A-G delivers new blow to Angie

The failure to deliver textbooks in Limpopo is only a small part of the massive crisis facing the Basic Education Department.

The department's inability to deliver education to most children is chronicled in the department's annual report, presented in parliament on Friday.

The report, for the 2011-2012 financial year, reveals underspending of R1-billion on infrastructure, a severe lack of financial control to curb "irregular spending" and an inability to meet department targets.

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga earlier this year insisted that she would award herself 80% for her performance.

The underspending on infrastructure - detailed in the auditor-general's report in the annual report - occurred while 45% of schools did not meet the most basic standards for infrastructure.

Terence Nombembe, the auditor-general, said one of the reasons for the underspending was the department's withholding of funds from Eastern Cape.

This was due to the province's low spending on maintenance and upgrading of schools.

Another reason was that only 2% of the grant of R700-million for correcting the school infrastructure backlog was spent. The grant was earmarked for replacing schools that lacked adequate infrastructure.

But the report states that the department estimates that R66-billion would be needed to bring all schools up to standard on infrastructure.

The report shows that the department missed 53% of the targets it had set itself.

The missed targets include:

• The department did not meet its target of filling the teaching posts at 70% of schools with permanent teachers: it failed by one percentage point.
• Only 104033 Grade 12 pupils passed mathematics - the target was 158 000.

"Too few learners write the national senior certificate exams in gateway subjects such as mathematics and science," the report said.

The report concedes that the department could not afford to distribute additional study guides to help prepare matrics for their exams.

"Due to financial constraints, the support to Grade 12 was minimal. "Additional resources like Studymate, Old Mutual mathematics books and study guides could not be provided to schools."

Nombembe's most scathing comments were reserved for director- general Bobby Soobrayan, who acts as the department's accounting officer.

Nombembe said Soobrayan did not "take effective steps to prevent irregular expenditure".

Soobrayan has been clouded by controversy; so much so that NGO Equal Education called for his resignation in August for failing to ensure the delivery of textbooks to Limpopo.

He has been linked to Lebone Litho and EduSolutions, companies allegedly connected to his former fiancee's mother that won a tender to print and distribute workbooks.

Nombembe writes: "Goods and services with a transaction value below R500000 were procured without obtaining the required price quotations [competitive bids as required by Treasury regulations].

"The accounting officer [Soobrayan] . did not prepare financial statements in accordance [as] prescribed."

Soobrayan was not available for comment. Africa Boso, spokesman for the auditor-general, said he could not comment further until the release of the full report next year.

In the year when the non-delivery of textbooks in Limpopo dominated headlines, the department said it had exceeded its targets for the delivery and supply of textbooks.

It claimed that 97.25% of workbooks for grades 1 to 9 had been distributed.

But the department's assertion that more than 90% of all textbooks and workbooks were delivered is contradicted by another departmental report published in August.

In the Integrated Quality Management System Report, the department found that many schools in Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, the Free State and Limpopo had not received all their textbooks and materials for 2011-2012.

Nombembe said a lack of controls resulted in the department not knowing how many pupils and schools needed textbooks.

"Furthermore the department did not have effective controls in place to ensure accurate and timeous delivery of materials," he said.

Wits professor and education expert Graeme Bloch called the report an honest assessment.