MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
12 September 2000
MEDIA BRIEFING

Documents Handed Out:
Press release on new policy
Media briefing [appended]

The Minister of Education, Kadar Asmal started with the President’s question posed to him: what is the status of our educational system?

A major accomplishment and undertaking right now is the agreement by business to invest and develop many of the deprived areas in South Africa such as the Eastern Cape, Natal and the Northern Province. The R400 million will be used to create professional offices and school structures.

In addition, he briefly discussed the Adult Education and Basic Education and Training Bill which was being debated that day in Parliament. It will launch a campaign of literacy as part of adult education. The Minister pointed out that there were 3.5 million South Africans who had not attended school and six million who cannot read or count. It was important to begin focusing on these individuals and the literacy campaign was aimed at that.

School safety program
The Minister stated that in a school survey conducted in Europe, teachers had rated what caused them anxiety and school safety was top of the list. The problem of safety in schools in South Africa related to the spatial geography of schools and the location of families in townships. The Minster stated they are working with provinces to create gun free zones at schools. He stated that principals should take responsibility because they have the authority to control what happens in schools. Schools must be the centre of the community and parents need to be involved in schools. Schools that are not a part of the community have often been used for gangster activity. He said that we are doing a good job but we need to try and curtail access to schools by the [ordinary] individual, that makes schools unsafe. Students needed to get involved in keeping their schools safe. Members of the local governing body should work together with the police service to help the safety of schools. He stated that there are fewer children in the streets not attending school.

Questions from the Media
Business Day: What is the status of salary issues with the South Africa Democratic Teachers Union?

Minister: The issue to deal with is what is the form and mission of engagement. Education and labor conditions or employment consultation. Everything does not have to be negotiated. When the teachers went on strike, most parents had to send their children to school as the parents had to go to work. Provincial government is liable if children are hurt. The clash here is between a labor matter and a security issue. In negotiations teachers wanted Council itself to appoint its own chairperson. There was a compromise whereby Council nominates five people and the Minister selects a chair from these five people.

Question: Do you believe that HIV causes AIDS?

Minister: HIV is a pandemic which we should deal with. It does not matter what I think, with medical treatment there must also be social treatment. Provincial governments must trainers with a momentum for sex education. Before 1994 sex education was part of the biology curriculum but now we want to make it a separate part of the curriculum. He stated that a number of 11-12 year old children were already engaged in sex. And there were single mothers under the age in sixteen in schools. The largest group susceptible to AIDS are those between the ages of 15-24. Sexual abuse, AIDS and a lack of respect for women and personal dignity must all be looked at.

He noted that he wanted to hold a conference with a small group of theologians before Christmas to look at the relationship between HIV, AIDS, safe sex and sex education.

Question: What if I was a 15 year old boy and I heard the President state that HIV does not cause Aids so I don’t want to use condoms - what would be your answer to him?

Minister: I can say that without condoms, sex can lead to having babies and without condoms, it can lead to sexual diseases.

Question: Do we need leadership on the issue?

Minister: The problem is that young people are not thinking about safe sex. Medical scientific information needs to be given, the President is saying that they cannot provide a degree of certainty about AIDS and HIV.

Question: How serious is racism in our schools?

Minister: This is an issue that we have to address. This issue only arises in multiracial schools where there is 40% Black students. Blacks are integrated in multilingual schools and teachers are not aware of cultural differences. If you have one hundred years of separation and now they are integrated, problems will arise. Tolerance and openness to differences must be taught so the Values, Democracy and Education Program is devised to teach tolerance. Teachers remain the same although school children are 55% Africans and most teachers are Indian. We don’t want White and Indian flight from our schools. We should have a unit to be preventive in our schools.

Question: The Minster was then asked about he inadequacy or lack of science and technology teachers?

Minister: We should pay more to our science, math and technology teachers. They are paid at a low rate. There are different rates in each province because the union negotiates salaries. All provinces are doing crash courses for teachers in these areas. Some are not equipped.

Question: Does HIV cause AIDS?

Minister: My view is irrelevant. It is important to educate people about HIV and AIDS.

Question: Is it important to have text books written in the mother tongue?

Minister’s Answer: It is significant to be taught in the mother language. Classes must be in the mother tongue to allow people to participate. Schools should provide instruction in the mother tongue. Provinces must register to make sure that the mother tongue and English are taken into account.

Appendix 1:
BRIEFING ON THE PROGRESS REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TIRISANO PRESENTED BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROF KADER ASMAL, DURING THE PARLIAMENTARY MEDIA BRIEFING WEEK, 12 September 2000

Programme 1: HIV/AIDS
* This priority has been operationalised into three projects, each of which is linked to anticipated outcomes and performance indicators: awareness, information and advocacy; HIV/AIDS within the curriculum; and, planning for HIV/AIDS and the education system. An HIV/AIDS advisor to the Minister has been appointed, and the Chief Director for General Education has been appointed as the 'champion' for the HIV/AIDS programme.

* The Ministry's policy on HIV/AIDS for learners and educators has been converted into an accessible booklet aimed at educators, school governing bodies and district officials. One million copies in a variety of official languages were distributed nation-wide in February 2000, with a back-up communication campaign on radio and in print media.

* A large part of the special allocation set aside by Cabinet for the prevention of the spread of the disease, providing treatment, care and support, supporting research, monitoring and surveillance, and protecting human and legal rights, will be utilised by the Department of Education to rapidly expand the reach of its Life Skills/HIV/AIDS programme to at least one third of all primary and high schools. Some of these funds have been allocated to provincial departments of education to each appoint two HIV/AIDS contract officials - posts which have been filled - in each provincial department for three years. Each provincial department is required to designate an HIV/AIDS programme manager, as well as working group to implement, monitor and evaluate the programme and to advise management regarding programme implementation and progress.

* A collaborative HIV/AIDS impact assessment study of the education sector is being undertaken with support from USAID, under an agreement with the Department of Health, in order to assess the effects of the epidemic on morbidity and mortality among learners and educators, and the implications for the demand, supply and quality of education, management, teaching and social support services. Learner projections have been completed and work is now underway on staff projections.

Programme 2: School effectiveness and educator professionalism
* This programme has been operationalised into seven projects: making schools work; leadership and management; governance; status and quality of teaching; learners achievement; school safety; and, school infrastructure. Some highlights are listed below.

* A whole school evaluation instrument to measure school performance has been completed, will be gazetted in September 2000 and will be implemented in January 2001 through a new school supervisory service that will raise accountability of schools for their performance and develop individual school profiles to assist school improvement programmes.

* Guidelines/norms on records to be kept by schools have been completed for implementation in January 2001. These guidelines/norms would enable school managers to manage educational information effectively and efficiently and will provide critical information to support school improvement programmes.

* A critical factor in school performance, monitored by the Department is the availability of permanently appointed principals and heads of departments and functioning school management teams. Currently 23,000 of 28,000 school principals are in permanent posts. 5,795 posts are still to be advertised.

* Standardised training and capacity building programmes for school principals and school management teams that include an introductory guide and units on managing and leading schools, managing diversity, orientation and induction and instructional leadership were made available to provincial departments in July 2000 to enable them to proceed with training programmes.

* A project to establish support structures for school principals to provide them with an avenue for sharing sound leadership and management practices will be implemented in September 2000.

* The Department supports the establishment of the National Association of School Governing Bodies as a forum for the sharing of information on good governance practices. The Association will be launched in January 2001 and the Department will create a trust fund to enable it to operate effectively.

* Seven provincial departments have now completed the election of new school governing bodies. Emphasis has now shifted from advocacy around elections to training programmes for elected school governing bodies that focus on understanding the South African Schools Act and the roles and responsibilities of school governing bodies. These training programmes are also focusing on youth leadership and the roles and responsibilities of Representative Councils for Learners.

* A review of the implementation of Curriculum 2005 has been completed, and is laying the basis for the streamlining and strengthening of our curriculum transformation programme. Key elements of the streamlining and strengthening of outcomes based education are the development of learning area statements that emphasise both horizontal and vertical integration of learning programmes and which include clear guidelines/norms for educators on learning outcomes, content and assessment, greater curriculum time allocation for language and mathematical literacy, the development of a core cadre of trainers to provide professional support to educators with curriculum change and the consolidation of curriculum development structures within the national and provincial departments. The new learning area statements will include the learning and teaching of technology and economic and management sciences and will place a greater emphasis upon the learning and teaching of history, values and democracy. This work has begun in August 2000 after Cabinet gave the go ahead for the streamlining and strengthening of Curriculum 2005, and will be completed in July 2001 for implementation in 2002 and 2003. In the meanwhile work continues on the implementation of grades 4 and 8 in 2001 as originally planned within Curriculum 2005.

* To ensure improved learner performance and attainment against national benchmarks, the Department is developing national assessment instruments for measuring learner attainment in Grades 3, 6 and 9. Work on the instrument for Grade 3 is completed for which field-testing will take place in September 2000 and implementation in the first term of 2001.

* The new national policy on admission to public schools and age-grade norms came into effect in January 2000, bringing uniformity and the prospect of reduced repetition and drop-out rates, plus significant efficiency savings.

* The national Early Childhood Development pilot project was completed and evaluated, and has laid the basis for the provision of Grade R (the reception year) for 5/6 year olds. A policy document that outlines the implementation of Grade R was approved by the Ministers of Education and Welfare and the Minister in the Office of the President. Resolving the financing of the plan with the Department of Finance is holding up its implementation. Finalising this matter is critical since the new policy on admission to public schools has seen under-age children of the poor who cannot afford early childhood education denied access to schools.

* The roles and responsibilities of the statutory South African Council of Educators (SACE), a professional body for educators, is now specified in legislation approved during the current session of parliament, and includes the registration of educators and the management of a professional code of conduct.

* Norms and standards for educator development (pre-service) have been completed and promulgated. At the same time the incorporation of teacher training colleges into designated universities and technikons is continuing for completion in December 2000.

* A three-year programme for the professional development of 85,501 educators who do not fulfil the normal professional requirement, viz. REVQ13 will begin in January 2001 with selected distance and open learning universities. The National Professional Diploma in Education has been developed for the purposes of upgrading of these educators' professional competencies. With the support of the Dutch government, the Department will develop appropriate programmes and support the upgrading of these universities' capacities to reach the targeted educators. Financial aid to the tune of R50 million will be made available to educators from funds set aside for the upgrading of under-qualified educators by the Education Labour Relations Council.

* Following the review of development appraisal of educators that is aimed at the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of educators and to develop their competencies, R70 million has been set aside by the Education Labour Relations Council to implement this programme of educator development with greater focus.

* The Department has prioritised the professional development of educators of Mathematics and Science. At least 2,000 educators will annually undertake intensive training to improve their professional competence in Maths and Science. Funds have been made available from the Conditional Grant for Education and from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

* A national teacher recognition award programme has been developed to recognise the contributions and achievements of educators to education. Provincial selections are now underway, and the national award ceremony will take place on October 5, 2000, which is also International Teachers Day.

* A sector skills plan, as required by the Skills Development Act was approved during August by the Education, Training and Development Practices (ETDP) Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA). This plan will guide the supply and demand of skilled human resources to the education sector and ensure the quality of training in the field.

* The Draft White Paper on Special Education was approved by the Ministers of Education and Welfare, and the Minister in the Office of the President and was submitted in March 2000 to the Department of Finance as required by Cabinet protocol and remains to be finalised. It is still expected that the Draft White paper will be submitted to Cabinet by December 2000.

* The school safety project of the Department aims to create a safe and tolerant learning environment that celebrates innocence and values human dignity. A campaign to mobilise communities, government departments, political leaders, service providers, parents, learners, educators and other decision makers to participate in a programme to create safe schools will be implemented in October 2000 and continue until March 2001. The Department will implement in January 2001 an integrated information system to analyse violence and precursors to violence in schools that will provide the bases for the development of sustainable crime-free schools. Discussions between the Department and the South African Police Service (SAPS) is focusing on the creation of a school safety co-ordination and strategy unit within SAPS, the development of a holistic approach to the identified problem school areas and the promotion of existing SAPS programmes that can be adopted by schools.

* The updating of the School Register of Needs - that will provide a detailed analysis of infrastructure backlogs and their financial implications and will lay the basis for the preparation of a capital development plan is underway and will be completed by end October 2000.

* An in-house geographic information system has been established. R118 million in donor funds have been secured for the reconstruction of flood damaged schools. The implementation of the programme for the reconstruction of schools in Mpumalanga will be completed in September 2000, while those in the other provinces are at various stages of progress. International assistance of R180 million for non-flood related school infrastructure development in four provinces (KwaZulu-Natal. Mpumalanga, Northern and Eastern Cape) over five years begin implementation in September 2000.

* In collaboration with the Business Trust, a repeater reduction project in 1,000 primary schools and a school quality improvement project in 450 high schools is now underway and will be completed in 2003/4.

Programme 3: Literacy
* Our work on the reduction of illiteracy takes two forms: ensuring the continued development of the current programme in Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) in line with the National Qualifications Framework, and the creation of a national literacy campaign that mobilises in particular voluntary service in support of the elimination of illiteracy.

* In line with our strategic plan, we have now established a widely representative national advisory board for the South African National Literacy Initiative and enlisted the patronship of the Deputy President.

* The national director and management team of the initiative will be appointed during September 2000, while work is being undertaken on the mobilisation of resources to support the campaign. A strategic plan has been developed, and plans are now being finalised on the establishment of a voluntary service, the recruitment of learners and community support and the development of appropriate learning and teaching materials and training programmes for educators and volunteers. Implementation of the strategic plan will begin in January 2001.

* The Adult General Education and Training Bill, that provides the regulatory framework for the provision of adult basic education and training has been debated in the committees of Parliament and is expected to be considered by Parliament when it reconvenes in September 2000.

* Unit standards on all four ABET levels will be completed and registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) during 2000, although those for language and mathematical literacy are now registered on the NQF.

* A cadre of 90 core trainers (10 per province) have been trained in outcomes based education, assessment, learner support materials development and use, while a cadre of 18 ABET officers (2 per province) have been trained in monitoring and evaluation of ABET delivery.

* Learner placement tools are being piloted in the Free State and by our partner, Project Literacy.

* Governance training manuals have been developed and the first series of training of members of public adult learning centres completed in all provincial departments.

* In July 2000 we published the first national audit of public adult learning centres. The 1999 Annual Survey shows that there are 2,226 public adult learning centres, 13,628 educators and 271,701 learners, mainly at further education and training levels.

Programme 4: Further and higher education
* The Further Education and Training Act, 1998 and the Higher Education and Training Act, 1997, and Education White Papers 3 and 4 provide the basis for the transformation of further and higher education.

* Work continues on the development of the new FET management information and funding systems in terms of the FET Act, 1998. A concept paper has been completed and forms the basis for the invitation to tender for the development of software to implement the new system.

* A national planning framework and criteria has been developed for the restructuring and consolidation of 156 technical colleges to approximately 60 further education and training (FET) institutions.

* Support for provincial strategic planning, for middle and senior management, and for governing bodies at FET institutional level are being put in place in collaboration with the Business Trust under the Colleges Collaboration Fund. The Colleges Collaboration Fund, to be completed in 2003, aims to assist the rationalisation, modernisation and upgrading of the present technical college system and increase FET enrolments from 250 000 to 400 000 over five years.

* To improve the quality and relevance of learning programmes offered at FET institutions and the employability of graduates and to support the implementation of the Skills Development Act, the Department is collaborating with the Department of Labour and the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) on the development and implementation of the learnership system. A large-scale pilot will see 2,500 learners participate in learnership development across all 25 SETAs during April-June 2001.

* Criteria for the registration and accreditation of private providers of FET is being finalised and will promulgated by December 2000.

* The Council of Education Ministers has approved a new system of senior certificate examinations that comprise nationally set examinations in selected gateway subjects (English, Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Accountancy) and province-based externally moderated senior certificate examinations in the remaining subjects. The new system will be implemented in the October/November 2001 senior certificate examinations.

* The new monitoring/moderating mechanism to assure the credibility of the senior certificate examinations was successfully implemented in 2000.

* A nationally monitored senior certificate improvement programme is currently being implemented in all provincial departments and a national improvement target of 5% has been set.

* A national award for the most improved schools based on their performance in the senior certificate examinations will be made beginning 2001 and based upon the 2000 results.

* The new higher education management information system that focuses on student and staff data in higher education has been completed and is being implemented.

* The new funding framework for higher education is close to finalisation and will be released for consultative purposes during the last quarter of 2000.

* In line with its responsibilities, the Council on Higher Education (CHE), the statutory advisory body to the Minister has presented its recommendations on the future size and shape of the higher education system. These recommendations are currently being studied by the Department after which the Minister is expected to advise Cabinet on his intentions to restructure and rationalise higher education.

* Until the higher education rationalisation and restructuring plan and the new funding framework for higher education are implemented, nationally approved and monitored institutional three-year rolling plans provide the main basis for the achievement of our goals for higher education transformation, in particular those of equity and efficiency.

* The CHE has established the Higher Education Quality Committee that is responsible for the accreditation of programmes and quality assurance and promotion.

* The framework and regulations for the registration of private higher education institutions have been established and is being implemented.

* In line with the requirements of the Constitution, the incorporation of colleges of education into higher education will be completed at the beginning of 2001, while new norms and standards for teacher education were gazetted early this year.

* The Department has initiated capacity building programmes to support the new governance structures of higher education, including councils and students representative structures.

Programme 5: Organisational effectiveness of the national and provincial departments
* Since July 1999, the Minister has placed intense emphasis on improving the leadership and performance of the provincial education systems, in particular by:

- Insisting on rapid action, which has been taken in all but one province, to appoint permanent heads of provincial departments where incumbents have been suspended or resigned

- Overhauling the operation of the Council of Education Ministers, in order to encourage active provincial participation in the critique and improvement of the system

- Intensifying the dialogue with the Ministry of Finance with respect to the adequacy and management of provincial education budgets, in order to improve resource flows to the essential areas of service provision

- Opening a dialogue with development agencies, to ensure that technical assistance is adequate and well-targeted

- Emphasising the Ministry's responsibility to monitor provincial education and achieving agreement on a quarterly report by MECs on the state of education in their provinces, according to a set of indicators.

- Intensifying visits to the field by national officials.

* The Minister has institutionalised a quarterly report to the President on the progress in provincial education. The third report is in preparation and will be delivered in September. This report will place greater emphasis on analysis of the information and on the identification of critical actions to be taken at national and provincial levels to accelerate education transformation and to achieve the objectives of Tirisano.

* Capacity-building in information systems and analysis, and applying the school funding norms is being undertaken under an EU grant. In order to improve access to educational information, the Department has completed the design of a reporting framework for a departmental web page. It is expected that this will be implemented in the final quarter of 2000.

* The Department is implementing the Employment Equity Act, and a national workshop has been convened in terms of the consultation requirement, and provincial departments have been proposed as "workplaces" for the purposes of this Act. The next stage will now commence, with a collation and analysis of equity related data in terms of the legislation, and the development of an equity plan framework for use by the national and provincial education departments.

* Conditions of service in education are largely in compliance with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. Variations are required in terms of the working hours, which the Department is seeking to institutionalise in schools. The total of 1,800 hours over 200 days seems excessive, but if the period of measure includes a holiday the matter is resolved. A proposal has therefore been introduced to unions to calculate working hours over a 12-week period, which shall not exceed those provided for in the Act. Leave requirements also differ in relation to school-based educators. A proposal has been made to unions for school holidays to be regarded as leave, and for no other vacation leave to be provided. This will, by agreement, be regarded as in compliance with the legislation.

* The Education Departments Support Unit (EDSU) continues to supply needs-based capacity building services to provincial departments in terms of the Education Policy Reserve conditional grant. Some of the activities completed are: The Department has assisted the Free State to assess the capacity of the senior management team which in turn has been incorporated into the department's strategic plan. KwaZulu-Natal was assisted with the development of its organisational structure, while Mpumalanga and North West were assisted with the development of appropriate delegations. Surveys of Needs were conducted in and handed over to the Eastern Cape and Free State to review their organisational structures, management capacity, processes and systems. Training and professional development of head office staff performing financial administrative functions, including the administration of the budget was completed in the Eastern Cape, Free State and Northern Province. Training and professional development of head office staff performing human resource administrative functions and human resource development was completed in the Eastern Cape, Free State and the Northern Province. Practical guides for training and professional development of all staff performing financial, human resource and logistical administrative functions was completed and distributed to all departments, while support for on the job training will be provided to KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, North West and the Northern Province.

* Within the staff functions of the Department the following activities illustrate what activities have been undertaken to fulfil the requirements of national government policies. To implement the Employment Equity Act, the Department has created a Special Programmes component to deal with employment equity cases. The primary function of the Special Programmes component is to represent the Director-General on matters pertaining to staff representativeness, employment equity, affirmative action programmes, and organisational wellness and employee assistance programmes in the Department. Progress is audited, monitored and regularly reported on. Workshops were conducted on the implementation of the Employment Equity Act for all staff members to sensitise them with regard to the implementation of the Employment Equity Act and discrimination in the workplace. An Employment Equity Policy and Plan has been developed to address issues of representivity. Quarterly reports are produced which contain the following information: numbers and percentages of employees in terms of race, gender and disability, engaged in various job categories and directorates within the Department; the nature of training and development projects being effected in or planned for the Department; and, the degree of representation of disadvantaged groups.

* The following staffing policies have been developed to ensure that the Department complies with the provisions of the Public Service Act, Public Service Regulations, The Employment Equity Act, The Basic Conditions Of Employment Act and The Labour Relations Act: a bursary policy; a policy on the promotion of representivity; a policy on HIV/AIDS; an Employee Assistance Program; a Training and Development Strategy; an employee strategy for people with disabilities; an organisational rights policies; and, a sexual harassment policy. The following policies are being developed: a policy on disciplinary procedures; an anti-corruption policy; a fraud prevention policy; and, a Skills Development policy and Workplace Skills Development Plan. The Department is promoting a new corporate culture around the core values of non-racial, non-sexist, respect for cultural diversity, productivity and excellence in service delivery.

* The Department has established an ABET programme within which 69 of a targeted 77 employees are currently registered. Bursaries are made available for employees who are interested in furthering their studies and developing their skills.

* During September/October 1999 the Department conducted a skills audit arising from which financial management, presentation skills, project management, persal, labour relations, gender policy development, auditing, business skills, negotiation skills and secretarial excellence have either been presented, facilitated or co-ordinated.

* All staff members have participated in workshops on the basic conditions of employment, and the Code of Conduct.

* In terms of the requirements of the Public Service Act and regulations, employment contracts for managers are in place, a job evaluation panel has been appointed, job descriptions have been developed and a performance management and development scheme has been developed is currently being piloted.

* The Department has taken the following steps to implement the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA): a summary that outline the responsibilities of the Minister of Education has been compiled and submitted for the Minister's and the Deputy Minister's information in November 1999. A similar document that outline the responsibilities of provincial executing officers was presented to the Council of Education Ministers. Letters were sent in March 2000 to all public entities working in the educational sector, to introduce the PFMA to them, attaching a copy of the act and pointing out the relevant sections applicable to them. A circular has been sent out to all responsibility managers concerning the PFMA, attaching the Act for their information and specially pointing out section 45 of the PFMA. The Finance Directorate started a programme of lectures and discussions on a weekly basis in November 1999 to make all finance staff in the Department aware of the requirements of the PFMA and the Treasury Regulations. These sessions were completed in July 2000. The Finance Directorate is developing a document concerning the requirements of the PFMA for discussion at workshops with other departmental officials. These sessions will, according to planning, start in October 2000. Financial delegations have been reviewed. The reporting requirements concerning expenditure in terms of the PFMA and the Treasury Regulations have been adhered to since April 2000. Since financial statements will need to be submitted much sooner than previously required, a special effort was made with the closure of the books of account and the submission of annual statements to the Office of the Auditor-General for the 1999/2000 financial year. All financial statements have been submitted by 31 July 2000. This is a considerable improvement in respect of the submission of the statement for State Guarantees concerning loans taken up by higher education institutions. Previously this statement could only be submitted at the earliest by October. Departmental financial policies are being developed at present to address all issues not addressed in the Treasury Regulations. These policies will be made available to all staff members by 31 December 2000.

* Since 1995 the Department submits monthly cash flow reports to the Minister of Education. All responsibility managers in the Department also receive a summarised cash flow statement and FMS reports on a monthly basis since 1995. The Directorate: Financial Services constantly monitors the departmental expenditure to ensure that expenditure is in line with the approved budgeted line items and reports on material deviations for corrective action. In the area of budget inputs for the MTEF framework, two or three planning and budgeting workshops are held annually to ensure that the departmental plans are in line with the allocations made to the Department, that projects are aligned with departmental policies and priorities and that projected outcomes are realistic.

* The Department has published its second Statement of Public Service Commitment, and challenged the staff in the Department to translate words into action to ensure that we deliver the full range of services and outcomes that meet peoples' needs. The Department has developed and is piloting a new Performance Management and Development Scheme (PMDS), which links the strategic objectives of the Department and its capabilities, and focuses strongly on the transformation of the Public Service and the Public Service Management Framework. The Department is in the process of developing a compensation policy, to be piloted in 2001, as part of the PMDS. The Department has also developed a basic instrument to measure the performance of the Department (balance scorecard) and will expand this instrument before the end of this year to make it a comprehensive instrument that will also link to the planning process and the PMDS.

Issued by the Department of Education, 12 September 2000