budget - unicef · personnel as % of education budget, 2016/17 65% primary school annual budget per...
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Key messages
• Highenrolmentrateinprimaryandsecondaryschools,butpoorlearningoutcomes:58%ofGrade4learnerscouldnotreadformeaningand29%couldnotreadatall.
• ThereiswidespreadrecognitionthatmanyeducatorsinSouthAfricalackthenecessaryskillsandknowledge,yetspendingpereducatoronteacherdevelopmentaveragedonlyR1,625in2015/16.
• In2016/17,provincesallocatedlessforlearnerandteachersupportmaterialsthanin2013/14,evenbeforeadjustingforinflation.
• ThereissubstantialvariationacrossprovincesinfundingofGradeR,withNorthWestallocatingmorethandoublewhatLimpopodoesperlearner.Forthecountryasawhole,theGradeRamountisonlyabouttwo-fifthsoftheprimaryschoolamount.
• Therehasbeensomeprogressinfundingschoolinfrastructure,butmorethanhalfofEasternCapeschoolsremainwithoutadequatesanitation.
This brief is one of four that explore the extent to which government budgets in south africa address the needs of children under 18 years in the country.Thebriefsaimtodescribetheshapeandsizeoftherelevantbudgets,andhighlightsomeofthekeyfunding-relatedissues.Theobjectiveistocontributetoinformedadvocacyanddecision-making.
Thisbrieflooksateducationbudgets.Itfirstpresentsanddescribesasetofkeyindicators.Itthendescribesthestructureofprovincialbudgetsandsourceoffunds.Thisisfollowedbydiscussiononbudgetingforthefoundationyears,teachers,teachingandlearningsupportmaterials,GradeRandinfrastructure.
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BUDGET CHILDREN AND SOUTH AFRICA’S EDUCATION BUDGET
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112%SouthAfrica’sestimatedprimaryschoolgrossenrolmentrate
SouthAfrica’sprimaryschoolgrossenrolmentrateisestimatedtobe112%in2015,ifoneusesStatisticsSouthAfrica’sGeneralHouseholdSurvey.1Thefactthattherateishigherthan100%reflectstherelativelylargenumberoflearnerswhoareoutsidetheagegroup7–13years.Thehighermalethanfemalerate–at116%versus10%–reflectshigherratesofrepetitionforboysthangirls.
Atsecondarylevelthegrossenrolmentrateis118%,withthefemalerate(121%)higherthanthemalerate(115%).Here,largenumbersoflearnersovertheageof18explaintheratesexceeding100%.Thegenderpatternreflectsthehigherlikelihoodofyoungwomencontinuingwiththeireducationwhileyoungmenaremorelikelytodropout.
Overall,therewere12millionchildrenenrolledinGrades1through12in2015.2Ofthese,7.4millionwereinprimarygradesand4.6millioninsecondarygrades.Publicschoolsaccountedfor96%ofallenrolmentsatbothprimaryandsecondarylevels.Thepercentageoflearnersinpublicschoolsrangedfrom89%inGautengto99%inNorthernCape.
Provincialdepartmentsprovidefundingforbothpublicandindependentschools.However,theper-learneramountsprovidedbygovernmentaremuchlowerforindependentschools.Provinceswithahigherpercentageofpublicschoollearnersfaceagreateraveragebudgetaryburdenperlearneriftheirallocationsforpublicandindependentschoolsconformtothenationalnormsandstandards.
1 GrossenrolmentratecalculationsthatusetheDepartmentofBasicEducation’sSchool Realities 2015givedifferentestimates,inlargepartbecausetheGeneralHouseholdSurveyrecordsabout2millionmorechildreninschoolthantheDepartmentdoes.
2 DepartmentofBasicEducation.(2015)School Realities 2015.
Key indicators
Primary school gross enrolment rate, 2015 112%
Female 109%
Male 116%
Secondary school gross enrolment rate, 2015 118%
Female 121%
Male 115%
Education as % of consolidated budget, 2016/17 20%
Primary education as % of education budget, 2016/17 36%
Secondary education as % of education budget, 2016/17 27%
Personnel as % of education budget, 2016/17 65%
Primary school annual budget per capita of enrolled in public schools, 2016/17 R12,231
Secondary school annual budget per capita of enrolled in public schools, 2016/17 R15,718
Tertiary annual budget per capita of enrolled in public institutions, 2016/17 R33,169
Official development assistance as % of total education budget, 2016 1.2%
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Inthenationalsphere,twodepartmentshavedirectresponsibilityforeducation.TheDepartmentofBasicEducation(DBE)isresponsibleforpolicy-making,coordinationandoversightinrespectofprimaryandsecondaryeducationandGradeR(thereceptionyearimmediatelyprecedingGrade1ofprimaryschool).TheDepartmentofHigherEducationandTraining(DHET)isresponsibleforallaspectsofpost-schooleducationandformostadulteducation.ThenineprovincialdepartmentsofeducationareresponsiblefordeliveryoftheeducationallevelsandtypesoverwhichtheDBEexercisesoversight.
Table 1. Summary of national and provincial education budgets, 2016/17 (Rm)
Department National Provincial % of total
DHET total budget 49,188 18%
DBE total budget 22,270 8%
DBE transfer to provinces -16,213 -6%
Combined provincial education 212,086 79%
Eastern Cape 31,170 12%
Free State 12,297 5%
Gauteng 38,514 14%
KwaZulu-Natal 45,497 17%
Limpopo 27,248 10%
Mpumalanga 18,387 7%
Northern Cape 5,458 2%
North West 14,342 5%
Western Cape 19,173 7%
Total education budget 267,331 100%
AsseeninTable1,in2016/17,DHEThasabudgetofR49.2billion,theDBE’sbudgetisR22.3billion(ofwhichR16.2millionistransferredtoprovincialdepartments),andthenineprovincialdepartmentshaveacombinedbudgetofR212.1billion.Together,these11departmentsaccountfor18%oftheconsolidatednationalandprovincialbudgetsfor2016/17.
Provincialeducationdepartmentsaccountfor79%ofthecombinedallocationsofnationalandprovincialeducationdepartments.DHETaccountsfor18%ofthetotaleducationamount,whiletheDBEaccountsfor8%beforedeductionoftransferstoprovincialdepartmentsandonly2%afterdeductions.Provincialeducationdepartmentseffectivelyaccountfor97%ofallocationsforeducationforchildren,i.e.ifoneexcludesDHET’sbudget.
Nearlytwo-thirds–65%–ofthecombinededucationbudgetsisexplicitlyallocatedforpersonnelemployeddirectlybygovernment.Thisamountprovidesforteachingandsupportstaff,includingmanagers.Theactualpercentagespentonstaffisevenhigherthanthisbecausethestaffcostsincurredbyentitiesthatreceivetransfersfromthedepartmentsarenotitemisedinthebudget.Instead,thetransferisshownasalumpsum.The65%thereforeexcludes,forexample,thecostsofpersonnelatuniversitiesandcolleges.Personnelcostsaccountfor93%ofexpenditurewithinpublicordinaryschooleducation.Thisleaveslimitedfundsavailableforotherexpenditureitems.
Eachoftheprovinceshasseparatebudgetsubprogrammesforprimarypublicschools,primaryindependentschools,secondarypublicschoolsandsecondaryindependentschools.Someexpenditureinotherbudgetsubprogrammesalsosupportsprimaryandsecondaryeducation.Inparticular,thereare
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How are provincial educaTion budgeTs sTrucTured?
Theprovincialeducationbudgetsuseastandardisedstructureofsixprogrammes,eachofwhichhasanumberofsubprogrammes.Table2indicates,withbolditalics,theprogrammesandsubprogrammesdiscussedinthisbrief.
Figure1revealsthatthepublicordinaryschooleducationprogrammeaccountsformorethan70%ofallprovincialbudgetsin2016/17.NorthernCapeallocatesthesmallestproportionofitsbudgettothisprogramme,inpartbecauseofarelativelylargeallocationforinfrastructuredevelopment.Incontrast,Limpopoallocatescloseon90%ofitsbudgettopublicordinaryschooleducation.Thisleavesverylittlefundingavailableforotherareasofexpenditure.
Acrossallprovincescombined,publicordinaryschooleducationgets79%ofallocations,independentschoolsget1%,earlychildhooddevelopment(primarilyGradeR)gets6%andinfrastructuredevelopment12%.
is funding equiTable across and wiTHin provinces?
Thepercapitaamountsreportedaboveincludebothpublicandindependent(private)schools.Figure2showstheallocationperprimaryandsecondarylearnerinpublicschoolsin2015.EasternCapeisexcludedbecausetheallocationsinitsbudgetdonotseemtobecorrectlydividedbetweentheprimaryandsecondaryschoolsubprogrammes.IfweexcludeEasternCape,theamountsarerelativelysimilaracrossprovinces.Thesimilarpatternfortheotherprovincessuggeststhat
infrastructureandconditionalgrantallocationsinothersubprogrammes.However,theshareoftheseothersupportingsubprogrammesgoingtoprimaryandsecondaryschoolingisnotshowninbudgetdocuments.
Acrossallprovincescombined,thetwoprimaryschoolsubprogrammeshaveanallocationofR95.8billionin2016,equivalentto36%ofconsolidatednationalandprovincialeducationbudgets.ThetwosecondaryschoolsubprogrammeshaveanallocationofR72.5billion,equivalentto27%ofconsolidatededucationbudgets.
TheannualprimaryschoolallocationperenrolledlearnerisR12,231in2016,andthatforsecondaryschoolisR15,718ifbothpublicandindependentschoolsareincludedandifweusetheallocationsfortheprimaryandsecondaryschoolbudgetsubprogrammesandenrolmentsfor2015.(Asdiscussedbelow,foratleastoneprovincethedivisionbetweenprimaryandsecondaryschoolbudgetsseemsincorrect.)ThetotalallocationfortertiaryeducationiscalculatedbyaddingDHETallocationsforsubsidiesforuniversityandtechnicalandvocationaleducationcollegesandallocationsfortheNationalStudentFinancialAidScheme.Withtotalenrolmentof1.02millionstudents,theannualperstudentallocationisR33,169attertiarylevel.Thisismorethandoublethesecondaryperlearneramount.
TheDBErecordsatotalofR0.3millionindonorfundingin2016/17,asagainstnearly1,000timesasmuch–R314.5million–fortheDHET.Combined,thesefundsamounttoonly1.2%ofthecombinedbudgetsofthenationalandprovincialdepartmentsofeducation.TheDBE’sdonorfundingisfromtheEuropeanUniontosupportimprovementsinlearnerperformanceatprimarylevel.
Table 2. Budget structure for provincial education departments
Programme Subprogramme
Administration
Public ordinary school education Public primary schools
Public secondary schools
Human resource development
School sport, culture and media services
Conditional grants
Independent school subsidies Primary phase
Secondary phase
Public special school education
Early childhood development Grade R in public schools
Grade R in community centres
Pre-Grade R training
Human resource development
Infrastructure development
Examination- and education-related services
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Figure 1. Distribution of programme allocations by province, 2016/17
Independent school subsidies
Early childhood development
24,9
17,5
27
9,45
2,83
5
28,4
89,3
27
37,8
99,6
41
23,4
77,1
92
14,7
99,9
06
3,99
3,41
0
10,6
51,4
11
14,1
47,9
02
0
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Infrastructure development
Other
Public ordinary school education
Eastern Cape
Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo Mpuma-langa
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape
Figure 2. Per learner allocation for public school education, 2015
Primary
Secondary11,8
86
12,0
87
13,2
30
12,0
51
13,3
35
12,0
48
12,9
85
12,0
81
14,5
95
15,7
94
12,8
44
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29
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12
15,2
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12,0
96
14,6
30
0
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6,000
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12,000
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16,000
18,000
Eastern Cape
Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo Mpuma-langa
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape
nationalstandardisationoftheamountstobepaidperlearnerinpublicschoolsiseffectiveinavoidinglargedisparities,atleastatthislevelofaggregation.
Publicschoolsareclassifiedintofivequintilesonthebasisoftheaveragehouseholdincomeintheareainwhichtheyarelocated.Differencesintheamountsacrossprovincescouldbeexplainedbyfactorssuchasvaryingproportionsofcombinedschoollearnersinprimaryandsecondarygradesanddifferingdistributionsoflearnersacrossthefiveincomequintiles,aswellasdifferencesinallocationsofprovincialfundsacrosspersonnel,capitalandotherspending.Quintilesareimportantbecausethesizeof
thesubsidyallocatedtoaschoolisdeterminedbythequintileinwhichitisplaced.Theplacement,inturn,isdeterminedbytherelativewealthofthesurroundingcommunity.
Schoolsclassifiedinthethreepoorestincomequintilesareno-feeschools;theymaynotchargefees.Governmentallocationstoschoolsinthesequintilesarethereforeintendedtocoverallthebasicnon-personnelandnon-capitalcostsofschooling.In2016,thenormsandstandardsstatethatprovincesmustallocateR1,177perchildinquintiles1,2and3;R590perchildinquintile4;andR204inquintile5.However,notallprovincescomply.Further,becausethequintilesaredetermined
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PercentageofGrade4learnerswhocouldnotreadformeaning
58%
experienceandlevelofqualifications.Becauseprimaryschoolteacherstendtohavelowerlevelqualificationsthansecondaryschoolteachers,thepayatprimaryschoolleveltendstobelower.
Educationalistshavelongbeenawarethatifchildrendonot‘learntoread’intheirfirstyearsofschooling,theywillnotsubsequentlybeableto‘readtolearn’inalltheirsubjects.RecentresearchinSouthAfrica3foundthattheprovincialpatternsofresultsintheannualnationalassessmenttestsforGrade4wereverysimilartothoseforGrade12(thefinalyearofschooling),andwerealsostronglyinfluencedbythequintileinwhichthelearner’sschoolfell.Inparticular,learnersinthewealthiestquintilestronglyout-performothers.Thelatterhasraceimplications,aschildrengenerallyattendschoolsneartheirhomes,andresidencestilllargelyfollowsapartheidpatterns.
Theresearchersfoundthatoverall,58%ofGrade4learnerscouldnotreadformeaningand29%struggledtoreadatall.InLimpopo,83%couldnotreadformeaningwith50%strugglingtoreadatall.Government’spostprovisioningnormsprescribealearner:teacherratioof35:1forthefirstfourgrades.Acrossthecountry,themajorityofschoolshadnumbersexceedingthis.Theresearchers’recommendationsinclude,amongothers,addressingtheproblemofclasssizeandlackofadequateskillsamongteachersandgreateruseofworkbooksasacomplementarytooltotextbooks.
3 SpaullN,vanderBergS,WillsG,GustafssonM&KotzéJ. (2016)FinalreporttotheZENEXFoundationonpoorstudentperformanceinFoundationPhaseliteracyandnumeracy.
nationally,theproportionofschoolsineachquintilediffersnoticeablyacrossprovince.Asaresult,GautengandWesternCape,forexample,providethelargersubsidiesforasmallerproportionoftheirpublicschoolsthanprovincessuchasLimpopoandEasternCape.
Theallocationsforschoolsdonotcoverpersonnelcosts.Teachersareonthegovernmentpayrollandreceivetheirpaydirectlyfromgovernment.Teachersalariesintroduceinequitiesifschoolsinthewealthierquintileshavehigherteacher:learnerratios.Therearefurtherinequitiesiftheteachersinthewealthierschoolsaremorehighlyqualifiedasastandardqualification-relatedpayscaleisusedacrossallschoolsandquintiles.
Childrenwhoarebeneficiariesofsocialgrantsshouldnotbechargedfeeseveniftheyattendschoolsinquintile4or5.Provincesaremeanttocompensateschoolsforthefeesforegoneasaresult.However,in2016notallprovincesareprovidingthiscompensation.
wHaT is Happening in THe imporTanT firsT years of scHooling?
Theanalysisaboveshowsgovernmentspendingperlearnerthatishigherforsecondarythanprimaryschoollearnersinsixofthenineprovinces.Thispatterniscommoninternationally,whereitinpartreflectshighersalariesforsecondarythanprimaryschoolteachers.InSouthAfrica,however,thepayscalesforprimaryandsecondaryschoolteachersarethesame.Standardsalariesforprimaryandsecondaryschoolsuggestthatprimaryschoolingisseenasjustasimportant–ifnotmoreimportant–thansecondary.However,thelevelofpayforindividualteachersisbasedonbothlengthof
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performingprovinceonthismeasure,buthadonly43%ofitschildreninclassesthatmetthenorm.EveninGauteng,oneofthebetterperformingprovinces,only21%ofchildrenwereinclasseswith35orfewerlearners.OvercrowdinginGautengreflects,atleastinpart,largerannualincreasesinthechildpopulationthanareexperiencedinanyotherprovince.
Thenumberofeducatorsdoesnottellthefullstory.ThereiswidespreadrecognitionthatmanyeducatorsinSouthAfricalackthenecessaryskillsandknowledge.YetFigure3showsthatspendingpereducatoronteacherdevelopmentaveragedonlyR1,625in2015/16.TheamountrangedfromonlyR451pereducatorinLimpopotoR3,201inNorthernCape.Thesedisparitiesmayinpartbeexplainedbyprovincesdifferinginwhetherandhowtheyrecorddifferentexpendituresonteacherdevelopment.Provincesmayalsodifferintheextenttowhichtheybenefitfromteacherdevelopmentthatisfundedfromothersources.
do TeacHers and learners Have THe necessary supporT maTerials?
Inadditiontoteachers,learnerandteachersupportmaterials(LTSM)areessentialforeffectiveteachingandlearning.In2011,evenfortheprioritysubjectofmathematics,therewereonly81textbooksforevery100Grade5learners.InFreeState,therewereonly65textbooksforevery100Grade6learners.4
CalculatingtheamountsallocatedforLTSMiscomplicated.Insomecases,theprovincialdepartmenttakesresponsibilityforallLTSMspendingforpublic
4 DepartmentofBasicEducation.(2013)Macro Indicators Report: 57.
How do THe budgeTs conTribuTe To adequacy of educaTors?
Qualityeducatorsareclearlyanessentialfactorinprovidingaqualityeducation.In2015,thenineprovincialeducationdepartmentsemployedatotalof464,512personnel.Ofthese,381,851–92%–wereeducators.Theeducatorshareofpersonnelrangedfrom91%inLimpopoto75%inGauteng.Gautengwasthesecondbestperformingprovinceintermsofmatricresultsin2015,whileLimpopowasthethirdworstperformer.Thispatternconfirmsthattheeducatorshareofpersonnelisnottheonly,orevenmostimportant,factorthatdeterminesperformance.Ahighsharecouldalsoindicatethatthereareinsufficientsupportstaffatschools,resultinginteachersspendingtoomuchoftheirtimeonadministrativeandothernon-teachingtasks.
Theeducatornumbersarestronglycorrelatedwiththenumberoflearnersenrolledinpublicordinaryschools.Thelearner:teacherratios,therefore,havearelativelysmallrange,from30:1inFreeStateandNorthernCapeto35:1inEasternCape.Theseratiossuggestthatlearner–teacherratiosmayconformtoaresolutionoftheEducationLabourRelationsCouncilin1995whichprovidedaguidelineofaratioof40:1inprimaryschoolsand35:1insecondaryschools.Similarly,thepostprovisioningnormsof2002stipulateamaximumclasssizeof35forGradesRto4,40forGrades5–6,and37forGrades7–9.
Inpractice,however,ifteachershavefreeperiodsand/orteachersarenotappropriatelydistributedacrossschools,theactualratioswillexceedthenorms.Thisexplainsthefindingoftherecentresearchcitedabovethatthemajorityofchildrenwereinclasseswithmorethan35children.NorthernCapewasthe‘best’
Figure 3. Spending on teacher development per educator, 2015/16
1,870 1,372 2,516 560 451 2,652 3,201 2,236 2,554 1,6250
500
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Figure4showstheamountspentonLTSMperpublicordinaryschoolin2015/16ineachofthenineprovinces.Nationally,themeanamountisR235.Thiswouldnotbeenoughforeventwotextbooksperlearner.Limpopohasbeenthefocusofcivilsocietychallenges,includingcourtcases,inrespectofnon-deliveryoftextbooksforchildren.Thesechallengeshavebeensuccessfulintermsofcourtjudgements,althoughtheyhavenotachievedthedesiredoutcomeofeverychildhavingthetextbookstheyneed.
Figure4showsfiveotherprovincesallocatingevenlessperlearnerthanLimpopo.ThissuggeststhatLTSMproblemsarenotrestrictedtoLimpopo.
schools.Inotherprovinces,theamountforLTSMisincludedinthetransferstopublicschoolsthatmanagetheirownfunds.Fortheseschools,theLTSMspendingishiddenbecauseitisnotrecordedseparatelyfromtherestofthetransfertotheschool.TheanalysishereisbasedontheestimatesthattheDBEhascompiledonLTSMspendingineachprovince.
In2016/17,theamountallocatedbythenineprovincescombinedforLTSMisestimatedatR3,165.9million.ThisislessthantheR3,223.2millionallocatedbythenineprovincesin2013/14,evenbeforeadjustingforinflation.
Figure 4. Expenditure on LTSM per public school learner by province, 2015/16
155 157 247 244 209 370 129 479 139 2350
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Figure 5. Grade R enrolments, 2011–2015
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andaparticularlystrongrelativeincreaseforGauteng.However,EasternCapeshowsastrongdecrease,asdoesKwaZulu-Natalforthemostrecentperiod.AtleastpartofthisdecreasemaybeduetostricterenforcementoftheagerequirementforGradeR,excludingyoungerchildrenwhomightpreviouslyhavebeenenrolled.Overall,thewealthierprovincesappeartobedoingbetterthanthepoorerones.
In2008,thegovernmenthopedtohaveachieveduniversalGradeRenrolmentby2010.Thiswasnotachieved.AdraftpolicyframeworkonuniversalaccesstoGradeRissuedin2014aimedtoincreaseaccessto100%by2019.TheframeworknotesthatuniversalaccessdoesnotmeanthatGradeRiscompulsory.However,itmustbeavailableforthosewhowanttheservice.
ResearchshowsnomeasurableimpactonsubsequentschoolperformanceofGradeRinthepoorerschools,whilethereissomeimpactforchildrenfromwealthierschools.6Yet,unlikeatordinaryschoollevel,feesarechargedformostGradeRlearnersregardlessofquintileanddespiteprioritisationoftheimportanceofearlychildhooddevelopmentinSouthAfrica’spolicy.
Figure6showssubstantialvariationacrossprovincesinfundingofGradeR.Attheextremes,NorthWestallocatedR9,227perGradeRlearnerfortheyearasagainstonlyR958inLimpopo.NorthWest’samountwasmorethandoublethenationalaverageofR4,275perlearner.Partofthedifferenceacrossprovincesmayreflectsomeprovincesnotcategorisingfundscorrectly
6 VanderBergS,GirdwoodE,ShepherdD,vanWykC,KrugerJ,ViljoenJ,EzeobiO&NtakaP.(2013)The Impact of the Introduction of Grade R on Learning Outcomes: Policy summary, executive summary and evaluation report.DepartmentofEconomics,StellenboschUniversity.
do grade r allocaTions reflecT governmenT’s prioriTisaTion of early cHildHood developmenT?
SouthAfrica’sNationalDevelopmentPlanaccordshighprioritytoGradeR,andgovernmentstartedfocusingonthisgradeevenbeforethePlanwaslaunched.In2008,governmentissuednationalnormsandstandardsforGradeRfunding,aswellasguidelinesforcostingthebasicminimumpackageforGradeR.Thedocumentsstatedthatprovincialdepartmentsshouldcoverthefullperlearnercostsofthebasicpackage.Thepackagewastoincludethesalaryofaneducator(anearlychildhooddevelopmentpractitioner)teachingupto30children,aswellaslearnersupportmaterials,minorbuildingrepairs,electricityandwater,andadministrativesupport.Theamountperlearnerwassetat70%oftheperlearneramountforGrade1.Provincialdepartmentswereallowedtoreducetheamountto50%intheshorttermtoallowfasterrollout.Rolloutwastostartwiththepoorestquintiles.
Figure5showsthenumbersoflearnersrecordedinGradeRineachprovinceovertheperiod2011to2015.5Itincludeslearnersinindependentschoolswhoaccountfor5%ofallGradeRenrolmentsinthecountry.Thepercentageis14%inGautengand5%inWesternCape,but3%orlessinallotherprovinces.
ThedifferenceinabsolutenumbersseeninFigure5isexpected,giventhevariationinpopulationsizeacrossprovinces.Thedifferencesbetweenprovincesintrendsovertheperiodarelessexpected.Thefigureshowsasteadyincreaseinenrolmentsformostprovinces,
5 DepartmentofBasicEducation.School Realities.
Figure 6. Annual Grade R per learner allocation and percentage of 6-year-olds enrolled in public and independent schools, 2015/16
4,143 3,410 6,325 3,630 958 3,994 4,575 9,227 5,810 4,275
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Figure 7. Infrastructure deficits in public ordinary schools, 2009 and 2015
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18.00 22.15 20.47 15.97 50.49 29.30
22.64 38.38 25.23 31.72 66.26 54.55
17.16 6.85 18.50 6.76 45.83 18.91
5.72 3.86 3.41 5.02 4.46 0.05
33.73 27.73 30.45 21.69 51.38 35.10
9.1621.35 24.86
8.7473.89 26.13
14.16 12.73 15.91 3.78 49.48 23.65
8.21 9.87 10.844.47 24.96 2.23
6.03 16.81 7.01 9.8649.20 15.42
0.89 0.56 0.61 0.76 4.02 0.00
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acrosssubprogrammes.Inparticular,someGradeRfundingmaybecategorisedundertheprimaryordinaryschoolsubprogramme.However,thetwoprovinceswiththehighestperlearnerallocations–NorthWestandGauteng–arealsotheprovinceswiththelowestshareoftheir6-year-oldsenrolled.Conversely,Limpopohasthelowestallocation,butthenumberenrolledisequivalentto99%of6-year-oldsintheprovince.7(Inreality,someofthechildrenattendingGradeRinLimpopoarealmostcertainlyofotherages.Inaddition,Limpopo’senrolmentnumbersmaynotbereliable.)
Forthecountryasawhole,theGradeRamountperchildisonlyabouttwo-fifthsoftheprimaryschoolamountperchild.
wHaT are THe pHysical condiTions for TeacHing and learning?
Figure7showstheinfrastructurebacklogsinpublicordinaryschoolsineachofthenineprovincesin2009and2015.TheinformationsourceistheDBE’sNationalEducationInfrastructureManagementSystem,whichgivesatotalof24,460schoolsitesfor2009andalowernumberof23,589sitesfor2015.Allprovinces,except
7 AsingleyearagegroupisusedasaproxygiventhatchildrenaremeanttostayinGradeRforonlyoneyear.
GautengandMpumalanga,recordadecreaseinthenumberofschoolsitesovertheperiod.Thisreflects,inpart,theclosureormergingofschoolsservingsmallnumbersofchildrenandwithmulti-gradeclassesthatareunlikelytodeliverqualityeducation.
Figure7showsthepercentageofschoolswithnoorunreliablewatersupplyincreasingfrom18%to22%overtheperiod.Thepercentagewithnoorunreliableelectricityfallsfrom20%to16%,andthepercentagewithnosanitationorpitorbucketlatrinesfallsfrom50%to29%.Overall,thegraphsuggestssomeprogress.However,inEasternCapethereisamarkedworseningofthesituationinrespectofbothwaterandelectricityovertheperiod.Evenonthelastmeasure,bytheendoftheperiodmorethanhalfoftheschoolsinthisprovincestillhaveinadequatesanitation.Thissituationwilldiscourageattendance,especiallyofadolescentgirlswhoaremenstruating.
TwoconditionalgrantsfromtheDBEfundmostofschoolinfrastructure.TheeducationinfrastructuregrantischannelledthroughtheDBEtotheprovincialdepartments.Table3showstheamountofthegrantincreasingfromR5,802millionin2012/13toaprojectedR13,512millionin2018/19.Theactualamountin2018/19might,however,belowerifthepastpatternofactualexpenditurebeinglowerthanplannedcontinues.
Figure 8. Percentage of provincial budgets allocated to infrastructure development, 2012/13–2018/19
Table 3. DBE grants for school infrastructure, 2012/13–2018/19 (R million)
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19
Education infrastructure 5,802 6,643 7,327 9,354 9,614 12,780 13,512
School infrastructure backlogs 1,277 1,956 2,541 2,047 2,375
5% 6% 6% 6% 6%
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19
Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape
South Africa
5% 5%
%
12
Theschoolinfrastructurebacklogsgrant,commonlyknownastheAcceleratedSchoolInfrastructureDevelopmentInitiative(ASIDI),wasintroducedin2012/13.After2017/18,itwillbepartoftheeducationinfrastructuregrant.Thismergingofthegrantsfrom2017/18largelyexplainsthesharpincreaseintheallocationfortheeducationinfrastructuregrantin2017/18.TheASIDIgrantalsofundsschoolinfrastructureintheprovinces.However,formostprovincestheDBEdoesnottransferthefundstotheprovincesbutinsteadmakesdirectpaymentstoproviders.Thisapproachwasadoptedinthehopethatitwouldenablemoreefficientandspeedyuseoftheavailablefunds.However,nationalgovernmentalsostruggledtomeetthetargets.
Figure8showsthat,forallprovincescombined,thepercentageoftheprovincialeducationbudgetallocatedtoinfrastructureisbetween5%and6%overtheperiod2012/13–2018/19.Forallprovinces,theseallocationsaremainlyfundedthroughtheeducationinfrastructuregrantastheASIDIgrantisnotchannelledthroughtheprovincialbudget.InWesternCape,thesharpincreasein2015/16isexplainedbytheASIDIgrantbeingtransferredtotheprovince’sbudget.EasternCape’spercentageisconsistentlylowerthantheaverageforallprovincescombined,althoughFigure7showsthatithasthemostsevereinfrastructurebacklogsofallprovinces.Inallprovinces,someofthefundswillbespentonofficesandotherinfrastructurefornon-teachingofficials,ratherthanonschools.
InNovember2013,afteracourtchallengebyEqualEducation,theMinisterofBasicEducationissuedlegallybindingnormsandstandardsforschoolinfrastructure.BoththeDepartmentofBasicEducationandgovernmentmoregenerallyhaveestablishedarangeofprocessesandrequirementsinrespectofplanning,fundingandmanagementofinfrastructuredevelopment.Theintentionwastoensurethatinfrastructureiscompletedefficientlyandwithoutcorruption.
Inpractice,theplethoraofinstrumentsanddifferentprocessesmayhavetheperverseresultsofincreasingtheproportionofinfrastructurebudgetsthatgotoconsultantsandotherintermediariesanddelayingthecompletionofinfrastructure.ConstructionofaschoolwhichcostsR21millionormoreshouldtakeabout15months,whilesmallerschoolsshouldbebuiltin8–10months.8However,thedetailedlistingsofschoolinfrastructureprojectsintheprovincialbudgetvotesshowsallprojectsinvolvingconstructionofnewschoolstakingmorethantwoyears.Providingbasicinformationtolocalcommunitiesaboutwhathasbeenallocated,andforwhatinfrastructure,maybeamoreeffectiveandcheaperwayofmonitoringthatinfrastructurefundsareusedeffectively.
8 IndependentDevelopmentTrustcitedinBudlenderD.(2015)School infrastructure in the Eastern Cape: Actors, processes and information sources. InternationalBudgetPartnership:CapeTown.
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