Mr Ron Swartz, Head of Education
Members of Top and Broad Management
Representatives of School Governing Bodies
All colleagues and friends of WCED
Ladies and Gentlemen
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) provides services for 947,815 learners, 30,872 educators, 1,452 public ordinary schools, 70 schools for learners with special needs, six Further Education and Training (FET) colleges at 39 sites, 112 Adult Community Learning Centres at 301 sites and 446 subsidised pre-primary schools. In addition we have 8,823 public service staff.
Since 2003/04 the Budget has grown on average 9,7% per annum in nominal terms. Education continues to receive the bulk of the available provincial funding with 37,12 % of the 2007/08 provincial budget. But I am sure you are very familiar with the above statistics and figures.
In the last few years there has been radical changes in the national education policy environment, coupled with changes in the roles and responsibilities of the WCED in respect of the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy and the Human Capital Development Strategy.
We must always remember that the delivery of the curriculum remains our core mandate, and the learner in the classroom is thus our key concern. What is important then, is the centrality of the school, or the learning site. We need to focus our efforts on providing support for the management of sites of learning, for the learners, teachers and parents.
In the last few years, there has been consistent growth in educator numbers; and many of our schools in the province are excelling in their matriculation results and in various other measures of performance.
However, too many African and Coloured learners are not passing with matriculation endorsements and in the critical areas of Maths and Science, and it is clear that significant additional support for teachers is needed in order for our learners to be reaching their full potential.
Thus our service delivery standards must focus across all levels of our education system, but must unequivocally emphasise our schools that face daily challenges of poverty, crime and underdevelopment.
In order to render services properly, the department is being staffed appropriately through our Redesign process. In fact, I am proud to report to you today that the Cabinet has this week approved nominations for Senior Management Service posts. I believe this is a seminal moment for service delivery and transformation of the WCED.
I want to emphasize that the micro-design phase is even more critical, as it is at the district and circuit level that over 70 per cent of the budget allocated to the redesign will be spent. The previous redesign process never resulted in posts being filled at EMDC level.
The proposed micro-structure will be tabled to the Cabinet later this month, and once approved, we will begin a process of matching and placing, as well as advertising new posts.
The structural adjustments we are making, will accelerate the goals of expanding access; promoting equity and redress; providing knowledge and skills and, by so doing, assist in the fight against poverty and unemployment.
This remains our mandate and we in the education sector have a critical role to play to ensure that our youth acquire the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes needed to develop their own potential and assist in placing our country on a sustainable and shared growth path.
Quality education for every one of our learners will only be realised if we continue to direct resources (financial and human) in a manner that creates genuine equity and redress and when our educators, parents and learners place teaching and learning at the centre of their lives.
Quality education will only be realised if we are willing to invest in our people, and we are. Over the 2007 MTEF an additional amount of R809 million is allocated to improve conditions of service of teachers.
This province is the first to implement a pilot course for school business managers. The first 65 trainees - officials and FET college staff - are already being trained as mentors. Next year the first intake of 150 school administrative clerks will commence a one-year training programme. There will be 350 candidates in 2009 and 500 in 2010.
In 2006 a total of 1,875 educators were exposed to 38 different residential courses at the Cape Teaching Institute. It is important that we continue to provide focussed in-service training to teachers based on research needs. We continue to resource and secure full-scale teacher development programmes aimed at upgrading the qualifications of existing teachers.
Training of school management teams must ensure that teachers, in turn, are supported by competent and knowledgeable managers and leaders. Leadership development at all levels of the system has been repeatedly identified as a weakness.
To respond pro-actively to this need, the WCED is offering induction programmes to newly appointed principals and deputy-principals, as well as courses to aspirant principals.
Our district offices manage the range of Workplace Skills' Training Courses, which are part of the cycle held together by the model of individual personal growth plans and school and district improvement plans, which fall under the Integrated Quality Management System and the other sets of Performance Management tools.
Our teachers and school leaders are our most precious resource. They are the direct target of our proposed redesign and have been the subject of countless hours of deliberation as we have strategised as to how to set up support and service models, which will respond directly to their needs.
Since 1994 the democratic government targeted acceleration of service delivery to communities. This has been necessary to eradicate the inequalities of the past.
The White Paper on Transforming Service Delivery and the Batho Pele philosophy say that the Public Service should be people-centred and that people must come first.
It sets out our responsibility in the social contract of giving effect to a developmental state where we transform, recreate, re-image and redress to indeed give effect to our creed of "A better life for all".
The Batho Pele Strategy on service delivery has been developed to meet the following strategic objectives:
l to introduce a new approach to service delivery which puts people at the centre of planning and delivering services;
l to improve the face of service delivery by fostering new attitudes such as increased commitment, personal sacrifice, dedication;
l and to improve the image of the Public Service.
The Service Charter of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is based on the eight principles of Batho Pele. This entails that in the everyday service delivery of every employee of the WCED those eight principles should be reflected.
We have developed our Human Capital Development Strategy, which aims to improve the human resources in the province by focusing on education, in particular, the education and development of our youth.
What is the link between the Human Capital Development Strategy and the Service Delivery Improvement Plan and the Service Delivery Charter of the WCED?
If Head Office and our District Offices deliver on the standards they set for their directorates and district offices, standards which are all aligned to the standards of the WCED, they will enable the educators to educate and develop our learners, the youth of this province and mould them to be better human beings and citizens of this country.
In other words, the quality of Service Delivery Standards will have a knock-on effect in terms of how we implement the Human Capital Development Strategy of the Western Cape.
Why is this occasion such an important event on the calendar of the WCED? It is absolutely essential for the WCED to communicate its Service Delivery Standards to:
l Ensure that all employees are aware of the standards;
l Educate our service beneficiaries about our standards;
l Provide information that is reliable and up to date on the quality services we strive to deliver, services that meet the needs of our service beneficiaries; and
l Make a commitment to our service beneficiaries.
The launch today of our Service Delivery Charter is indeed the commitment this department makes to its service beneficiaries. Our prime beneficiaries are always our children and their parents.
Although this Charter commits the WCED and its directorates to certain service delivery standards, I think we must also begin to think about delivery standards at school level.
My Office regularly fields calls from irate parents about the treatment they get from some principals at certain schools. A school in Mitchell's Plain sent out a letter to parents, which read as follows:
"Educators will be sacrificing their personal time, braving cold and neglecting their families to come and discuss your child's progress with you. Should you choose not to settle your outstanding fees in full, do not expect educators to make that sacrifice for your child. No fees paid, no progress discussion?"
This is not the only school where parents and learners get absolutely unacceptable treatment and service from our schools. As a department we are held to account by the public, therefor we must hold our schools accountable for unacceptable service standards.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I trust that what we are unveiling here today, will once again demonstrate our commitment to truly make the Western Cape a Learning Home for All.
Thank you
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za
INtshona Koloni - iKhaya loMntu wonke
Die Wes-Kaap - 'n Tuiste vir Almal
