The Ministry of Education and Training has just over a month to deliver on a series of recommendations made by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee.
Several of the reforms carry a three-month deadline that is now fast approaching, having been made at the end of the first quarter.
This means that by the end of September the ministry is expected to have reported progress on a number of issues that have been recurring concerns in the education sector.
The recommendations place specific deliverables before the ministry, including a plan to convert temporary teachers to permanent and pensionable positions, an audit of school infrastructure, a national digital-learning plan, improvements at 40 underperforming schools and the finalisation of the revised National Education and Training Sector Policy.
The House of Assembly Portfolio Committee specifically directed the Minister of Education and Training Owen Nxumalo to work with the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) and Ministry of Public Service to prepare, within three months, a costed and time-bound plan for progressively converting eligible temporary teaching posts into permanent and pensionable positions.
“The plan must indicate the verified number of temporary teachers, the criteria to be used to prioritise conversions, annual targets and the budget required to implement the programme,” the recommendations stated.
The ministry has also been given three months to complete an EMIS-informed audit of school infrastructure and learning-resource gaps and develop a costed, regionally balanced plan prioritising underserved rural schools.
The audit is expected to cover classrooms, laboratories, libraries, furniture, water and sanitation, school-feeding kitchens, electricity and digital infrastructure. Once completed, the plan must be submitted to the House within 14 days.
Working with the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology, education must develop a phased school connectivity and digital-learning plan informed by data from the Giga School Connectivity initiative.
The plan must contain measurable targets for internet access, devices, laboratory functionality, maintenance, cybersecurity and the recruitment or training of ICT teachers. It will also require quarterly progress reports to the Portfolio Committee.
The ministry has further been instructed to ensure the implementation and monitoring of School Improvement Plans for 40 underperforming schools and submit an initial progress report within three months.
The committee also wants the Inspectorate and Regional Education Offices to receive adequate transport and logistical support to enable them to regularly visit schools and verify whether the improvement plans are actually being implemented.
The revised National Education and Training Sector Policy is another item facing the three-month deadline.
The committee wants the minister to finalise and submit the revised policy to Cabinet within three months.
The policy is important because it recognises ECCDE and Grade 0 as part of primary education. Once Cabinet approves it, the ministry must prepare a costed and time-bound plan for incorporating Grade 0 into Free Primary Education, including teacher recruitment, infrastructure, learning materials and equitable access across the four regions.
That implementation plan must then be submitted to the House within 30 days of approval.
The Committee has given the ministry six months to establish a national school mental-health and psychosocial-support framework in consultation with the ministries of health and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office.
The framework must clarify the role of Guidance and Counselling teachers, establish referral pathways and provide coordinated responses to issues including substance abuse, bullying, gangsterism, absenteeism and learner dropout.
The ministry has also been given six months to complete the upgrade of the School Education Management Information System (EMIS).
After the upgrade, the ministry will be expected to submit quarterly data to Parliament covering enrolment, attendance, repetition and dropout, disaggregated by sex, region and school level, as well as the principal causes of dropout.
