our children.
We are going to make some tough choices moving into the new school year, because there are no simple solutions when facing a fiscal emergency.
And so I ask everyone to work with us, and not against us, as we face these challenges.
We understand that this has been an incredibly difficult time for our teachers, for our principals, for our schools, for our parents, and for our learners.
I want to assure you that we will continue to do everything we can to fight for our teachers, and fight for quality education in the Western Cape.
Media Enquiries:
Kerry Mauchline
Spokesperson to Minister David Maynier
Western Cape Ministry of Education
Kerry.Mauchline@westerncape.gov.za