Major problems in Eastern Cape education department: Motshekga

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has told a media conference at parliament that the government’s intervention in the Eastern Cape education department has hit “major, major problems”.

The cabinet decided in February this year that Motshekga should take over the provincial education department after it overspent its salary budget and then had to lay off 4 000 temporary teachers, suspended scholar transport and terminated the school feeding schemes in the province.

While overspending on salaries, it failed to spend the money allocated to repair derelict schools and replace mud schools, and returned this money to Treasury.

But Motshekga said she had to tell President Jacob Zuma last week that she was “getting lots of resistance” from the province.

Zuma is now set to visit the province’s executive committee next week to lay down the law.

Motshekga said the provincial department had allowed national government to reappoint the sacked teachers, restart the school feeding scheme and arrange for textbook deliveries, but it was reluctant to allow a full takeover of the department.

“We are actually stuck. As soon as the president comes back [from overseas], as early as next week, we will have to go back to the province to solve the impasse,” Motshekga said.

The national Education Department’s plan to eradicate mud schools had also caused “tension”, she said. While the Eastern Cape was identified as a priority area for this project because it has 395 mud schools, Motshekga’s department also wanted to eradicate mud schools in other provinces and to drive the project from a national level.

She was not prepared to hand over the money to the Eastern Cape education department.

Motshekga told parliament in March this year that “corruption, a leadership vacuum and poor financial management systems” were to blame for the Eastern Cape education department’s collapse earlier this year.

Working with Treasury and the Department of Public Services and Administration, a team from national government would now have to put “credible” financial systems in place, show department officials how to budget and stabilise the department’s finances. They will also ensure that there is a teacher in every class.

Eastern Cape officials were cooperating with her team, said Motshekga.