By Johnathan Paoli

The Gauteng education department has denied malicious intent regarding the student funding concerns at the Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA).

Speaking to Inside Education, department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department was aware of the challenges and was doing everything in its power to deal with the situation.

“We acknowledge that we did experience some delays in making necessary payments to some institutions, which have already been resolved as payments were made accordingly,” Mabona said on Friday.

This follows the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) demanding the immediate removal of the GCRA CEO Percy Moleke, and a new leadership that reflected the aspirations of young people.

“This individual’s incompetence has caused unnecessary suffering to students, betrayed the trust placed in the institution and undermined its mandate to support youth development,” ANCYL provincial secretary Mpume Sangweni said in a statement.

Mabona responded to the calls for a change in leadership.

“We note their call for leadership change at GCRA, however, it must be noted that the department adheres to labour legislation to employ or dismiss employees, and such must always be respected,” he said.

The affected students include three top-performing medical students from the University of Cape Town, with the league claiming possession of an email sent by a fifth-year student to GCRA pleading for assistance regarding unpaid tuition fees.

Sangweni accused Moleke of sabotaging ANC-led initiatives, such as the Nasi Spani programme, which aimed to create opportunities for young people.

“The GCRA was established to transform the lives of young people, but under this leadership, it has become a symbol of inefficiency and betrayal,” Sangweni said.

In October last year, the Democratic Alliance called on provincial education MEC Matome Chiloane to launch an investigation into serious allegations of student bursary fraud and corruption involving senior department officials at the GCRA.

This followed reports that a group of anonymous department employees accused their Head of Department, Rufus Mmutlana, and Head of Human Resources, Kgabo Morifi, of running an elaborate scheme to coerce junior administrators into diverting payments and stipends intended for students.

The institution has been plagued with numerous challenges ranging from mismanagement of funds to corruption and maladministration, with the Auditor- General previously recommending that the accounting officer open a case against Moleke.

Moleke was implicated in the tender fraud, corruption and maladministration of supply chain management procedures.

The league called for the appointment of a credible and qualified young person who would better understand the lived realities of the youth.

It encouraged any students affected to come forward.

Mabona said department wished to assure students that the matter was being managed accordingly, and it has communicated to the affected institutions not to withhold results of the students.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The Department of Basic Education has recovered an overpayment of more than R21 million from the Mvula Trust, an implementing agent involved in one of its infrastructure projects during the 2022/23 financial year.

This recovery was confirmed by Minister Siviwe Gwarube, who responded to Parliamentary questions about financial mismanagement and the measures in place to monitor contractors and service providers.

Gwarube said that the department engaged implementing agents to manage the construction of new infrastructure and the maintenance of existing school facilities.

She assured Parliament that systems were in place to monitor these projects closely, with regular site visits conducted to verify that progress aligns with contractual obligations.

In the event of delays or issues requiring corrective action, Gwarube emphasised that the implementing agents bore the associated costs.

This policy was enacted in the recovery of the R21 million overpayment from the Mvula Trust.

Gwarube acknowledged that while delays and discrepancies could arise in large-scale infrastructure projects, the department remained proactive in holding implementing agents accountable for any financial irregularities.

The department’s infrastructure delivery model depends on implementing agents like Mvula, Coega Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa to execute projects on its behalf, with the agents appointing professional service providers to design, monitor and administer contracts, ensuring quality and compliance.

However, accountability measures have been strengthened to mitigate the risk of financial irregularities.

Gwarube outlined several strategies to ensure the timely completion and quality delivery of school infrastructure projects.

The department holds regular progress meetings with implementing agents, addressing construction milestones, challenges and risks, with updates being shared with the Ministry, the Director-General (DG), and operational teams.

Department officials, including the DG, conduct site visits to verify that work aligns with contractual specifications, ensuring progress is on track and within agreed timelines.

The minister said with the recovery of funds and the implementation of enhanced monitoring strategies, her department aimed to ensure that South Africa’s schools received the infrastructure support they urgently needed, reaffirming its dedication to providing a conducive learning environment for students.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) has demanded the immediate removal of Gauteng City Region Academy (GCRA) CEO Percy Moleke following a fee-crisis which has left a growing number of students without funding.

ANCYL provincial secretary Mpume Sangweni called the appointment of leadership that reflected the aspirations of young people.

“This individual’s incompetence has caused unnecessary suffering to students, betrayed the trust placed in the institution, and undermined its mandate to support youth development,” Sangweni said on Thursday.

The affected students include three top-performing medical students from the University of Cape Town, with the league claiming possession of an email sent by a fifth-year student to GCRA pleading for assistance regarding unpaid tuition fees.

Sangweni accused Moleke of sabotaging ANC-led initiatives, such as the Nasi Spani programme, which aimed to create opportunities for young people.

“The GCRA was established to transform the lives of young people, but under this leadership, it has become a symbol of inefficiency and betrayal,” he said.

In October last year, the Democratic Alliance called on Education MEC Matome Chiloane to launch an investigation into serious allegations of student bursary fraud and corruption involving senior department officials at the GCRA.

This follows reports that a group of anonymous department employees accused their Head of Department, Rufus Mmutlana, and Head of Human Resources, Kgabo Morifi, of running an elaborate scheme to coerce junior administrators into diverting payments and stipends intended for students.

The institution has been plagued with numerous challenges ranging from mismanagement of funds to corruption and maladministration, with the Auditor-General previously recommending that the accounting officer open a case against Moleke, who was implicated in the tender fraud, corruption and maladministration of supply chain management procedures.

The league said a credible and qualified young person must be appointed so that the GCRA better understands the lived realities of the youth.

It has also encouraged any students affected to come forward.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande have paid tribute to late education minister Prof Sibusiso Bengu. saying that he was a trailblazer in education.

“Prof. Bengu was a pioneering leader of our democratic dispensation and administration who led the transformation of education in a democratic government… where deep divisions existed about how far this transformation should go,” Ramaphosa said on Thursday.

Bengu, who was South Africa’s first democratic education minister and then the ambassador to Germany, died earlier this week. He was 90.

Ramaphosa praised the Education Act formulated under Bengu’s leadership as a cornerstone of the liberation project in addressing the legacies of the past.

He thanked the former minister for his patriotic and visionary service in developing the educational landscape.

“His legacy is entrenched through the Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme which seeks to advance the development of historically disadvantaged institutions in higher education as strong, socially embedded institution in a diversified post-school education and training system,” Ramaphosa said.

Nzimande praised Bengu’s role as vice-chancellor of Fort Hare University and playing a leading role in dismantling the apartheid edifice of South Africa’s education sector.

“As part of the Cabinet of president Nelson Mandela, he led the introduction of a number of foundational laws that helped to shape the policy and institutional architecture of South Africa’s school and post-school sector in the decades following the collapse of the apartheid system,” the minister said.

He praised Bengu’s facilitation of the South African Schools Act of 1996 and the policy recommendations of the National Commission on Higher Education that guided government’s efforts to reconstruct and transform the apartheid higher education system.

In addition, Nzimande welcomed Bengu’s role in the transition from the Tertiary Education Fund of South Africa to the now National Students Financial Aid Scheme.

In 2022, Nzimande approached the former minister on behalf of government to accept the renaming of what was then known as the Historically Disadvantaged Institutions Development Grant to be the Sibusiso Bengu Development Programme.

The programme is aimed at decisively redressing the inequalities that have negatively impacted the development and sustainability of institutions and seeks to enable them to respond to cross-cutting imperatives, including decolonisation in higher education, indigenous knowledge systems, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitisation.

“In Prof. Bengu our country has lost not only one of its most committed educationists, but also a model public servant and patriot, who even when his own health was waning, continued to serve his country and people with dignity and integrity,” Nzimande said.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Amy Musgrave

South Africa’s first education minister in democratic South Africa, Prof. Sibusiso Bengu, has died. He was 90.

According to a statement issued by his family on Tuesday, Bengu passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on Monday.

“We will fondly remember him as a dear husband, father, uncle, grandfather, an educator, former Minister of Education and Ambassador amongst others,” his family said.

Bengu, who was born in Kranskop in May 1934, dedicated his life to education and the public service. He began his career as a teacher in 1952, and 17 years later he founded the Dlangezwa High School in what was then known as Natal. He was the principal until 1976.

After completing a PHD in Political Science at the University of Geneva, Bengu was appointed as a professor at the University of Zululand in 1977. Four years later he became the first black Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fort Hare.

From 1994 to 1997, Bengu served as education minister under Nelson Mandela.

While his first political home was the Inkatha Freedom Party, where he was the secretary-general, ideological differences between him and the late IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi that the party should become a democratic, mass-based organisation, led to his departure.

He later aligned with the African National Congress, becoming a trusted ally of Oliver Tambo.

The former government minister introduced Curriculum 2005, a proposal for transforming the approach of school education in South Africa.

But the plan was received negatively and criticised by teachers as well as opposition parties, which led to it being reviewed.

After the 1999 election, Bengu was named the ambassador to Germany, a position he served until his retirement from politics in 2003.

He received an honorary degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2009.

Bengu’s family said that funeral arrangements would be communicated in due course and asked for their privacy to be respected at this difficult time.

He is survived by his wife Funeka, four daughters and a son.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Johnathan Paoli

The Western Cape High Court has dismissed an urgent application by the Special Action Committee (SAC) to halt the provincial education department from cutting over 2000 teaching posts.

The application demanded an immediate moratorium on the non-renewal of contracts, pending a ruling from the court to set aside the department’s decision.

Education MEC David Maynier, finance MEC Deidre Baartman and the provincial department were cited as respondents in the application.

Judge Melanie Holderness held that the SAC failed to prove urgency because it had delayed bringing the matter before the court since becoming aware of the announcement earlier in the year.

This follows Maynier’s announcement in August that the province would be cutting 2407 posts for the reappointment of temporary teachers in the 2024/25 financial year following a budget shortfall of R3.8 billion from the National Treasury’s budget cuts.

The SAC had also asked the court to compel the provincial education department and Maynier to consult and start a budgeting process involving all stakeholders to ensure that there was one teacher for every 30 learners in public schools.

The deadline to cut the posts is Tuesday. Cape Town is set to slash 1674 teaching posts, with the remainder being from the rest of the province.

Maynier previously defended his position and said the national government’s decision to not fully fund the 2023 multi-year wage agreement resulted in a massive deficit for provincial education departments.

The Western Cape is not the only province affected by the budget cuts. Some provinces, such as Gauteng, have said that they will make up for insufficient funding by cutting transport and school feeding schemes.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Edwin Naidu

The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has activated its war room for the 2025 academic year to monitor and tackle potential challenges, ensuring a trouble-free start.

According to Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Buti Manamela, the department was on track with its planning for 2025 and that teams would be on the ground to provide leadership and swiftly address potential challenges.

The DHET’s University Education Branch would visit universities to observe how registration processes were unfolding on campuses.

The war room aims to ensure a collaborative approach with university management, Student Representative Councils, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the DHET to address concerns without disrupting the registration process and the beginning of the academic year.

The department has formed a steering committee comprising representatives from key stakeholders to address challenges and build on the lessons learnt from 2024. It is being overseen by Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane.

Earlier this month, the steering committee heard from university registrars on plans to release registration data via a monitoring tool first used by the DHET in 2022.

The tool requires universities to provide data on applications received and spaces available for first-time students (undergraduates) per programme and faculty, emergency accommodation plans in place to assist students while they are waiting to finalise registration and accommodation placement, and the registration process (online, physical, assisted registration and extension).

A Central Application Clearing House provides an opportunity for learners who have yet to receive a place to study at a post-school higher education institution. It opens for sign-ups on 24 January 2025, more than a week after the announcement of the National Senior Certificate examinations on 13 January.

NSFAS concerns

When the department met registrars and the NSFAS in October to discuss and assess the readiness of universities and the scheme to start the 2025 academic year, the registrars raised concerns about the scheme’s preparation for the year. They stated that the issues that arose during the registration process in 2024 should be addressed before the start of 2025 registration.

These included delays in processing applications for funding, issuing confirmations, disbursement of allowances, processing of appeals and private accommodation-related matters.

Another concern for 2025 was safety and security.

Manamela said the DHET’s university branch was continuing to participate in the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure to strengthen its relationship and engagement with the Safety and Security cluster. Primarily, the need to ensure “vulnerable” first-year students were housed close to or on university premises and given necessary protection was paramount.

Universities of South Africa (USAf) chairperson Prof. Francis Petersen has warned that although the matric results would be released a week earlier, it would still pressure universities, especially in finalising the NSFAS funding list.

In 2025, 16 universities will start their academic year in January and 10 universities in February.

According to USAf, the enrolment capacity for universities in 2025 is 202,000. Most universities’ teaching and learning programmes will be face-to-face, incorporating blended methodologies to enhance them. At the same time, all universities have wi-fi on campus and in their residences.

USAf chief executive Dr Phethiwe Matutu has warned that 12 universities have indicated a shortage of accommodation.

She said they were concerned about the capacity of NSFAS to manage student accommodation allocations promptly.

“There is a need for NSFAS to consider university accommodation and university-leased accommodation first before private accommodation to ensure that public infrastructure is appropriately utilised,” she said.

The NSFAS plans to finish processing all 2025 applications by 31 January 2025, with upfront payments for all students including Health Sciences expected to be paid by early January.

The upfront payment for universities is based on the total amount of the 2024 academic year, which is expected to represent 10% of the total amount paid.  One month’s payment is equal to this sum, estimated at R3,716,973,899.31. The funding is intended to cover personal care, living expenses, travel, books and accommodation.

For TVETS, each college receives an annual tuition allocation which stipulates the total amount to be utilised towards tuition payments for qualifying NSFAS students. The upfront payment to be advanced is based on 20% of each TVET college tuition allocation. Therefore, R641,013,350.00 will be paid as tuition upfront to TVET colleges by the 10 January.

Student concerns

The SA Technical Vocational Education and Training Student Association (Satvetsa), which represents the interests of the students across all 50 TVET colleges, has been engaging the DHET on implementing SRC recommendations to ensure the smooth operation of campuses.

The association has warned there are a number of issues which could disturb the smooth opening of the 2025 academic year, including:

•  Some institutions do not have SRC members, which creates communication barriers between students and management;

•  The issue of campus safety is still a significant challenge at campuses;

•  Poor maintenance in college-owned residences;

•  Colleges not supporting Satvetsa and SRC members (some not affiliated to the structure); and

•  The lack of institutions having partnerships with the private sector for students’ placements, resulting in them having to stay at home.

The SA Union of Students has warned that the registration period is a make-or-break moment for the higher education sector, and failure to resolve fundamental matters that hinder access, particularly for low-income and working-class students, creates unnecessary tensions.

Stability in NSFAS and its systems are critical for a smooth and peaceful take-off for the 2025 academic year.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Edwin Naidu

Basic Minister Siviwe Gwarube must feel like she has egg on her face.

The minister boycotted the signing of Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (Bela) Act on 13 September 2024 because she was opposed to it in its current form with the main sticking points being the diminished authority of governing bodies concerning admission and language policy.

This was driven by Afrikaner civic body AfriForum, the Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front +.

After three months of deliberations around the contentious sections 4 and 5, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the full implementation of the Act. One cannot gauge whether anything substantial has changed, but Gwarube has no choice but to implement the regulations.

Ramaphosa’s decision amid severe politicking provides certainty and stops in the tracks efforts by right-wing organisations to use the laws meant for everyone for the benefit of a few. As part of Bela, white privilege should become a thing of the past – well at least on paper – until government delivers on the regulations aimed at levelling the education playing fields in the country.

What this debacle has clearly shown is that 30 years of democracy has not eliminated apartheid from the heart and minds of some in the Rainbow Nation. Schools remain a hotbed of racism, with deepening inequality and disparities in infrastructure having grown.

To her credit, in a briefing to Parliament, Gwarube said she would not allow politicking around the implementation of the Act. She is committed to making a difference for all children in South Africa. Ironically, the minister played politics when she boycotted the Presidential signing ceremony in September.

But having brokered a deal with Afriforum, which threatened legal action, as is their custom to protect Afrikaner rights, which mind you are guaranteed in the Constitution, she now says that she is committed to driving Bela. Whatever Gwarube and the DA have done to broker the deal, after all the tension, South Africa is the winner.

One wishes Gwarube strength as she understands the nuts and bolts of Bela and its efforts to transform education for all in South Africa.

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) says the Bill was passed with overwhelming support in both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, therefore, there was no justification for delaying the implementation of clauses 4 and 5 for further consultation as this undermined the wide-ranging legitimate processes conducted over many years in which all the parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU) participated.

Sadtu said that South Africa’s legislators would no longer be held to ransom by those who could not get rid of their apartheid hats.

Thirty years of democracy should be celebrated by ensuring that citizens are put first instead of always being at the mercy of those who want to subject the country to the whims of a minority.

Bela is about opening the doors for learning for all.

Most crucial to the debate is how Bela Act will be funded. The government must explain how it will fund the implementation of the regulations.

One estimate suggests that it will cost around R16 billion to implement the clauses. This against a backdrop of teacher cutbacks raises more questions than answers government can provide.

Before rejoicing, let’s understand how Bela will be rolled out – and whether Gwarube will be given the resources to make it happen.

Edwin Naidu is Editor of Inside Education.

INSIDE EDUCATION

The Information Regulator of South Africa has hit the Department of Basic Education with a R5 million fine for not upholding its last notice, which blocked the department from publishing the 2024 matric results in national papers.

The regulator issued an Infringement Notice to the department on Monday (23 December) in which it ordered the DBE to pay an administrative fine of R5 million following its failure to comply with the Enforcement Notice issued on 18 November 2024.

The regulator had issued the Enforcement Notice following the finding of the contravention of various sections of the POPIA by the DBE.

The Enforcement Notice had ordered the DBE to provide an undertaking “that it will not publish the results of the 2024 matriculants in the newspapers” within 31 days from the date on which the order was served.

It also ordered that the department “must not publish the results for the 2024 matriculants in newspapers and must make these results available to the learners using methods that are compliant with POPIA.”

The Regulator indicated that should the DBE fail to abide by the Enforcement Notice within the stipulated timeframe, “it will be guilty of an offence, in terms of which the Regulator may impose an administrative fine in the amount not exceeding R10 million, or liable upon conviction to a fine or to imprisonment of the responsible officials”.

The 31 days given to the department expired on 19 December 2024.

“To date, the department has not provided the Regulator with an undertaking that it will not publish the results of the 2024 matriculants in the newspapers as ordered in the Enforcement Notice or any other communication in that regard.

“The DBE had the right to appeal the Enforcement Notice in terms of section 97(1) of POPIA. POPIA provides, amongst others, that if an appeal is brought, the Enforcement Notice need not be complied with pending the determination or withdrawal of the appeal.

“The Regulator had not been served with the appeal application by close of business on 19 December 2024 despite media reports that the DBE had lodged an appeal against the decision of the Regulator in the High Court,” the regulator said.

Explaining the decision of the Regulator, Adv Pansy Tlakula, the chairperson of the Regulator, said, “We understand it from media reports that the DBE intends to publish the matric results in the newspapers on or about 13 January 2025, something which it is prohibited from doing by the enforcement notice issued by the Regulator.

“The DBE cannot disobey lawfully issued orders of the Regulator without following the procedure stipulated in POPIA. The two orders issued by the Information Regulator against the DBE have the fullest legal force and effect and must be complied with by the DBE until set aside or suspended by an appeal served upon the Regulator timeously.”

The Regulator said it had not yet been served with the DBE’s appeal against the orders issued against it.

“For this reason, these orders remain of full force and effect and must be complied with. In terms of POPIA, a responsible party who fails to comply with an enforcement notice is guilty of an offence, and the Regulator may cause to be delivered by hand an infringement notice to a responsible party who has committed an offence as provided for in section 109(1) of POPIA. The DBE has failed to comply with the enforcement notice.”

Since the Regulator has not received the DBE’s undertaking not to publish the results of the 2024 matriculants in the newspapers, the DBE is in breach of the orders issued by the Regulator.

The DBE now has 30 days from 23 December 2024 to pay the administrative fine or make arrangements with the Regulator to pay the administrative fine in instalments or elect to be tried in court on a charge of having committed the alleged offence referred in terms of POPIA.

BUSINESS TECH

By Staff Reporter

Payments for the 9390 markers and examination assistants employed by KwaZulu-Natal during the 2024 National Senior Certificate were processed on Monday, according to education MEC Sipho Hlomuka.

The second run would be executed on 6 January.

Marking commenced at the start of the month and finished on 10 December, meeting the department’s deadline.

Hlomuka said that all payments would be finalised before Tuesday.

“Our markers and assistants play a critical role in safeguarding the integrity of our education system by ensuring the accurate and timely processing of learners’ examination scripts.

“Their dedication and hard work deserve recognition, and we are committed to supporting them in every way possible,” he said in a statement.

The department extended its gratitude to all stakeholders who contributed towards reaching the goal and ensuring that no delays were encountered in the payment process.

The MEC has wished all markers, examination assistants and their families a joyous festive season and a prosperous new year.

INSIDE EDUCATION