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Policy Recommendations:
Improving the quality of education in KwaZulu-Natal
Acknowledgements
This report has been a collaborative project which has involved many different individuals and teams ofresearchers.
The Provincial Treasury, KwaZulu-Natal is acknowledged for its role in initiating the project, and in particular project originator, Simiso Magagula, and project manager Jayanthri Naidoo.
The process of conceptualizing, driving and structuring the report was led by a core team of Professor Wayne Hugo, Margaret Jack, Professor Volker Wedekind and Daniel Wilson with contributions from Jabulani Ngcobo, Dr Nonhlanhla Mthiyane and Professor Nithi Muthukrishna.
A dedicated group of academics, students and assistants were involved in the research aspect:
Field research, data capture and analysis was done by a team managed by Dr Nonhlanhla Mthiyane, Dr Carol Bertram and Professor Iben Christiansen. The team included Professor Nithi Muthukrishna, Professor Volker Wedekind, Jabulani Ngcobo, Dr Thabile Mbatha, Dr Tabitha Mukeredzi, Makie Kortjass, Tim Houghton, Gugu Mthembu, Mbongiseni Mtambo, Siyanda Khoza, Sikhumbuzo Khumalo, Nkosinathi Khumalo, Mbongeni Cebekhulu, Olawale Olaopa, Jairos Hlatywayo, Zanele Mkhize, Tyler May, Thamsanqa Mahlangu, Mbongiseni Mtambo, Sibusiso Hlela, Alice Msibi, Simphiwe Mntambo, Rosemary Brown, Tarryn Strang and Zolile Zungu.and Thobeka Mbatha.
Administration of the process was done by Wesley Naidoo and Sikhumbuzo Khumalo.
Editor: Jane JacksonTypesetting and layout: Kim Jones - Landmark Media
These publications are the intellectual property of the Provincial Treasury, KwaZulu-Natal. To obtain access to the reports contact:
Jayanthri Naidoo or Simiso Magagula Treasury House145 Chief Albert Luthuli RoadPietermaritzburg3201
Policy recommendations:
improving the quality of education in KwaZulu-Natal
Report 3 of the Provincial Treasury study on improving the quality of education
in KwaZulu-Natal
Presented by the School of Education and Development,
University of KwaZulu-Natal
PROVINCIAL TREASURY KWAZULU-NATAL
September 2010
Policy Recommendations iv
v
Table of Contents
List of tables and maps ........................................................................................... ivAbbreviations .......................................................................................................... vExecutive summary .................................................................................................. 1
Policy recommendation 1: ................................................................................................ 5Increased staff resources for improved data quality (EMIS and SA-SAMS)
Policy recommendation 2: ............................................................................................... 10A comprehensive, publicly accessible and up to date information system for schools in KwaZulu-Natal
Policy recommendation 3: ................................................................................................ 14Short course on planning for quality education in KwaZulu-Natal
Policy recommendation 4: ................................................................................................. 16A high level co-ordinating committee on human resource development with a specific focus on teachers
Policy recommendation 5: ................................................................................................. 20Prioritize clear and specific job descriptions that respond to the challenges at District level
Policy recommendation 6: ................................................................................................ 25Establish a research community engaged in researching education in KZN
Policy recommendation 7: ................................................................................................. 27Language of learning and teaching (LOLT)
Policy recommendation 8: ................................................................................................. 30 Research on the effectiveness of consolidating rural schools
Policy recommendation 9: ................................................................................................. 33Research and evaluation unit on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment
Policy recommendation 10: ................................................................................................ 41Improve PPN and RAM
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 44
Appendix: ............................................................................................................................ 46Reducing the size of the Districts
Policy Recommendations vi
List of tables and maps
Tables
Table 1: EMIS and SA-SAMS staffing requirement for Districts 8
Table 2: Annual costing for enhanced data quality - EMIS and SA-SAMS 9
Table 3: District ranking data 22
Table 4: Schools per Local Municipality and District – Scenario 1 49
Table 5: Schools per district – Scenario 2 (local government wards) 51
Maps
Map 1: Alternative education district demarcation scenario based on combining local municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal 50
Map 2: Alternative education district demarcation scenario based on combining local government wards in KwaZulu-Natal 52
vii
Abbreviations
ACE AdvancedCertificateinEducation
CHE CouncilonHigherEducation
CPD Continuingprofessionaldevelopment
DHET DepartmentofHigherEducationandTraining
DUT DurbanUniversityofTechnology
ECD Earlychildhooddevelopment
ELRC EducationLabourRelationsCouncil
EMIS EducationManagementInformationSystem
FET FurtherEducationandTraining
HEMIS HigherEducationManagementInformationSystem
HTML HyperTextMarkupLanguage
IQMS IntegratedQualityManagementSystem
LER Learner-educatorratio
LOLT Languageoflearningandteaching
LURITS LearnerUnitRecordInformationTrackingSystem
NDBE NationalDepartmentofBasicEducation
NEIMS NationalEducationInfrastructureManagementSystems
NQF NationalQualificationsFramework
NVC NationalCertificate(Vocational)
OECD OrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment
PERSAL Personnelsalarysystem
PMDP Principals’managementdevelopmentprogramme
PPN PostProvisioningNorms
RAM ResourceAllocationModel
SACE SouthAfricanCouncilforEducators
SA-SAMS SouthAfricanSchoolAdministrationandManagementSystem
SETA SectorEducationandTrainingAuthority
SEM SeniorEducationManager
SGB Schoolgoverningbody
SMT Schoolmanagementteam
UCT UniversityofCapeTown
UKZN UniversityofKwaZulu-Natal
UNIZULU UniversityofZululand
Policy Recommendations viii
Vision
An information rich,
knowledge based,
evidence driven,
empowered KZN
education system
striving for sustainable
quality in a developing
context
1
Executive summary
The ten policy recommendations made here have synergy with existing and new policymovementsatnationalorprovinciallevel.ConsideringtheresearchdoneontheTreasuryProject,thereforminitiativesoftheNationalDepartmentofBasicEducation(NDBE)andtheKZNDepartmentofEducation(KZNDoE)canbeviewedverypositively.Muchofthereformisdrivenbytheattempttosetminimalstandardsacrosstheeducationalsystemandtoensurethatthesestandardsareadheredto.Thiswillplacetoughdemandsontheeducationalsystematalllevels.Thesetenrecommendationsrespondto,andalsobolster,theabilityoftheKZNDoEtodealwiththesedemands.
Thefocusoftherecommendationsmoves,inorder,fromsimplesolutionstosolvableproblemsto complex solutions to intractable problems. A commonmistakemade when working outhowtoimprovequalityineducationistostartwiththebiggestobstaclestoimprovingqualityandthepossiblesolutionstotheseproblems.Thiscanresultinamassivewasteofenergyandresourcesasoftenthesebigproblemsarepoorlyunderstoodanddonothavesimplesolutions.The Treasury recommendations avoid this danger. The first four recommendations set outsimple practical solutions to specific problems: solutions that can leverage reform quicklyatminimalcost.Recommendationsfiveandsixsetout the longer termandmoreexpensiveinterventionsthatareneededtoensurethatthemomentumgainedbyimplementingthefirstfourrecommendationsisnotlost.Recommendationsseventotendetailfourinterventionsthatneedextensiveandintensiveworkduetothecomplexnatureoftheproblemandthelackofreadilyavailableanswers.
Recommendationonedealswiththeneedforincreasedandreliablefeedbackontheoperatingstatusofthesystem.Poordatacollection,capture,distributionandanalysisresultinallsortsofproblemsacrossthewholesystem.Westilldonothaveaccurateinformationonbasicinputssuchasthenumberoflearners,qualificationoftheteachers,passratesandconditionsofschools.Bynextyear(2011)theNDBEwillimplementstandardisedliteracyandnumeracytestsinallschoolsatgrade3,6and9levels,resultinginamassiveincreaseintheamountofdatawewillhaveontheperformanceoflearners,teachers,schools,wards,districtsandprovinces.Properlydone,theseassessmentswillprovidedetailedtrackingofhowthesystemperformseachyear,enablingfocusedinterventions.Establishingeffectivefeedbackmechanismsacrossthesystem-feedbackbasedonreliableinformationandsoundprinciples-isthesinglebiggestinterventionthatallows foran immediate impactonefficiencyandquality. It is alsooneof thecheapestandmosttangiblewaystomakeameasurabledifference,mainlybecauseitenablesanexplicitviewoftheactualperformanceofthesystemandofanyimprovementsthatmayhaveresultedfrominterventions.Itprovidesthekeyleveragepointfromwhichtoeffectthemostchangeforthe leasteffortand lowestcost.At thesimplestandmostbasic level, thedatacollectionandanalysisarmoftheKZNDOEmustbestrengthened,especiallyastheirworkloadhasrapidlyincreasedandwillcontinuetodoso.Inaccuracyatthislevelwillresultinfundamentalweaknessthroughoutthesystem.Astrengthenedresource,staffandskillsbase fordatacollectionandanalysisthereforesitsasthefirstandkeyrecommendationoftheTreasuryProjectandcomesinatacostofR18400000peryear.
Policy Recommendations 2
Thesecondrecommendationcalls forapubliclyavailableeducationinformationsystemthatfacilitatestheengagementofallinterestedgovernmental,civicandcommunitymemberswhodoeducationalworkorhaveaninterestineducation.Itwilldetailthegeographiclocationofallschoolsintheprovincealongwithspecificinformationoneachschoolsuchascontactdetails,teacherandlearnerratios,statusoftheschool,quintilelevel,educationalperformanceofthewardanddistrict,budgetreceivedfromtheKZNDoE,etc.Itwillenablecivicandcommunityparticipationinlocaleducation.ThiswouldcostR250000tosetupandrunatanupkeepcostofR150000peryear.
ThethirdrecommendationrevolvesaroundashortcourseonPlanningforQualityEducationinaDevelopingContext, thathasspecificreferencetoKZN.Thiswill targetmiddle levelsofmanagementwithintheKZNDoEandworkinapracticalwaythatenablesbestpracticesbasedon existing research. A first cohort of 40KZNDepartmentmanagerswill be identified andengagedinthecourseatacostofR15000perhead(R600000).Thiswillimprovethecapacityof human resources within the KZNDoE and setmomentum towards a knowledge driven,evidencebasededucationsystem.
The fourth recommendation calls for a high level committee to be set up between highereducation,tradeunionsandtheKZNDoEtoimproveplanningwithregardtoteachereducationanddevelopment.TheannualbudgetforthecommitteeisR100000peryear.
Theneteffectofimplementingthesefourrecommendationswillbeimproveddatacapturingandanalysis,thefacilitationofwidercivicandcommunityengagementwitheducation,anenhancedunderstandingofhowtoimprovethequalityofeducationwithintheKZNDoEandeffectivehighlevelplanningbetweenthemajorstakeholdersworkingwithimprovingthequalityoftheteachingworkforce.Theserecommendationsalsoprovidetheseedsfordevelopingaknowledgebased,evidencedriven,empoweredKZNeducationsystemstrivingforsustainablequalityinadevelopingcontext.
Inorderforthisvisiontogrow,however,thehumanresourcecapacityoftheKZNDoEneedstobeextensivelyimprovedanddeveloped,asdoestheabilityofthesystemtoaccessandutilizeevidence todrivepolicyandprovide feedback. Improveddatacaptureandmanagementwillplace enormous demands on the districts to act on the performance levels of its learners,teachers,principals,schools,wardsandcircuits,especiallyoncesystemicevaluationsatgrade3,6and9becomeentrenched.ResearchdonebytheTreasuryProjectpointtospecificdistrictsbeingbothunder-resourcedandpoorly structured.At the same time,however,district levelofficialsdonothaveclearjobdescriptionsorperformanceagreementstohelpthemidentifytheworktheyareactuallysupposedtodo.Recommendationfivesetsoutmechanismsforworkingouttheresourcedemandsofspecificdistrictsaswelltheneedtospeeduptheprocessofjobdescriptionsatdistrictleveltoensureworkiseffectivelydone.Itisimportantnottogoaheadwithbolsteringdistrictresourcesbeforeclearjobdescriptionsareinplace.Thiswillenableaclearerpictureofthespecificshortfallstoemerge.
3
Recommendation six calls for a research communityofpractice tobe setup that is focusedspecifically on education in KZN. Although the Treasury Project has set out some of theparametersofeducationintheprovincethereisarealdangerthattheresearchoutdatesitselfand/or gets shelved. The Project has been valuable not only because of its deliverables butbecauseofprocesses,practicesandexpertiseithasenabledandputinconversation.Theseneedtobesustained,nurturedanddevelopedtoenableagenuinelyresearchledandevidencedrivenprovincial education system.Amodel similar to thatofUmalusiandCHE is recommended,wherebyappointmentsaremadeattheupperlevelsoftheKZNDoEtomanage,requisitionandco-ordinateresearchoneducationinKZN.Therearebothsalaryimplications(R600000)andbudgetimplications(R4000000)fortheKZNDoE.ThisistobecombinedwithextendingtheshortcourseoneducationplanningintoHonours,MastersandPhDlevels,thusdevelopingandextendingexpertiseandresearchinimprovingthequalityofeducationinKZN.Tokick-starttheprocess,bursariesshouldbemadeavailableforstudentsatMastersandPhDleveltoresearchissuesraisedbytheTreasuryProjectandspecificallyfocusedonKZN.
Recommendationsseventotendealwithcomplexproblemsthatcausemajordisruptionandinefficiencywithinthesystemanddonothavesimpleclearsolutions.Forexample,weknowthatlearnersneedtostayforaslongaspossiblewiththeirhomelanguageasthelanguageoflearning and teaching.Nevertheless there are powerful reasons and forces that prevent thisfromhappeningacrossKZN.MajorlongitudinalresearchneedstobedoneonthisissuebeforeapolicymoveonisiZuluasthelanguageofteachingandlearninginprimaryschoolsismade(recommendationseven).Therearesimilarissueswiththeresearchintotheconsolidationofruralschools(recommendationeight),introductionofworkableandresearchedstrategiesatthelevelofthecurriculum,pedagogyandassessment(recommendationnine),andthereworkingoftheresourceallocationmodelandpostprovisioningnorms(recommendationten).Thebasicinsightmotivatingthelastfourpolicyrecommendationsrevolvesaroundthelackofinformativeresearchintoeffectiveeducationalpracticesandtheresultingmassivewasteofresourceswhennew ideas are put in place without careful research. These recommendations dovetail withthe establishment of an education research community of practice dedicated to researchingeducationalpracticesinKZNandhowtoimprovethemwithinadevelopingcontext.Thiswilladdressthepaucityofreliableresearchthatcanbeusedtomakepolicyandplanningdecisions.ItwillalsoresultinimprovedinformationonthecurrenteducationpracticesinKZNandthusdovetailswiththefirsttworecommendationsarounddataqualityandfeedback.
Inanappendixwehaveincludedasetofradicalsuggestionsaroundthere-organizationofthegeographyofKZNeducationbasedontheincreasingdemandsthatwilldevolvetodistrictlevelwiththenewreforms.Thisentailedexploringdifferentdistrictmodelssuchastheincreaseofdistricts from12 to 18and the realignmentofdistrict circuitswithmunicipalboundaries toimprovecrosssectoralignment.
Thereisadangerwithpolicyrecommendationsthatawholeraftofpoliciesaremootedthatdonotseethelightofdayduetobudgetconstraints,theinabilitytofindwellqualifiedpersonnelorthefailuretosecureproperinfrastructuralrequirements.Theseconstraintscanresultinpoorly
Policy Recommendations 4
qualifiedpeoplebeingemployed,atgreatcostbothfinanciallyandintermsofeffectivepractices.Itcanevenresultinexistingeffectivepracticesbreakingdownandapoorimagetakingtheirplace.Wewouldseektoavoidthesedifficultiesandrathersetupcommunitiesofpracticewithinthesystemthatareinformationrich,evidencedriven,researchledandcommittedtoworkingatalocallevelwithexistingpractices.
5
TheEducationDepartmentneedstorecognizethecriticalrolethatanaccurate,comprehensiveand up to data EducationManagement Information System (EMIS) can play in supportingeffective decision-making in the province aswell as the crucial contribution of SA-SAMS inenhancingschool-basedinformationsystemsanddataaccuracy.
A conscious decision should bemade to increase staffing resources for both EMIS and SA-SAMS,withmore resources for larger andmore challenging districts, instead of the under-resourcedandoverstretchedone-size-fits-allsituationwhichprevails.Similarly,theprovincialEMISunitshouldbestaffedtoitsfullcomplementsothatitcanrealizeitsfullpotential.TheexistingcapacityofEMISshouldberadicallytransformedatprovincial,districtandwardlevelthroughtheemploymentofadditionalspecializedpersonnelwiththerequisitedataanalysisandITskills.Considerablesavingscanberealizedthroughmoreaccuratedata(e.g.reducedlearnernumbers)andmoreefficientresourceallocation.
1.1. Justification of policy recommendation
Therearehugechallengesassociatedwith thequalityofeducationdata in theprovince.TheDepartment’sOperational Plan indicates that the percentage accuracy in the compilation ofstatisticaldata iscurrentlyonly85%,andthat it takesamonth forsubmissionofsurveys tooccurplusovertwomonthstocaptureschooldata(KZNDoEOperationalPlan2010–2011.p.27).Thereareproblemsthereforewithdataqualityandefficiency,whichhasleadtoalevelofscepticismregardingthedataprovidedbyschools.
Self-reportedenrolmentdataarepronetoinflation,leadingtoinefficientresourceallocation.The time required for school information to be captured, verified and analysed for effectivedecision-making is too long.TherolloutofSA-SAMSandLURITS iscurrently tooslowand,
Policy recommendation 1
Increased staff resources for improved data quality (EMIS and SA-SAMS)
An appropriate resource, staffing and skills base for EMIS and
SA-SAMS/LURITS in KwaZulu-Natal.
Policy Recommendations 6
atthepresentpace,willtakeyearstobeproperlyimplementedindistricts.Inthemeantime,schoolsmaybecomefrustratedatthelackofsupporttheyarereceivingwithSA-SAMS.
SA-SAMSprovidescrucialmanagement,administrationandgovernancesupportforschools.Itwillhelpschoolstomanagethemselvesbetter,raisetheirawarenessofmanagementanddataaccuracyissuesandimprovetheirselfesteem.Itishoweveraresource-intensiveundertakingto get it up and running to the stage where schools are comfortable with it. It cannot beimplemented,supportedandmaintainedbystafferswhoalreadyhaveEMIStocontendwith.Thenetresultisthatitmaytakeyearstoimplementandcanneverbeproperlysupportedatcurrentstaffinglevels.
Finally,thereisacompellingfinancialreasontodevotemoreresourcestoimprovingEMISandschool information systems. If, as theKZNDoEOperationalPlan estimates, thepercentageaccuracy of statistical information is currently 85%, itmeans that the department could bespendingupto15%ofitsbudgetunnecessarilyoratleastmisallocatingfundsbythisamount.Thereasonforthisisthatlearnernumbersdeterminemostofthekeyfinancialallocationstoschools:howmanyeducatorstheyqualifyfor(postprovisioning),theirnormsandstandardsallocation,physicalinfrastructureneedsetc.This15%‘inaccuracy’representsuptoR1.2billionofexpenditure(the2009/10BudgetSpeechbytheMECforEducationSenzoMchunuputsthetotalbudgetatR24.6billion)thatcouldarguablybeputtobetteruse.TheimplementationofSA-SAMSisalreadyshowingthatlearnernumbersintheprovincearedroppingdramatically.ThisisbecausethesystemislearnerID-based,makingitdifficulttoartificiallyinflateenrolmentfiguresthroughinventinglearners.
A key question remains whether the department, by fully implementing SA-SAMS and animprovedEMIS, can realize the savings resulting frommoreaccuratedata. If, as suspected,itresultsinlowerlearnernumbers,therewillbeopportunitiesforredeploymentofeducatorsand for reducing expenditure on some schools in favour of genuinely needy schools.Manyresourcingdecisionswouldbeaffectedsuchaspostprovisioning,resourcetargeting,quintiles,physicalinfrastructure,booksandstationery,butthedepartmentwillneedtotakeconcertedactiontore-deployresources(includinghuman)infavourofrealneed.
1.2. Prior efforts
District-basedEMISpersonnelhavebeenappointed(oneperdistrict)andsomeadditionalstaffhavebeenassistingwiththerolloutofSA-SAMSandLURITS.TheDepartment’sOperationalPlan2010-2011indicatesthattherewere1800schoolsusingSA-SAMSin2010/11withatargetof6160(100%)by2014/2015.Italsoindicatesthatthereisanestimated85%accuracyinthecompilationofstatisticalinformation,withatargetof100%by2014/2015.Therearesimilarlyambitioustargetsforreducingtheturnaroundtimeforsubmissionofsurveys,datacaptureandreturnrateofsurveyforms.
7
It is clear that someworkhasalreadybeendone to improve the functioningofEMIS in theprovincebuttheaddedchallengesofSA-SAMSandthecontinuedunderstaffingoftheprovincialEMISsectionaretakingtheirtoll.ThereisanopportunitytotakeaboldnewleaptowardsbetterqualitydataandplanningwithSA-SAMS,butthiscannotbedoneatcurrentstaffingandskillslevels.
The one-year operational plan refers to 3 EMIS officials per district but at this stage thereonlyappearstobeone.Theone-size-fits-allapproachtostaffingdistrictsisinappropriate.AdistrictsuchasVryheidwith752schoolsshouldclearlyhavemorestaffthanAmajubawhichhasonly242.
1.3. Challenges
Resources are scarce and the department is under pressure to reduce administrative costs.There may be some resistance to increasing the number of EMIS staff due to competingprioritiesaswellasgate-keeping.Thereisarealriskofthewrongstaffbeingappointedandbeingunproductivee.g.staffwithnodataanalysis,databaseorITskills.Itiscounter-productivetomakeappointmentsbasedonfavourorpoliticalinfluencesincesuchpersonnelareunabletotakeproperownershipofthejob.Itiscriticallyimportantthattherightpeopleareappointed:peoplewhotakeapersonalstakeinimprovingdataqualityintheprovinceandwhowilltakeresponsibilityfortheirschools.ThiswillfacilitatetheirprovisionofaccuratedataandsupportthefullimplementationofSA-SAMS.
1.4. Implementation strategy and options
Oncethenewstaffinglevelsperdistrictandfortheprovincehavebeenagreeditwillbeessentialtodevelopaclearsetofjobdescriptionsandashortandlong-termEMISplanperdistrict.Thegoalisclear:toachieve100%accuracyofschooldataandtomakethisdatawidelyavailablefordecision-makersandstakeholders.Theskillsofexistingstaffshouldbecapitalisedupon,andinmanycasestheycanmentornewstaffmembers.Inadditiontostaffing,therewillbeaneedfor intensive training sessionson software tools fordata captureandanalysis,mappingandbasicreporting.EMISstaffshouldbecometrainedinformationprofessionalswhoknowtheirschoolsthoroughlyandcanreportwithauthorityonschool-relateddata,includingtheuseandinterpretationofeducationindicators.
Theroll-outofSA-SAMShasgivenrisetoanurgentneedforschool-basedsupportanditwillbenecessary toundertake school visits to resolve technicalproblems, toprovide additionaltrainingandsoftwareupdates.Thiswillrequiretransportandrecognitionthatstaffmemberswhoworkinruraldistrictshavetotravelgreaterdistances.
Policy Recommendations 8
1.5. Costing
ThepointofdepartureforstaffingofEMISandSA-SAMSatthedistrictlevelisabasicminimumoftwopeopleperdistrict,oneforEMISandanotherforSA-SAMS.Thisshouldbeincreasedbyadditionalstaffbasedonaweightingthattakesintoconsiderationthenumberofschools,thenumber of learners and thedistances fromdistrict offices to schools. In otherwords, itisexpected thatadistrictwith largenumbersofruralschoolswillhave toworkagreatdealharder to turnEMISsurveysaround, toverify thedata, toensure thatSA-SAMSisproperlyimplementedandtodealwithday-to-dayschool-basedSA-SAMSqueries.
Staffing Recommendations:
Table1belowsetsoutaproposedscenarioforstaffingdistrictswithregardtoEMISandSA-SAMSpersonnel.Theschool, enrolmentanddistance factorsareequallyweightedandusedtodetermineanadditionalstaffcomplementthatwouldallowfordistrictstobemoreevenlymatchedinhumanresourcesformanagingEMISandforsupportingaperschoolimplementationofSA-SAMS.
Table 1: EMIS and SA-SAMS staffing requirement for Districts
District Schools Enrolment
2009
Average
Distance
from District
Office to
Schools (km)
Base EMIS
& SA-
SAMS Staff
Complement
Recommended
additional Staff
required due
to enrolment,
school numbers
and distance
considerations
Total
EMIS &
SA-SAMS
Staff
Complement
Amajuba 242 130 000 23 2 0 2Empangeni 661 292 767 48 2 3 5Ilembe 429 162 040 30 2 1 3Obonjeni 538 228 164 61 2 3 5Othukela 444 184 469 40 2 2 4Pinetown 499 317 920 16 2 2 4Sisonke 444 158 651 61 2 2 4Ugu 491 215 284 38 2 2 4Umgungundlovu 503 219 807 26 2 1 3Umlazi 461 303 606 11 2 1 3Umzinyathi 481 176 686 64 2 2 4Vryheid 752 298 096 67 2 4 6Total 5 945 2 687 490 24 24 48
9
InadditionitwouldbenecessarytostaffProvincialEMISfully.Theorganogrammakesprovisionfor11staffmembers,butonly4positionsintheprovincialEMISofficearefilledatpresent.LikethedistrictEMISpersonnel,theyareoverstretchedandcannotprovideaprofessionalserviceatpresentstaffinglevels.Toomuchemphasisisplacedonmeetingdeadlinesforsurveyturnaroundandnotenoughondataverification,analysisandmanagementsupport.Theywouldalsobenefithugelyfrommorejudicioususeoftheinternetasadatadistributionmeans.
Costing:
Thecostingbelowassumesadistrictbasedstaffingcomplementof48,plusatotalof11staffattheprovincialoffice(aspertheorganogram)aswellasfourtrainingsessions/technicalmeetingsperyearandtransportationforSA-SAMSrelatedvisitstoschools.
Table 2: Annual costing for enhanced data quality - EMIS and SA-SAMS
Item Cost
Total salaries R 13 870 000Workshops, training sessions and inter-district collaboration meetings R 2 520 000
Transport R 2 100 000
Estimated Annual Cost R 18 490 000
Policy Recommendations 10
InthiswaytheDepartmentofEducationcantakealeadingandproactiveroleintheprovisionof relevant education information to stakeholderswithin andoutside thedepartment.Localcommunitieswillbeempoweredwithcrucialinformationaboutschoolssuchasperformance,
Policy recommendation 2
A comprehensive, publicly accessible and up to date information system for
schools in KwaZulu-Natal
A comprehensive and up to date information system on
KwaZulu-Natal schools is developed and made available on the
Internet for public and departmental access. The system should
provide high quality maps showing schools and health facilities
in relation to roads, towns, rivers and administrative boundaries
for the use of service providers, trainers, department personnel,
MECs etc. There should be a facility allowing users to zoom to an
area of interest, find a specific school, clinic or town and display
increasing levels of detail: this can be used for spatial planning.
The ability to click on a specific school or clinic and display
critical attribute information such as the number of learners and
educators, Section 21 status, quintile or Matric. results is also
essential, together with being able to view photographs of the
school (where available) and display more detailed
school or clinic information.
11
fundinglevelsandenrolment.Governmentdepartments,NGOs,fundersandotherstakeholderswillhavefreeaccesstoinformationaboutschools,learnerperformanceandmatriculationresults.The distributionpotential of the Internet canbe fully utilized.Over time the system canbedevelopedtoprovideinformationaboutteacherssuchasbiographicaldetails,qualificationsandtheresourcesprovidedtoschools.Itmaybenecessarytorestrictaccesstocertaincomponentsof the informationsystemif thedata isdeemedtobetoosensitive,but thegeneralprincipleshouldbeoneofopenaccessandtransparency.
2.1. Justification of policy recommendation
Manypeopleare in thedarkaboutwhat isgoingon in theDepartmentofEducationandatschools.Informationremainsbehindcloseddoorsonthebasisthatitisconfidential,unreliableand/ortoosensitiveforrelease.Itisalmostimpossibletogetsomethingassimpleasanaccurateaddress list of schools or school level data on Matric. results or recent enrolment data orinformationonthepublicfundinggiventoschoolsormapsshowinghowtogettoruralschools.Thisdatashouldbefreelyavailableinthepublicdomainsothatstakeholderscaninteractwithit,interrogateandanalyseit.Itisamatterofpublicrecordandapowerfulwayofensuringthatthequalityofeducationinformationisimprovedovertimeandinconsistenciesareironedout.
TheeffectiveuseofanInternet-basedinformationsystemwouldmeanthatEMIScouldspendless timedealingwithmundaneday to day queries andmore time on strategic informationmanagementandanalysis.Thiswillhavepositivespin-offsfordecision-makingintheprovincesincetherewillbeagreaterfocusonkeyeducationindicatorsandlongitudinaltrends.
2.2. Prior efforts
TheDepartment of Education has a website but it is out of date and poorlymaintained. Itdoesnot indicateanunderstandingof thekindsof information thatpeoplewouldfindmostinterestinganduseful todownload.Therearenomaps, indicatorsorkeystatisticsavailable.EMISinformationisburiedinthemaindepartmentalwebsiteandtakestoolongtoaccess.Manyof themore interestingdataelements (suchasMatric. results,Section21 statusand learnernumbers)arenotmadeavailable.Therearenophotographsofschools.
TheDepartment’sOperationalPlan(KZNDoEOperationalPlan2010–2011)statestheyareaiming to ensure that ‘information is available andaccessible to all target audiences’ (p.74).Theyarealsoplanningto‘developtheDepartment’sintranetandinternet’(p.73).Thereisnoindicationofhowthiswilltakeplaceandofwhatkindsofinformationwillbemadeavailable.There are references to multi-media presentations, media statements, radio interviews,newspaperarticlesand ‘publicitycampaigns’(p.73)buttheneedforprovidingreal, tangibleinformationonschoolperformance,fundingandinfrastructuretostakeholdersseemstohavebeenoverlooked.
Policy Recommendations 12
In short, very little information is available or shared either within or beyond the Department of Education. No effort has been made to capitalize on the benefits offered by the Internet.
2.3. Challenges
TheDepartmenthasbeenreluctanttosharedataforfearthatitcouldopenitselfuptocriticismorthattheveracityofthedatawouldbequestioned.Thereareconcernsaboutlabellingpoorlyperformingschools,stigmatizingteachersordenigratingcertainareasoftheprovince.Itisfarbettertoopeneducationupfordebateandtogivepeoplethemeanstoseewhatisgoingonintheprovincesothattheycanhelpandcontribute.
2.4. Implementation strategy and options
ThereareOpenSourcesolutionstoprovidingmapsanddataviatheinternet.Theseofferfreesoftwarewithahighlyprofessionalmeansofdesigninginformationsystemsthatareinteractiveandscalable.
Theinformationsystemshouldhavethefollowingminimumcapabilities:
• MapsofthewholeofKwaZulu-Natalshowingschools,healthfacilities,towns,roads,rivers,administrativeboundariesandkeylandmarks.Theseshouldbedownloadableandfreeofcharge
• Dataforschoolssuchasschooltype,ownership,Section21status,numberoflearners
• Anuptodateaddresslistforschools
• Planningmapsforeachdistrictthatshowthedistributionofeducationwards,circuitsandadministrativeoffices
• Afacilitytouploadandviewphotographsofschools
• A one-page profile for each school providing key statistical data e.g. enrolment trends,learner-classroomandlearner-educatorratiosandinfrastructureneeds
Over time the system could be developed to provide more analytical information such aseducation indicators, trendanalyses and commentary.A series of information leaflets couldbedeveloped that areprovided toall schools andcommunities (via libraries). Thesewouldsummarizelocaleducationwardsandtheschoolstherein.Thematicinformationandanalysis
13
could also be provided to various stakeholders within the Department, such as Personnel,FinanceandPhysicalPlanning.
2.5. Costing
IfanOpenSourcesoftwareplatformisusedtherearenoongoinglicensefeestobepaid.Themaincostistheinitialdevelopmentofthesystemandthereafterongoingmaintenanceanddataupdatecosts.Thesystemcanthereforebedevelopedandmaintainedatafractionofthecostofacommercialsoftwaresystem.
Development costs: R250 000 – includes software development, Map Server and HTMLprogramming, data acquisition, development of user interface,mappreparation and layout,loadingofschoolanddistrictprofiles,linkingofphotographs,uploadingofallmaps.
Ongoing annual update costs: R150 000 – includes liaison with District EMIS personnel,identifyingandeffectingchangesinkeydatasets,modifyingmaps,modifyingschoolprofiles,loadingnewphotographsetc.Alsoincludesongoingdevelopmenttothesystem.
Policy Recommendations 14
3.1. Justification of policy recommendation
Thedevelopment of organisational human resource capacity and enhancement of skills is acrucialfactorinservicedelivery.Thedevelopmentofthecapacityofoffice-basedpersonnelwillcontribute to theaccomplishmentofstrategicgoalsand, in turn,servicedelivery.This focusareacouldalsocontributetotheeffectiveutilizationoftheSkillsDevelopmentLevy.DevelopingsuchacourseattheUniversitywillresultinimprovedunderstandingofeducationalplanningattertiarylevelandenablethebeginningsofaspecializationinthisfield.
3.2. Prior efforts
ThereisalreadyanACE-levelqualificationforschoolprincipalsfundedbytheDepartmentofEducation.However,thereisnospecificcourseinterventionforoffice-basedemployeeswithinmiddlemanagementlevelsoftheKZNDoE.ThereisnospecializationoneducationplanningavailableinKZN.
Policy recommendation 3
Short course on planning for quality education in KwaZulu-Natal
Introduction of an accredited in-service educational planning
course for middle management, aimed at: bringing about change,
i.e. working within shared norms, ethos, vision and goals on how
to improve the quality of education in a developing context; and
improving capacity to plan, implement and monitor quality of
education in a provincial context.
15
3.3. Challenges
TheKZNDoEworksinsilosanddoesnothaveaclearworkingunderstandingoftheprinciplesbehinddeliveringqualityeducationwithinadevelopingcontext.Nor is thereaconsolidatedunderstandingofexistingpracticesandresearchineducationalplanningwithinadevelopingcontext(provincially,nationallyorregionally).Thereislimitedexpertiseineducationalplanningwithintheprovincebothprofessionallyandacademically.Therearenoexistingmodelsintheprovincetobuildon.
3.4. Implementation strategy and options
The course shouldwork onprinciples that have alreadybeen established as effective in thePrincipals’ManagementandDevelopmentProgramme.Cleardeliverablesthatcentrearoundthe existingdemands andmaterialswithin theDoE shouldbeusedas a startingpoint.Theactualpracticesof theKZNDepartmentofEducationmiddlemanagementmustbeengagedwithandthevariouslevelswithinmiddlemanagementputincontactwitheachother.
3.5. Costing
ThecostingofashortcourseinEducationPlanningisR15000perstudent.Theinitialcohortwouldbe40students(R600000).ThiscanbecoveredbytheKZNDoEortheskillslevy.
Policy Recommendations 16
4.1. Justification of policy recommendation
Thereislittledoubtthatthehumanresourcesinthedepartmentarethecentralleveragepointforenhancingqualityineducation.Theinternationalandlocalresearchshowsclearlythatitispeoplethatmakethedifference,notbuildingsorothermaterialresources.Whilethedrawingofdifferentdistrictboundaries,settingupofdirectorates,buildingclassroomsandlaboratoriesordevelopingnewmaterialscanallenhancequality,theydosoonlyifthepeoplethatpopulatethestructures,manageschoolsandresourcesoruse thematerialsaremotivatedandskilledenoughtoutilizetheseresourceseffectively.Thispointisoftendemonstratedbythedifferentperformanceofschoolswhereallotherfactorsareconstant.Investinginthepeopleisthesinglemostlikelyenhancerofquality. Clearly,with90000educatorsintheemployoftheKZNDepartmentofEducation,thefocusneedstobeontheexistingstaff.ButtheKZNDoEhasaturnoverofsome3000–4000teachersperannumanditiscriticalthatthereisafarmoresystematicattempttoreplacetheseteacherswithqualityteachers.Therecannotbeapassiveapproachthatreliesonthehighereducationsystemtoproducethefutureemployees.Thereneedstobeastrong,coordinatedandlongtermplanthataddressesthesupplyaspectofqualityteachers,asthenewteachershavethepotential
Policy recommendation 4
A high level co-ordinating committee on human resource development with a specific focus on teachers
A comprehensive staff development strategy whose
implementation is centrally coordinated and utilises a range of
partners needs to be developed, implemented and managed.
The focus should, in the short term, be on system integration and
support of the teaching-learning endeavour.
17
tochangethequalityoftheteachingandthecultureoftheschoolsiftheyaretrained,recruitedandretainedinasystematicmanner.
Fromafinancialperspective,staffcompensationaccountsforthebulkoftheexpenditureinthedepartmentanditisafixedcostthatremainslargelyoutofthecontroloftheprovince,giventhatlabourrelationsaremanagedcentrallythroughtheEducationLabourRelationsCouncil.Theprovince’sopportunity is tomaximize thevalue that employeesadd to themissionandvisionofthedepartmentthroughbetterdeploymentandmanagementprocessesandthroughsystematicandlongterminvestmentinthetraining,recruitment,retentionanddevelopmentofthepeopleinthesystem.
SouthAfricahasverysophisticatedskillsdevelopmentpolicyarchitectureandtheinfrastructureandexpertise todeliverqualityprogrammes.TheNationalSkillsDevelopmentStrategy andtheSkillsDevelopmentActprovideapolicyandstatutory frameworkwhichdetermines thataminimum1%ofthesalarybillisspentontrainingandskillsdevelopment.Thisisalreadyasizeableamountoffundingearmarkedforthisactivity.Inaddition,specificnationalfundsarecommittedtotheprovisionofbursariesandfinancialaid,andtargetedinterventions.Throughthepubliclyfundedhighereducationsystemthecostsoftrainingnewandexistingeducatorsarefurthersubsidised.Andcapacitydevelopmentandtrainingareareasofworkthatareregularlyfundedbydonorsandotherfunders,includingothergovernmentdepartments.Inshort,thereisalreadysubstantialinvestmentintrainingandthepotentialtoleveragefunds,sothatthereisnosignificantpressuretodivertfundsfromotherbudgetlines.
4.2. Prior efforts
TheDepartmentofEducationnationallyandinKZNhastakenthedevelopmentofitshumanresources seriously at a number of levels. There has been ongoing investment in trainingspecifically at the school level, both through supporting current employees to improve theirqualificationsand throughchanging the supply sidedynamics.Someof themost significantinitiativeshavebeen:
• The introduction of the Funza Lushaka bursary scheme for the training of new teachers
• The enrolment of large numbers of teachers in teacher upgrade and retraining programmes such as the National Professional Diploma in Education and various Advanced Certificates in Education
• Short courses offered to school principals, circuit managers and subject advisors
• KZN DoE’s own continuing professional development unit known as Ikhwezi.
Policy Recommendations 18
4.3. Challenges
Currenthumanresourcedevelopmentstrategiesinthedepartmentarelargelyuncoordinatedanddrivenbyindividualchampionsorsectoralinterests.Inaddition,therehasbeenlittlealignmentbetween thevariousbranchesandsections thatdealwithhumanresourcedevelopmentandtherehavebeensignificantblindspotsorseeminglyclashinginitiatives.Thebiggestchallengeistocoordinatesuchalargeorganization.
The second challenge is ensuring that the human resource development strategy iscomprehensive.Theapproachthusfarhasbeendrivenlargelyby‘priorityareas’determinedbynationalandprovincialimperativesthat,whileworthwhile,haveresultedinaskewedemphasisthathasprioritizedmathsandscienceandmanagementtothevirtualexclusionofmanyothercriticalareas.Ofparticularconcernisthatsomecriticalareasrequiringdevelopmenthavebeenignoredintheallocationofresources.Thisisespeciallytrueforsmallbutspecializedfields.
Athirdchallengeislinkedtotheabove,butisrelatedtosupplyanddemand.SupplyislargelybeingmanagedthroughtheallocationofbursariesadministeredbythenationalDepartmentofEducation,withlimitedprovincialbursariessupplementingthis.Thepriorityareasonceagainareprivilegedintheallocationofbursariesandsoanumberofsubjectsaresimplynotsupported.Because theyare smalleror less fashionable these subjectsarenotflaggedasproblems;butincreasingly,newteachersofthesesubjectsarenotenteringthesystem.
Partoftheproblemisthatthedatathatcanassistinmodellingtheeducators’needsandthedemandsidesimplyisnotavailable.Thustheimprovementofdataandbetteranalysisofthedatawillbecrucialtoasuccessfulstrategy.
A final and ongoing challenge is that this proposal is highly dependent on collaborationand system-wide responses. It requires coordinationacross a rangeof internal andexternalstakeholders,includingprovincialandnationaldepartments,theSectorEducationandTrainingAuthority(SETA),theSouthAfricanCouncilforEducators(SACE),highereducationinstitutionsandprivateproviders.Coordinationacross somanystakeholders is extremelydifficult, evenwhenallpartiesarecommittedtotheprocess.Iftheyarenot,thenitisalmostimpossible.
4.4. Implementation options
Ahighlevelcommitteeneedstobeconstitutedthatwilloverseetheworkoftheskillsdevelopmentdirectorate.CurrentdiverseactivitiessuchastheindividualbursariesallocatedbytheHumanResources section, skills funds allocated to specific sections and general skills developmentinitiativesneedtobecoordinatedwithexternalexpertisetoassistintheprocessofprioritization.
19
Acomprehensiveandevolving5year,10yearand15yearplanneedstobedevelopedbasedonananalysisofallaspectsofthesystem.Thiswillneedtofactorinpredictabledatasuchastheretirementdatesofeducatorsinthesystemaswellasmacro-trendssuchasurbanizationtomakeprovision for the changing supply needs. The continuing professional development(CPD)ofstaffneedstotakeaccountofallareasofthecurriculumandwidersystemicissues,sothatalleducatorsaregivenopportunitiesforCPD.Theskillslevymoniesandbursariesshouldbetieddirectlytotheplanandmonitoredbystaffintheofficeoftheseniorgeneralmanagerresponsibleforhumanresources.
4.5. Costing
Thecostsoftrainingarealreadyfactoredintothestatutoryrequirementsof1%onthesalarybill,withtargetedexternalfundingthroughtheSETAandotherdonors.The setting up of the high level committee and support for the committee will require resourc-es, including staff directly responsible for the development and implementation of the plan as well as costs related to travel and accommodation. Estimated annual cost R100 000.
Policy Recommendations 20
Onceproperlyimplemented,adistrictsuchasVryheidshouldbeinapositiontoestimatewhatits resourcingdemandsare (school visits, subject advisory services etc.) inamanner that isconsistentwithadistrictsuchasUmlazi.Theconceptof‘spatialjustice’issignificanthere–thedepartmentshouldaspiretowardsprovidinglearnerswiththesameeducationalopportunitiesirrespectiveofwheretheygotoschool.AtpresentitisclearthattheaveragelearnerinObonjeniorSisonkedistrictisconsiderablymoredisadvantagedthanoneinPinetownorUmlazi–andtwiceaslikelytofailMatric.iftheyreachgrade12.
Policy recommendation 5
Prioritize clear and specific job descriptions that respond to the
challenges at District level
A new set of staffing and resourcing norms are adopted for district
offices that reflect the challenges they face such as large numbers
of schools, large distances from schools to district and circuit
offices, and high poverty levels. The new norms acknowledge the
difficulties faced by large rural districts and ensure they are staffed
appropriately, so that each district has the capacity to provide
a consistent level of professional and management services to
schools in order to enable them to improve teaching and learning.
This will only be possible once clear and explicit job descriptions
and performance indicators are formulated and implemented at
district level.
21
The staff complement should enable an optimum number of visits by SEMS and SubjectAdvisorstoschools.WardManagersshouldvisiteachschoolintheirWardatleastonceeverysixweekstoprovidesupportandtodiagnoseproblemsthatrequireurgentattentionsuchastheneedforsubjectadvisorsormanagementtraining.Subjectadvisorsshouldvisiteachschoolintheirjurisdictionaminimumofonceperterm.TheEducationDepartmentshouldalsoconsiderprovidingsalaryincentivestomakeitattractiveforstafftoworkinruraldistricts.
If the department is unable to staff districts differentially then it should investigate thepossibilityofcreatingsmallerdistrictsinordertomakethemmoreequalintermsofworkload(seeAppendixonsmallerdistricts).
5.1. Justification of policy recommendation
ItisawellknownfactthateducationdistrictsinKwaZulu-Natalareunevenlymatched,yettheyareexpected toprovidea consistent levelofprofessional service to their schools.Theyhavevastlydifferingnumbersofschoolstocontendwith(rangingfrom242to752),differinglearnernumbers(from130000to318000),differingproportionsof ‘poor’ (Quintile1&2)schools(from84%tojust3%)andmajorvariationsintermsoftheaveragedistancesthatpersonnelhave to travel fromadministrativeoffices to schools (67kms compared to 11kms).TheyalsoperformverydifferentlyintermsofMatric.results-thebestdistrictisatalevelequivalenttoGautengprovince,whereastheworstisamongstthelowestofalldistrictscountrywide.Clearjobdescriptionsandperformanceindicatorswillprovidethefirststepenablingtheprocess.
Table3overleafillustratesthesedifferencesbetweendistricts.Arankinghasbeenassignedtoeachcriteria,withacombinedrankingtorepresenthow‘challenging’adistrictisintermsofsize,povertyanddistancecriteria.Thisisnotanobjectivemeasure,butitdoesprovidesomeindicationofthedifficultyofadoptingaone-size-fits-allapproachtodistrictmanagementandstaffing.Longerdistancesmeanmoretimespenttravellingtoschools,oftenonpoorerroadsinruralareas.Poorerschoolsmeanagreaterneedformanagementsupportandsubjectadvisoryservices, andpotentiallymore visits to ascertain progress. Larger numbers of schoolsmeanmoredemandsonexistingstaff.
5.2. Prior efforts
StrategicObjective3.2intheDepartment’sOperationalPlan(KZNDoEOperationalPlan2010–2011.p. 21) states that the aim is to ‘ensure equitabledistributionofhuman resources intheDepartment’.Partofthisinvolvesensuringthatallofficesare‘providedwithadequateandsuitablyqualifiedpersonnel’but thebaseline indicates thatonly60%ofdistrictsandofficeswereadequatelystaffedin2010(p21).Theaimistoensurethat85%ofschools,districtsand
Policy Recommendations 22
officesareadequately staffedby2014/15. It isnot clear from theOperationalPlanhow thisisgoingtobeachieved-whetheradifferentiatedstaffingmodelwillbeadoptedfordistricts,orwhether theywillbe treatedmoreor less thesame in termsof staffingneeds.AseparateobjectiveintheOperationalPlanstatesanintendedNationalSeniorCertificatepassratetargetof80%in2014/15-upfromthepresentlevelof61%.Thiswillnotbeachievedunlessspecialattentionandresourcesaregiventotheweakerdistricts:theyarewherethemostprogressinlearnerperformanceandprogresscanbemade.
At present, there is an approximate norm of 30 schools per educationward that is appliedthroughout the province. Thismeans that districtswithmore schools havemore educationwardsandthereforemoreSEMs(SeniorEducationManagers)attheirdisposal.VryheidDistrictforexamplehas24wardsandtherefore24SEMscomparedtoAmajubawhichhasonly8.Thenumberof circuits is also loosely basedon schoolnumbers andVryheidhas 5 compared toAmajubawhichhas2.Thisratiosystemensuresthatthestaffingofwardsandcircuitsisbasedonschoolnumbersandroughlyequitableatfacevalue.
District
Schools Enrolment in 2009 Proportion of schools that
are poor (Quintile 1 or 2)
Average distance from District
Office to schools (kms)
Combined ranking 1 = Most
challenging district Number
Rank
1 = largest,
12 =
smallest
Number
Rank
1 = largest,
12 = smallest
Number
Rank
1 = largest,
12 = smallest
Distance
Rank
1 = longest,
12 = shortest
Amajuba 242 12 130 000 12 42% 9 23 10 12Empangeni 661 2 292 767 4 70% 6 48 5 3Ilembe 429 11 162 040 10 69% 7 30 8 11Obonjeni 538 3 228 164 5 84% 1 61 4 2Othukela 444 9 184 469 8 57% 8 40 6 9Pinetown 499 5 317 920 1 4% 11 16 11 7Sisonke 444 9 158 651 11 82% 3 61 3 6Ugu 491 6 215 284 7 75% 5 38 7 5Umgungundlovu 503 4 219 807 6 40% 10 26 9 8Umlazi 461 8 303 606 2 3% 12 11 12 10Umzinyathi 481 7 176 686 9 82% 2 64 2 4Vryheid 752 1 298 096 3 79% 4 67 1 1
Table 3: District ranking data
23
Whatthissystemdoesnottakeintoconsiderationisthefactthatthedistancesrequiredtoreachschoolsvaryhugelyfromdistricttodistrict,asdotheconditionsunderwhichschoolsoperate.ItcaneasilytakeanSEMinoneoftheruraldistrictsthreetimeslonger(uptohalfaday)toreachoneofhisorherschoolscomparedtoanSEMworkinginanurbandistrict.ItislikelythattheseschoolswillbevisitedfairlyrarelywhentheyaresohardtoreachandwhereonlyoneSEMhastomanage30ormoreofthem.
LinkedtothisproblemistheapparentlackofaclearjobdescriptionforSEMsoraclear(andregulated)indicationofhowoftentheyaresupposedtovisitschools.Withouteitheroftheseinplace,andintheabsenceofaschoolinspectorate,thereisnowaytomeasuretheeffectivenessofSEMsortodeterminewherethecurrentsystemisworkingandwhereitisbreakingdown.Theseissuesneedtobeaddressedsothatmorehumanresourcescanbeappliedintheareasofgreatestneed,andtheunder-performanceofsomeSEMscanbeproperlydealtwith.
5.3. Challenges
Thepressure to reduce administrative costs in education remains a constant challenge.Thehiringofmoreoffice-basedstaffinruraldistrictswillincreaseadministrationcosts,andmaynecessitateadditionalofficeaccommodation. Itmaybedifficultattractingsuitablyqualifiedstaff to rural districtswhere social and economic opportunities areperceived tobe inferior.Unlessclearjobdescriptionsareagreedupon,thereisthelikelihoodthatadditionalstaffwillnotproveeffectiveinachievingtheaimofimprovingservicedeliverytoschools.Itisthereforeimportant to establish clear and detailed job descriptions before embarking on increasingresourcestothedistricts.
5.4. Implementation strategy and options
Aproperworkstudyneedstobeundertakenthatexaminestheresourceandstaffingrequirementsofeachdistrictandthedirectoratestherein.Allpersonnelshouldlisttheirjobsandthehoursspentundertakingtheirkeytasks.Laboursavingdevicesandinitiativestoimproveefficiencyshouldbetakennoteof.Clearjobdescriptionsshouldemergefromthisprocess.
5.5. Costing
Althoughsubstantiallongtermcostsareinvolvedinresourcingdistrictscorrectly,thisshouldnotbedonebeforethereisclarityonthejobdescriptionandperformanceindicatorsatdistrictandwardlevel.Neverthelessitispossibletoestimateroughlywhattheactualresourceimplicationsare.TheproposalsbelowareinformedbytheDraftNationalPolicyontheOrganizationRolesandResponsibilitiesofEducationDistricts,2008.Aminimumstaffing level foreachdistrictshouldbedetermined,whichisthenweightedbythenumberofschoolsandlearnersthatthe
Policy Recommendations 24
districthastoserve,thepovertyofschoolsaswellasthedistancebetweenthedistrict/circuitofficeand its schools.Districts serving largenumbersofpoor schools shouldbegivenmoreresourcestosupportdisadvantagedschoolsasfollows:
• Districtswithmorethan70%ofschoolsinQuintiles1and2shouldreceive5%additionalposts.ThiswouldapplytoObonjeni,Sisonke,Ugu,UmzinyathiandVryheid.
• DistrictswheretheaveragedistancefromtheDistrictOfficetoschoolsismorethan60kmshouldqualifyfor6%additionalposts.ThiswouldapplytoObonjeni,Sisonke,UmzinyathiandVryheid.
• DistrictswheretheaveragedistancefromtheDistrictOfficetoschoolsisbetween60kmand40kmshouldqualifyfor3%additionalposts.ThiswouldapplytoEmpangeni,OthukelaandUgu.
The allocation of these posts should prioritise curriculum (subject advisory) support as well as school management services (SEMs etc).
25
6.1. Justification of Policy Recommendation
Thevisionofaninformationrich,evidencedriven,researchledKZNDoEcallsforafocusedandcoordinatedresearchcommunitythat isconcernedabout improvingtheexistingeducationalpractices inKZN.Thiswill result inbetterandmore informeddecisionsbeingmadeonkeypolicyinitiativesratherthantheoftenknee-jerkreactionswearecurrentlywitnessing.
6.2. Prior efforts.
TheTreasuryprojecthasenabledsuchacommunityoverthelasttwoyears,andlinkshavebeenmadebetweentheKZNDoE,UKZN,theTeacherTradeUnions,andvariousNGOs.Researchexpertisehasbeendevelopedandbasicdatasetsputtogetheronthesizeandshapeofeducationintheprovinceaswellaspracticesthatimprovethequalityofeducationinadevelopingcontext.AlthoughthereareexistingresearcheffortswithintheKZNDoE,UKZNandUNIZULU,NGOsand Trade Unions, these are uncoordinated, unfocused and have little impact on policy orplanning.
6.3. Challenges
Achieving coordination between KZNDoE, UKZN, UNIZULU, DUT and trade unions onresearch;maintaining themomentumbuilt upby theProject; fundingmore ambitious longtermlargescalestudies;andincludingtheFETsectorintheresearchgroup.
Policy recommendation 6
Establish a research community engaged in researching
education in KZN
A research division that coordinates research activities focusing on
education must be established within KZN DoE.
Policy Recommendations 26
6.4. Implementation strategy and options.
Theresearchcommunityhastoextendacrossthreesectors:tertiaryeducation,theprovincialDepartmentofBasicEducationandNGOsengagedinresearchingeducationwithintheprovince.UKZNneedstousetheshortcourseonEducationPlanningasabasefromwhichtodeveloppostgraduatestudiesinthespecializationofEducationPlanning.TheKZNDoEneedsahighlevel focuson the latest researchoneducation inKZNandadedicated coordinatingpersonbothrequestingresearchandensuringtheKZNDoEknowsaboutandusestheresearch.NGOsneedtodevelopexpertiseinresearchingKZNeducationbybeingtaskedtodocertainkindsofresearch.
6.5. Costing
InitialcoststosetuparesearchbaseoneducationinKZNhavealreadybeencoveredbytheTreasuryProject.Toextendresearchandhumancapacitydevelopmentthreelevelsoffundingareneeded.ThefirstisbursariesatPostGraduatelevelforresearchintoKZNeducation;thesecond is funding for large scale, longitudinal studies set out in policy recommendations 7,8 and9; the third is the appointment of ahigh level researchofficer in theKZNDOEwitharesearchbudget.Full timedoctoralbursaries(R80000peryearoverthreeyears)andfulltimemastersbursaries (R40000peryear)willdevelopexpertiseand research. Itwouldbeadvisabletobeginatamasterslevelwith2bursarieseachforthethreekeyareasidentifiedbytheTreasuryprojectandoutlinedinrecommendations7,8,and9(6x40000=240000).AhighlevelresearchcoordinatorwithintheKZNDoEwillcostR600000peryear.Aresearchbudget of approximatelyR4 000000will be needed to co-ordinate and facilitate research.This portfoliowould be responsible for initiating and costing the researchprojects listed inrecommendations7,8,9and10.Itshouldbenotedthattheresearchprojectsareexpensiveastheyinvolveresourcing.
27
7.1. Justification of policy recommendation
Researchclearlyindicatesthatdevelopmentofacademiccapacityinthehomelanguageresultsin better learning and understanding of subject content, the home language and additionallanguages.Englishneeds tobeeffectively taughtasasubject for6yearsbefore it isusedasLOLTbyisiZuluhomelanguagespeakers.Theshiftfromearlyliteracytoacademicliteracyisakeypointinalearner’sacademicliteracy;torequireashifttoanotherlanguageoflearningandteachingatthatpointistobuildfailureintothesystem.
However,communitiesandschoolswillnotmoveawayfromattemptingtointroduceEnglishassoonaspossible,becauseoftheperceivedbenefitsofEnglishasalanguageofpower.ThereisapoorunderstandingoftheactualimplicationsofattemptingtoextendtheuseofisiZuluastheLOLTintheintermediatephase.Awellresourcedpilotstudyover7yearswillenableamore
Policy recommendation 7
Language of learning and teaching (LOLT)
Primary schools with a majority of learners using IsiZulu as
their home language should be actively encouraged to use
isiZulu as their LOLT until at least grade 6, especially during
the shift from early literacy (grades 1-3) to academic literacy
(grades 4 onwards). Although this is well understood, there is
strong community and school resistance to such a proposal for
various reasons. More detailed longitudinal research is needed
to understand the complexities underlying these issues and to
address possible logjams in the system around resources.
Policy Recommendations 28
detailedunderstandingofthedynamics,implicationsandcostsofamorewidescaleattempttoencouragetheuseofisiZuluastheLOLTinprimaryschools.
7.2. Prior efforts
Recent recognition of the importance of home language as LOLT has occasioned increasedtranslation of textbooks into isiZulu, increased production of isiZulu readers and increasedsystematizationoftheisiZululexicon.AnewOxfordisiZulu/Englishdictionaryhasjustcomeout–thefirstoneinover40years.Therearealreadystrongpracticesofcodeswitchinginschools.RecentpolicychangehasshiftedtheteachingoftheLOLTfromgrade2to1,meaningthatthelearnerwilllearnaboutthelanguagesheisusing.Englishisalsotobetaughtasasubjectfromgrade1.WealreadyhaveteacherswhoarebilingualandabletoteachinEnglishandisiZulu.IncreasingavailabilityofisiZuluonTV,inbooks,movies,andmagazineshasextendeditsreach.
7.3. Challenges
Therearemanychallengesstanding in thewayofnecessaryanddesirable languagepracticeinprimary schools, chief ofwhich is the belief in communities that learners should shift toEnglish as LOLT as soon as possible to ensuremore time learning the ‘language of power’.This is combinedwithabelief thatEnglishprimaryschoolsprovideabettereducation thanisiZuluschools.OtherchallengesareapoorlydevelopedisiZuluconceptuallexicon,andfewertextbooksinisiZuluasgradesgethigherandsubjectsmorespecialized.
TheteachingofEnglishasasecondlanguageinfoundationphaseisverytrickywhencombinedwiththelearningofisiZulu.Twoverydifferentphoneticsystemsareinvolvedandthiscouldconfuselearners.
7.4. Implementation strategy and options
TheNDBEhasrecentlymadethreepolicymovesthatcanbeusedtoadvantageinincreasingisiZuluasLOLT.Thefirst isthe introductionofsubjectworkbooksin literacyandnumeracyfromgrade1to6.ThesearecurrentlybeingwrittenandwillbeavailableinisiZulu.Thesecondistheincreasingspecificationofsubjectcontentenablingeasierandmorerigoroustranslationinto isiZulu.The third is the introductionofEnglishasanadditional language fromgrade1- thus addressingparents’ fear that their children arenot being introduced toEnglish soonenough.A concerted public awareness program is needed that alerts parents and teachers in ruralareastotheimportanceofhomelanguageforlearningandteaching.IsiZulureadersmustbemadewidelyavailable,andtextbookproductioninisiZulumustbemonitoredandencouraged.Diagnosticreadingtestsneedtobedoneatthoseschoolsperformingpoorlyingrades3,6,and9; and systemic evaluations and systematic reading programmesmust be introducedwhere
29
readingisnotfluent.Clearphoneticeducationinthesecondlanguagemustbecarefullyputinplaceoverasustainedperiodtoensureautomaticityandlackofconfusionbetweenphoneticstructures. The effectiveness of such interventions needs to be researched and reported onasoneof theprimary fociofaresearchunit.Post-graduatebursariesdirectedspecifically toresearchinthisareashouldbemadeavailable.
Onamoreambitious level, a comparative longitudinal studyon the impactof the extendeduseofisiZuluthroughprimaryschoolneedstobeconducted.Twoprimaryschoolsfromeachofthe12districtsshouldbeselectedtoimplementisiZuluastheLOLT.AnothertwoprimaryschoolsshouldbegiventhesameamountofresourcingassistancebutfollowtheusualshifttoEnglishasLOLTingrade4.Baselinetestsshouldbetakenforcomparativepurposes.Teachingandmaterialresourceswillbebudgetedfor(onamodelsimilartotheDinaledischools)andlongitudinalresearchdoneontheexperiencesanddevelopmentswithintheseschoolsover7years.Thisdevelopmentresearchprojectshouldbefullyelaboratedinaformalproposal(atacostofR50000)andfundingsoughtforit.Becauseitinvolvesextensiveandintensiveresourcesupportthecostswillbesubstantial.ItwillprovidethefirstdetailedresearchstudyonamatterofvitalimportancetothefutureofeducationinKZN.
7.5. Costing
BursariesatMastersleveltoresearchisiZuluasLOLT(R40000X2=R80000)
Proposalforlongitudinalcomparativecasestudythatiseffectivelyresourced(R50000)
Policy Recommendations 30
8.1. Justification of policy recommendation
Ruralareasarecharacterizedbymanysmallschoolsthatarenotviableandcannotfunctioneffectively.Although theKZNDoEhashad the consolidationof rural schools on its agendafor some years there has been no substantial movement in this direction. The benefits ofconsolidation are already well understood but implementation is difficult for all sorts of
Policy recommendation 8
Research on the effectiveness of consolidating rural schools
A pilot project exploring the effectiveness of rationalizing small rural
schools within a particular radius from each other and consolidating
them into bigger, well resourced schools is currently underway at
Sukuma High school outside Pietermaritzburg. This pilot project
needs careful qualitative research, so that the rationale and interests
of different communities and partners involved are captured and
expressed. This, along with a detailed review of current policies
and practices in rural schools across the country, will provide an
informed base from which to start the process of consolidating rural
schools in KZN. The option of boarding facilities for teachers in these
consolidated schools must also be explored. The intention is to research
the effectiveness of such a policy: whether it creates conditions for
maximum utilization of resources, broadens access to quality education,
and ensures the retention of teachers in rural schools.
31
complexreasonsthatneedtobeproperlyunderstood.Focusedresearchontheconsolidationofruralschoolswillenablemoreinformedandstructuredmovementtowardsconsolidation.Thisshouldincludeanexplorationofboardingfacilities forteachersandlearners.ThetragedyofHIV/AIDSorphanscanbepartlyaddressedthroughanextensionofboardingschoolfacilitiesinruralareas.Apilotstudyoftheconsolidationofruralschoolswillenablebetterpolicyandplanningdecisionsaroundthiskeyarea.
8.2. Prior efforts
The consolidationof rural schoolshasbeenon the agendaof theKZNDOE for someyearswithoutmuchmovement or success. The current pilot project at SukumaHigh school is auseful starting point to explore the complexities involved. Kwa-ZuluNatal has a history ofgoodmissionaryboardingschoolsandotherschoolswithatraditionofacademicexcellence.Manyoftheseschools,locatedinruralareas,areinadilapidatedstatebecauseofthereducedfunding,particularlyforboardingfacilities.TheKZNDoEhasstartedaprocessofrebuildingandreinvestinginsuchschools,asanattempttorevivetheiracademicexcellence.Usingandresearchingtheseexistingschoolsforpilotingtheconsolidationofsmallruralschoolswilltesttheeffectivenessofconsolidationbeforethehugeexpensesinvolvedinbuildingnewschoolsareincurred.Ifthepilotissuccessfultheroll-outofconsolidationcanthenfollow.
8.3. Challenges
Manyoftheexistingboardingfacilities inruralKZNaresecondaryschools.Primaryschoolsremainachallenge:howtheconsolidationwouldworkoutinprimaryeducationneedstobecarefullyresearched.
There are questions about the appropriateness of removing very young children from theirfamiliesandplacingtheminaboardingschool.Theneedsandinterestsofthechildrenneedtobecarefullyconsideredhere.Eachruralcontextwouldalsohavetobecarefullyassessed,andcommunityparticipationindecisionmakingneedtobesoughtbeforeanydecisionistaken.
Buildingnew,well-resourcedboardingschoolsinareaswherenonepresentlyexistwillbecostly.
8.4. Implementation strategy and options
ResearchonruralschoolsshouldbeinitiatedusingSukumaHighSchoolasafocus,aswellastraditionalboardingschoolsthatarecurrentlybeingupgraded.
A longitudinal research anddevelopmentproject on the consolidationof primary schools isneeded.Itshouldprovideforthefollowing:
Policy Recommendations 32
• Anauditofallexistingboardingschoolslocatedinruralareasintheprovince
• Anauditofallschoolswithinapre-determinedradiusofeachboardingschool,withanaimofidentifyingsmall,non-viableschools
• An exercise establishing the cost-effectiveness of consolidating the small schools, andresourcingtheassociatedboardingschools
• Identificationofthefirstfewschoolsthatwouldbemostcost-effectivetoconsolidateandallocationofabudgetforthisprocess
• Communityparticipationandadvocacyfortheconsolidationofsmallschoolstobesought
• Theresourcingoftheboardingschool,informedbyacademicandothercommunityneeds
• Theapplicationprocessforadmissionintoeachboardingschooltobedecideduponandimplemented, with the full involvement of the local communities and all other relevantstakeholders
• Closing of the small schools and opening of the first boarding schools.Monitoring andevaluationoftheseschoolsconductedwithinanagreedupontime-frame.Resultsthereofinformhowthisrecommendationistakenforward.
8.5. Costing
Bursariesatmastersleveltoresearchruralschools(40000x2=80000)
Proposalforlongitudinaldevelopmentandresearchproject(R50000)
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Existingresearchoncurriculum,pedagogyandassessmentinadevelopingcontextpointstothefollowingprinciplesindesign:
• Focusononetopicata time,pursue it indepthrather thanbroadly,anddonot includedistractionsandadditionsthatintegrateothertopics,othersubjects,orotherexperiencesasapartofthetopic.
• Ensureeachtopichasbasicassessmenttasksthatareclearandexplicit.
• Ensurethatthetopiciscoveredinanumberofdifferentwaystoimproveunderstanding.Select these topics carefully according to thekey concepts andprinciplesof the relevantsubjectsandensurethattheyfollowalogicalsequencethatcarefullybuildsupunderstanding.
• Eachyearmustfocusonsubstantiallynewmaterialratherthangoingoverthesamematerialsupposedlyinmoredepth.(Ratherdoitproperlyonce,thanagainandagain.Recalltestscanbeusedtoensurethatoldermaterialisembeddedinmemory).
Pedagogic interventions and training must focus on ensuring that the teacher actuallyunderstandsthecontentbeforeattemptingvariouspedagogicstrategies.Themostimportanttwostrategic(andrelated)featuresofpedagogyarepacingandfeedback.Ratherthanrushingthroughacurriculum,theteachermustselectkeytopicsanddothesetopicsslowlyandcarefully,ensuringunderstanding.Thismeansthattheteacherhastolearnthebasicsofworkingthrough
Policy recommendation 9
Research and evaluation unit on curriculum, pedagogy and
assessment
A research unit dedicated to evidence driven research on
curriculum, pedagogy and assessment which will align closely
with subject advisors and the curriculum section of the KZN DoE
to ensure the introduction of workable and researched strategies
to implement effective changes at the level of the curriculum,
pedagogy and assessment.
Policy Recommendations 34
a textbook andusing feedback:workingoutwhere the learners are and responding to theirdifficultieswithstrategiesthatimproveunderstanding.Ratherthanintroducingawholerangeofsophisticatedpedagogictechniques,thefocusshouldsimplybeonwhethertheteacherhasspentenoughtimeonthetopictoensureunderstandingandhasgivenstrongenoughfeedbacktoguidethelearnersthroughthesteps.
Assessmentandevaluationmustbeexplicitaboutwhatspecificcontentwillbeassessedandhowitwillbeassessed.Assessmentmustnottestgenericskillsbutmustratherfocusontheissues,skillsandcontentofthesubject.Learnersmustgetproperfeedbackthatshowsthemwhattheydidwrongandhowtheycangoaboutfixingit.Thismeansthatformalassessmentsshould not be overused and over-carefully prepared for.More informal forms of evaluationcanbeusedthatsimplycheckwhere the learnercurrently isandwhat thenextstep is.Thisisachievedthroughthewayinwhichtheteachermarkslearnerworkbooksandrespondstolearnerquestionsandmisunderstandingsinclass.
InKZNeducationthereiscurrentlylittleunderstandingofsuchprinciplesandsimilarlylittleresearchontheireffectivenessorimplementation.
9.1. Justification of policy recommendation
Althoughmuchoftheapproachdescribedaboveseemsobvious,itisnotcommonpracticenorhasitbeenthefocusofpolicy,implementationprocessesorresearch.Firstly,curriculummaterialshavetendedtobe ‘busy’,superficial,spreadoutandunfocused.Many different topics are covered. Often there is weak content specification, so that bothteachersandlearnersstruggletofindoutwhatisimportantinallthevarioustasksandboxesthatconfrontthem.Learnersandteachersneedclarityaboutwhatexactlytheyarelearningsothattheycanfocusonitandmasterit.Researchisclearthatlearnersfrompoorbackgroundsneedanexplicit,simpleanddetailedfocusontopics,exploringthemindepthfromanumberofangles.
Similarlywithpedagogy,therecommendationsareobviousbuthavenotbeenfollowed.Researchshowsclearlythatuseoftextbooks,feedbackandpacingarethethreemostimportantvariablesimpactingontheperformanceoflearnersfrompoorbackgrounds.Theselearnersneedtoworksystematicallythroughanorganizedandclearcurriculumandbegiventimeinclasstopracticeandmasterthetopicsandskillsthateachspecificsubjectdemands.Rushingthroughthelessonstocovercontentdoesnothelp,nordoes repeating the lessonnextyear in thehope that thelearnerwillfinallygetitright.Thiscallsforastrongfocusontheteacherusingatextbook.Theteachercannotjustbeafacilitator.
Oneof thebiggestdangers inassessment is losing focusonwhat thesubjectactually isanddemands as a specializing force. There is strong evidence that subject specific skills arenoteasilytransferableandcannotbelearntgenerically.Thismeansthateachsubjectmustbetested
35
according to its specificdemands.Attempts touse the subject formore generic skills or forcross-cuttingthemesmustbeavoidedasthisdistractsbothteachersandlearnersfromthemainfunctionofassessmentwhich is tospecializeconsciousness.Ourresearchhaspointedtothealmostcompletelackofproperfeedbacktolearnersintheclassroom.Nodecentevaluationoftheirresponsesisgiven.Teacherslackskillbothinidentifyingwhatthelearnerisstrugglingwith and also thenmaking recommendations on how to address the issue. This is the coreofevaluationandassessmentbut it isalmostcompletelyabsent inpreviouslydisadvantagedschools.
Curriculum,pedagogyandassessmentsitattheheartofimprovingthequalityofeducationinKZNyetchangesorinterventionsatthislevelaregenerallyimplementedwithoutanyresearchortrialling.
9.2. Prior efforts
Keyreformsatnationallevelareaimingtoensurethatminimallevelsofqualityinteaching,learningandassessmentareensured.Theseare:
• AfocusongradeRandthefoundationphase
• Asimplificationofthesubjectstructureoftheintermediatephase
• Reductionand simplificationof teachers’workloadby simplifyingassessment, especiallythroughstoppingthecommontasksofassessmentinGrade9andtheuseofportfoliosforassessment.Projectworkisalsotobecutdown
• Anincreasingrelianceonendoftheyearexamsratherthancontinuousassessmentfromgradetograde
• Useofthesamesubjectnamesandmarkstructurethroughoutbasiceducation
• TheteachingofEnglishfromgrade1asanadditionallanguageforlearnersusinganotherlanguageforlearning
• Eachsubjectineachgradetohaveclearandexplicitcontentspecified
• Clearpacingandsequencingrulesprovidedforwhenandhowthesubjectsaretobetaughtandassessed.Teacherswillknowwhattopicstoteachwhenandhow
• Appropriate textbooks for each subject in each grade will be provided, starting withfoundationphaseandmovingupwards.Anationaltextbookcataloguethatensuresqualityandpricingtobesetup
Policy Recommendations 36
• Learnerworkbooksprovidedfromgrade1to6(inliteracyandnumeracy)providinglearnerswithclearspecifications,contentandtasksforwhattheyneedtodoeachday;inallofficiallanguages.
• Externalnationalassessmentsatgrade3,6and9levelsinliteracy/languageandnumeracy/mathematics.
EverysingleoneofthesenewnationalpolicystatementsresonatestronglywiththeresearchdoneontheTreasuryProject.
Keymoveshavealsobeenmadeataprovincialleveltoimprovethequalityofthecurriculumthroughitsdelivery,pedagogyandassessment.Inparticular:
Thereisaclearfocusontheclassroomandtheinteractionbetweentheteacherandthelearnerastheprimaryunitofdelivery.Ineffectthismeansapolicythatisdirectedtowardssupportforcurriculumdeliveryand learnerassessment, support forsubject specialistsand teachers,support for school management teams and support towards school governance. The KZNDoEhasundertakenareviewofitselftoreducethedistancebetweenitselfandtheclassroom.It recognizes that responding to the underperformance of teachers and learners throughallocatingmoreresourcesisnotadequateandthatadeeperunderstandingofthereasonsforunderperformanceneedtobebetterunderstood.Thetreasuryreportwillassist theminthisregard.
TheKZNDoEhasa10pointplanthatfocusesonMatric.improvement.TherehasbeenanotableimprovementinKZNMatric.resultsin2009.
TheKZNDoEhasplacedtheimprovementofschoolfunctionalityandoutcomesfirmlyonitsprioritylistofstrategicgoals.Itsfocuswillbeonthreestrategicobjectives:toimplementqualityassurancemeasures, assessmentpolicies and systems tomonitor the success of learners; todeveloptheprofessionalqualityandacademicperformanceofmanagersandeducators;andtoadministeraneffectiveandefficientexaminationandassessmentservice.
Systemicevaluationsatgrade3,6and9levelsinliteracy/languageandnumeracy/mathematicsacross the countrywill result in amassive improvement in ourunderstanding of howbasiceducationisfunctioninginthecountryandtheprovince.Thiskeydevelopmentwillallowfordetailed feedback on the performance levels of schools, teachers, learners, wards, circuits,districtsandprovinces that canbeusedasabaseline to improveperformance levels. It is ahighlyspecializedandcomplexendeavorthatneedsprofessionalanddedicatedresourcesbothtoanalysethedataandtorespondtothemanyissuesitisgoingtothrowup.
There is currently no research unit that focuses on these crucial interventions. There is nosystematictrialingofmaterialsorevaluationoftextbooks,norigorouscasestudiesorrobustcomparativestudiesthatassistinmaterialsdevelopment.TheKZNDoEdoeshaveacurriculum
37
unit that makes interventions through designing and distributing teaching materials. Thissectionstrugglestodistributeitsmaterialandnoresearchortriallingisdoneontheeffectivenessofthematerial.
9.3. Challenges
Curriculumandpedagogycontainboththequickestandslowestmechanismsofchange.Itispossibletochangeacurriculumandassessmentwithinacoupleofyears.Changingpedagogicpractices that have been deeply absorbed through years of schooling and teaching is verydifficult.Research on these areasneeds to beupdated continually as policies, curricula andeducationalpracticeschange.
The perception that the curriculum has been dumbed down and has taken freedom andprofessionaldiscretionawayfromtheteacherscouldresultinanapatheticworkforce.
The acceptance of poorly trained and educated gradeR teachers into the foundation phasepresents a major challenge. Foundation phase is a high priority area that is crucial to thefuturefunctioningoftheschoolsystemandlearnerperformance.AstronglinemustbedrawnbetweengradeRandfoundationphaseotherwisetherewillbeastrongnegativeimpactonbasicnumeracyandliteracyskills.
ThequickeradoptionofEnglishasthelanguageofteachingandlearningmustbediscouragedin schools that have a strong isiZulu home language profile. English is being taught as anadditionallanguageingrade1andthiswillencourageaquickermovetoEnglishasthelanguageoflearningandteaching.Thiswillhaveastrongnegativeimpactonlearnersasthelanguagestructureofthesubjectsbecomesmorecomplicatedaftergrade3.
There is a widespread tendency to teach to the test only, resulting in rote learning andmemorizationwithoutunderstanding.
Thereareincreaseddemandsonprovincialsystemsintermsofassessment,teachertraining,provision of materials, feedback, and material design, piloting and distribution based onfeedback.Thisstrainwillrunthroughthewholesystematprovinciallevel,district,circuitandwardlevels(seedistrictandinformationrecommendations).
Ineffectivedesignofworkbooksandtextbooksratherthandesignbasedonprinciplesthatarecrucialforsuccess,suchasmovingslowlythroughthecurriculumanddealingwitheachtopicindepth.
Teachersareomittingareastheydonotunderstandandteachingonlywhattheyarefamiliarwith.
Policy Recommendations 38
TheKZNDoEsetsunrealisticgoalsforitselfintermsofeducationaloutcomes(improvementofnationalcertificateresultsfrom63%to80%in5years;a25%improvementinNCSmathematicspassratesover5years;andsimilargoalsinscienceandlanguage).Asimilartrendisnoticeableinitsfocusonenhancingtheprofessionalqualityandacademicperformanceofmanagers.Forexampleitexpectstoreducethenumberofdysfunctionalschoolsfrom200to2overfiveyearsand tohalve thenumber of underperforming grade 12 schools. In similar vein it expects toreducethenumberofdayslostduetoeducatorabsenteeismfrom15to0.
9.4. Implementation strategy and options
Thetimehasneverbeenmoreauspiciousforthepolicyrecommendationsmadeforcurriculum,pedagogyandassessmentinKZN.TheDepartmentofBasicEducationhasoutlinedastrongfocusongettingbacktothebasicsofteaching,learningandassessmentalongwithaclearandexplicitcurriculumthatspecifiescontent.TheKZNDoEhasprioritizedthesamesetofissuesinitsstrategicplan.ThisdocumentwillnotgooverterrainalreadycoveredbytheDepartmentbutlookatwhatelsecanbedonetoimprovethequalityofeducationinKZN.
Ourresearchclearlyshowsthatteachersmostlyteachonlywhattheyalreadyknowanddosowithoutmuch focus on understanding or feedback. In addition to the existing national andprovincialreformsthatnowspecifywhat teachersshould teach it iscrucial that this issue istackledwith focused care. The danger is that an attempt ismade tomove too quicklywithteachers already in the system. Teachers and learners from grade 1 to grade 6 are going toreceiveworkbooksthattakeboththroughtheliteracyandnumeracyexpectationsfortheyear.Thisisthekeyleveragepointinthesystem,especiallyforschoolsthatarestrugglingtoperformacademically.Itwillformthebasisforheadsofdepartment,principals,subjectadvisorsandwardmanagerstocheckiflearnersareactuallycoveringthecurriculumatanadequatepace.Itwillmeanthatteachersstarttolearnhowtoteachlessonsbeyondtheircurrentrange,thattheypacetheirlessonsmorecarefullyandstructurethesequenceoflessonsinamannerthatmakessense.
To replicate this massive national imperative locally will be to waste resources. Far moreimportant will be to treat these workbooks as a pilot structure, to find out where teachersandlearnersarestrugglingwiththeworkbooks,wherecontentisnotdetailedenough,whereinessentialandtimewastingactivitiesaresuggested,andwherethereisconfusionaboutwhatisexpected.Researchatthislevelwillenabledetailedandeffectivefeedback.
This focusmust be separated from the related attempt to ensure that teachers are actuallyteaching the curriculum.Subjectadvisorswillneed to intervenequicklyandeffectivelywithsupport at thispoint, eitherprovidingadditionalmaterials that clarify anddeepena crucialtopicorofferingstrongrecommendationsaboutwhatcanbeleftoutwithoutmuchlosstothesubject(sothatmoretimecanbedevotedtoadeeperunderstandingofcrucialconceptsandtopics).Thedesignofcurriculummaterialiscurrentlyundertakenbyaspecificsectionofthe
39
KZNDoE.Itstaskwillshiftfromcurriculumdesigntoinvestigatingtheproblems,difficultiesand successes of theworkbooks and how to augment them. It willmean a close alignmentbetweensubjectadvisors,thecurriculumsectionoftheKZNDoEandaresearchunitdedicatedtoevidencedrivenresearchoncurriculum,pedagogyandassessment.
This implementationstrategymustbecarefullyapplied.Schoolsthatarealreadyperformingexcellentlywillfindtheworkbookstobebothdamagingandlimiting.Attemptstoinsistthattheseschoolsimplementtheworkbookswilldountolddamagetotheirprofessionalpracticesandethos.TheDoEisimplementingtheworkbooksinQuintileoneandtwoschools.Theinterventionthatwillmakesomedifferenceinthe80%ofourschoolsthatareseriouslyunderperformingwoulddoseriousdamagetothe20%ofschoolscurrentlyproducingmostofourgoodresults.Oneway to determinewhich schools shoulduse theworkbooks as the driving force behindtheschools’pedagogicstructurecanbetheperformanceofschoolsinthesystemicevaluationsatgrade3and6levels.Thoseschoolsthatareperformingpoorlyintheevaluationswillhavetoadapttotheworkbooksasthestructuringmechanismfortheirteachingandlearning,withcarefulmonitoringoftheiruse.There isadanger thatuseof theworkbooksacross theboardat theseschoolsbecomesveryboringandresultsinallsortsofdisciplinaryandpedagogicissues.Itmustbeborneinmindthattheseworkbooksarecurrentlydevelopedonlyforliteracyandnumeracy.Othersubjectsmustensurethatteachersandlearnersworksystematicallythroughaclear,contentrich,carefullysequenced textbook.Overseveralyears thiswill result in improvementnotonlyof teachers’contentknowledgebutalsooftheirpedagogicskill.
Thetextbookcanbeaugmentedbyaselectionofkeytopicsinasubjectandacommitmenttodevelophighqualitymaterials that focus indepthonunderstandingandengagement.Theselessonscanformthebasisofinteractionsbetweenteachersandmasterteachers,andbetweenteachersandsubjectadvisors.Thedevelopmentoflocalcommunitiesofpracticethatfocusontheselessonsandhowtoteachthemwillresultinturninthedevelopmentofasubjectspecialistprofessional identity,whichwillpushteachers to teach inareas theyarenotcomfortable in.Thismustbeimplementedslowly,atthelevelofonekeytopicayearpersubjectandpergrade.
Policy Recommendations 40
9.5. Costing
APlanningandSupportBranchexists in theKZNDOE.Thestaffworking in these sectionsshouldbeprioritizedfortheshortcourseinEducationalPlanning.Thecostofthishasalreadybeendealtwithinrecommendation3.TheKZNDoEneedstosetasidefundingforevidencedrivenresearchoncurriculummaterials, textbooksandworkbooksaswellastheanalysisofpedagogic practices and assessment practices thatwork across districts. Funding should bemadeavailableforresearchintheseareasatHonours,MastersandPhDlevels.TwobursariesatMasters levelwill provide for initial baseline research on the effectiveness ofworkbooks,the simplificationand increased specificationof the curriculum,and theeffectivenessof thesystemicevaluations.
Two masters bursaries (40 000 x 2 = 80 000)
41
10.1. Justification of policy recommendation
The current allocation of resources to schools and districts is based on a combination ofhistoricalallocationsanda formula that isbasedonenrolmentsandtheclassificationof theschoolinaparticularquintile.Thissystemdoesnotdifferentiatebetweenschoolsintermsof:sizeofgrounds; infrastructure;proximitytotownsandcities; localgovernment;curriculum;servicesavailable.Consequentlyschoolswithlaboratoriesandcomputersdonotreceivemorefundingthanthosewhodonothavethese,despitetherunningcostsofthesefacilities.Similarly,schools thatoffersubjectswithspecificresourcerequirementsarenotcompensated for this.Thequintilesystemitselftakesnoaccountofthefactthatlearnerstraveltoschoolsandthattheimmediatesurroundingsoftheschooldonotnecessarilyreflectthesocio-economicmakeupofthelearners.
Theneteffectisthatthecurrentformuladoesnotrewardschoolsthatofferdiversecurricula,thattakeinchildrenfrompoorbackgroundsandthatmaintaintheirfacilities.Thisproposalwillenableschoolstoaccessresourcesthatarealignedtotheirneedsratherthanasimpleheadcount.
The staffing formula, or Post Provisioning Norm (PPN), is similarly based on headcountenrolment.Thisalsomakessenseonly ifonehasanotionofhighly standardisedschools inmind.Thisisnotthecaseontheground.Firstly,staffingofaschoolneedstobelinkedtoitsphysicalcapacitytoaccommodatestaff:moreteachersinaschoolwithoutclassroomswillnotimprovequality.Secondly, theneedsof secondary schoolswith specialisedcurriculaarenotaccommodated, and no account is taken of subjects where normal teacher: educator ratiosmaynotberealisticorwhereschoolsarerequiredtoofferthesubject.TheconsequenceisthatsmallerschoolsmaynotbeabletohavespecialiststeachingkeysubjectssuchasMathematicsbecauseofthePPN.ThereisalsonoallocationforpostssuchasaschoolcounsellororaschoollibrarianinthecurrentPPN.
Policy recommendation 10
Improve PPN and RAM
Redesign the Resource Allocation Model and the
Post Provisioning Norms to take account of variables
other than learner numbers.
Policy Recommendations 42
10.2. Prior efforts
ThereisrecognitionatbothnationalandprovinciallevelthattheRAMandPPNisproblematicandtherehavebeensuggestions that thequintilesystembeadjustedorremoved.Acurrentproposalistomergeanumberofthequintilecategoriestodrawaclearerlinebetweenpoorandbetterresourcedschools.
TherehavealsobeenadjustmentstothePPNforpurposesofensuringthatallschoolshaveanisiZuluteacher.
10.3. Challenges
The greatest challenge is data quality. A RAM that is more sensitive to the actual needs of the school will only work if data on schools, educators and learners is accurate and reliable. Anychangetothesystemofresourceallocationwillresultinwinnersandlosers.Thishastobemanagedsensitivelyandcarefullysothattherearenotseriousandunforeseenconsequences.
10.4. Implementation options
Aphasedapproachisrecommendedinordertoreducetheshocktothesystem.
IntermsofthePPN:
• Distinguishbetweenprimaryandsecondaryschools
• Ring-fencespecificpoststhatarerequiredbythecurriculume.g.Mathematics,MathematicalLiteracy,Languages
• CreateamechanismfortheestablishmentofcertainschoolstobefundedoutsideofthePPN,wherethoseschoolshavespecialistfunctions:suchasfocusschools,fullserviceschoolsorschoolswithspecialisedcurriculumstreams
• Establish norms for specialist posts such as school counsellors and librarians andmaketheseprogressivelyavailable
• LinkthePPNto theavailable infrastructure,so thatschoolsdonotexpandbeyondtheirphysicalcapacity
43
IntermsoftheRAM:
• Distinguishbetweenschoolsthatarepayingformunicipalservicesandschoolsthatarenot
• Factorinapersquaremetrerateforroutinebuildingmaintenance
• Progressivelymoveawayfromaquintilebasedallocationtoonebasedontheschoolneedsandthesocio-economicstatusofthelearners
• Factor in specific requirements such as direct funding for hostel facilities, libraries,laboratoriesetc.
10.5. Costing
AfullreviewofPPNandRAMisacomplexissuethatneedsextendedandfocusedresearch.Italsocutsacrossnationalandprovinciallevels.Ahighlevelconsultantmustbeappointedtoreworkthemodelstoalignthemtothestrategydirectionsofthedepartmentandadequatelyresourcethesystem,takingaccountof the levelofdifferentiation,atacostofapproximatelyR800000.
Policy Recommendations 44
Thecrisisineducationhasloomedlargeinournationalconsciousnessoverthelastcoupleof years and has formed the major impet
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