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STAFF REPORTER
THE Select Committee on Education and Technology, Sport, Arts and Culture has been engaging with the nine Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) on their 2023/24 Annual Performance Plans (APPs) and Budgets in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) over the past three weeks, commencing on 19 April 2023.
The final virtual briefing session wrapped up on 10 May 2023 with a report delivered by Mr Albert Chanee, DDG for Strategic Planning Management, from the Gauteng Province.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) made special reference to matters relating to underperforming schools; dropout rates; infrastructure and sanitation; school safety; psychosocial support; school sport and culture; and youth development.
Acting Director-General, Dr Granville Whittle, led the Departmental delegation during the presentation on the DBE’s Annual Performance Plan (APP) 2023/24 and the 2023 Budget Allocation.
Ms Nosipho Mbonambi from the DBE’s Strategic Planning Directorate, discussed the DBE’s five 5-year Sector Outcomes in the 2019 – 2024 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and the sector priorities for the 6th Administration.
“Oversight findings on the draft APP from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) and the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) were implemented to provide more reflection on Budget Prioritisation Frameworks; strengthen information provided over the planning period and strengthen Technical Indicator Descriptions (TIDs),” she said.
MTSF areas to be strengthened in provincial and national APPs include, amongst others, a better accountability system for principals; a comprehensive package for teacher development; strengthened Numeracy and Reading; ECD indicators linked to classroom outcomes; and sector monitoring with Standardised Output Indicators (SOI) across PEDs to ensure uniformity and to align with Government priorities.
The Heads of Education Committee (HEDCOM) Sub-committee provides a forum for strategic interaction on information sharing, capacity building and best practices in relation to improve sector performance.
The APP is divided into four parts: the Mandate; Strategic Focus; Measuring of Performance; and Technical Indicator Descriptions (TIDs).
Mr Pat Khunou, DBE CFO, presented the Departmental Budget, indicating that the 2023 MTEF allocation totals R31,782,713 billion, a 7% increase from the 2022 budget of R29, 693,160 billion, including conditional grants.
Continued coordination, support and monitoring will ensure that national and provincial strategies and programmes are closely aligned to the overall vision of the Basic Education Sector to improve learning and teaching challenges and outcomes.
The various Budget Vote Debates of national government departments will commence on 9 May, with Minister
Motshekga delivered the annual Budget Vote Speech for the Department of Basic Education, Budget Vote 16, to the National Assembly in Parliament, Cape Town, on 18 May 2023.
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