BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga is planning on downgrading her department’s intervention in the Eastern Cape education department.
Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria yesterday , Motshekga said she would approach the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and Cabinet to reduce her department’s intervention from a full to a partial takeover as it had yielded “encouraging results”.
“We received a full report about our intervention ,” she said. “Last week we went to verify the report based on our interaction with stakeholders.
“We are proposing to both Cabinet and NCOP that our new focus areas should remain finance and the appointment of educators. In this regard we have already appointed a company audit leave while Stats SA has been assigned to do the headcount,” Motshekga said.
Motshekga came to the province to take over the administration of the provincial department in 2011. She said at the time she would be involved until the end of her term in office which ends next year if necessary.
In 2012 she set up the bar for the province’s matric pass rate saying she would pull out when a 70% matric pass rate was achieved. But the province only improved marginally last year to 61.6% from 2011’s 58.1%. Yesterday Motshekga said her team had assisted the provincial department in stabilising the 2012/13 budget and dealing with accruals.
“We have also developed and started to implement an Audit Rectification Plan to deal with all matters raised by the Auditor-General in his annual report on the Eastern Cape education department.”
Motshekga said other areas of intervention the national team assisted the province with included:
l Provision of learner and teacher support materials (LTSM) for this year;
l Dealing with a Legal Resource Centre court order;
l Drafting a comprehensive turn- around plan to be approved by the provincial Scopa (Standing Committee on Public Accounts); and
l Putting in place improved systems such as delegations and procedure manuals.
Motshekga said key posts that had been vacant for some time had been filled, including the posts of HOD and chief financial officer. In addition more than 2300 part-time teachers had now been fully employed and more teachers would be employed .
“The province has made R130-million available for rural allowance to encourage teachers to work in those areas.
“These measures have ensured a turn around in a province that was previously in debt and struggling. It is through the tireless efforts of the intervention team, provincial officials and the MEC that the intervention has been a successful one,” she said.
Motshekga’s intervention initially included:
l Curriculum support;
l Infrastructure;
l Human resources;
l Budgeting; and
l Planning.
The intervention was invoked in 2011 to rescue the department from total collapse when it cancelled both the scholar transport and feeding schemes, as well as contracts for the provision of textbooks and stationery.
Cabinet gave Motshekga powers to run the department in March 2011, but the national department has been at loggerheads with its provincial counterpart on who should run the show.
Makupula yesterday said he welcomed the news. “It is the Cabinet and NCOP that will make a decision on this matter and we will welcome it. But let me we have made tremendous progress with the help of the intervention,” the MEC said. —
Angie returns the reins
Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria yesterday , Motshekga said she would approach the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and Cabinet to reduce her department’s intervention from a full to a partial takeover as it had yielded “encouraging results”.
“We received a full report about our intervention ,” she said. “Last week we went to verify the report based on our interaction with stakeholders.
“We are proposing to both Cabinet and NCOP that our new focus areas should remain finance and the appointment of educators. In this regard we have already appointed a company audit leave while Stats SA has been assigned to do the headcount,” Motshekga said.
Motshekga came to the province to take over the administration of the provincial department in 2011. She said at the time she would be involved until the end of her term in office which ends next year if necessary.
In 2012 she set up the bar for the province’s matric pass rate saying she would pull out when a 70% matric pass rate was achieved. But the province only improved marginally last year to 61.6% from 2011’s 58.1%. Yesterday Motshekga said her team had assisted the provincial department in stabilising the 2012/13 budget and dealing with accruals.
“We have also developed and started to implement an Audit Rectification Plan to deal with all matters raised by the Auditor-General in his annual report on the Eastern Cape education department.”
Motshekga said other areas of intervention the national team assisted the province with included:
l Provision of learner and teacher support materials (LTSM) for this year;
l Dealing with a Legal Resource Centre court order;
l Drafting a comprehensive turn- around plan to be approved by the provincial Scopa (Standing Committee on Public Accounts); and
l Putting in place improved systems such as delegations and procedure manuals.
Motshekga said key posts that had been vacant for some time had been filled, including the posts of HOD and chief financial officer. In addition more than 2300 part-time teachers had now been fully employed and more teachers would be employed .
“The province has made R130-million available for rural allowance to encourage teachers to work in those areas.
“These measures have ensured a turn around in a province that was previously in debt and struggling. It is through the tireless efforts of the intervention team, provincial officials and the MEC that the intervention has been a successful one,” she said.
Motshekga’s intervention initially included:
l Curriculum support;
l Infrastructure;
l Human resources;
l Budgeting; and
l Planning.
The intervention was invoked in 2011 to rescue the department from total collapse when it cancelled both the scholar transport and feeding schemes, as well as contracts for the provision of textbooks and stationery.
Cabinet gave Motshekga powers to run the department in March 2011, but the national department has been at loggerheads with its provincial counterpart on who should run the show.
Makupula yesterday said he welcomed the news. “It is the Cabinet and NCOP that will make a decision on this matter and we will welcome it. But let me we have made tremendous progress with the help of the intervention,” the MEC said. —
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