Presentation on 4 th Annual Economic and Social Rights Report 2000 – 2002

1. Presentation on 4th Annual Economic and Social Rights Report 2000 – 2002 produced by the Human Rights Commission Education Portfolio Committee September 2003

2. Recommendations of the report Format and framework of the analysis Comments and responses on the recommendations Strengthening monitoring and evaluation of rights in education Next steps Overview

3. Recommendations of the 4th report

4. HRD strategy should guide the development of the FET and HE. Concludes that HRC reporting is not taken seriously. HRC states that Departments should respond in time and find out what is expected of them in responding to the protocols (p306). Budget allocations should be spent more effectively before requesting more funding in providing basic education - Most PEDs reported to the HRC that programme budgets were inadequate for basic education. Recommendations of the report

5. Staffing and skills development should be taken seriously to ensure delivery. If information such as key indicators is not available, report concludes on page 286 that most government departments are operating in the dark. There have been sincere endeavours made to improve schooling and access to basic education rights. Recommendations of the report

6. Format and framework of the analysis for the 4th report

7. Questionnaires rely on self-reporting of programme-specific information on inputs and process indicators over a 5 month period (Feb 2002 to June 2002). E.g. is budget sufficient? What is the budget for different programmes? Questionnaires designed by the HRC and distributed to provinces and national departments. Format and content

8. 4th report notes flaws in information collection with information inadequate, incomplete and variable in quality. Format and content

9. Narrative of the 4th report is clearly a collation of separate responses to questionnaires rather than an in depth analysis of the impact of interventions, legislation and programmes in relation to expanding access to rights related to education and training. Framework of the analysis

10. Enrichment of the report based on recommendations

11. Conclusion that HRC work is not taken seriously. Departments should respond in time and find out what is expected of them in responding to the protocols (p306). 4th report is not an assessment of access to or participation in rights in education and training. The report is of limited utility in tracking trends in access to, and participation in rights at a macro-level. Too much detail is requested with little focus on macro information such as population levels of education which show outcomes and impact of education an training, access to education e.g StatsSA data on population with schooling, or at different education levels Comments on recommendations

12. Continued… (p306). Protocols rely on data. It is not clear if the information received is cross checked (e.g. with annual reports of provinces, treasury documents which are in the public domain) or analysed in a systematic fashion. Efficient and comprehensive information provision is an output of a transformed system. Presently, structural reform in some sub-sectors. Maturing of systems will ensure improvement. HRD strategy should guide the development of the FET and HE. This is given in the education sector. Business planning process considers HRD strategy as it relates to reform of the sector and its output. Comments on recommendations

13. Budget allocations should be spent more effectively before requesting more funding. Most PEDs reported that programme budgets were inadequate for basic education. The report notes inadequate spending by departments in key programmes, but does not note improvements in procurement and spending levels and patterns in education especially in the ECD, LSM budgets, infrastructure budgets and conditional grants budgets. Trend Situation further improved since the report as reported in the Inter Governmental Fiscal Review Reports from Treasury and Unqualified reports for provinces. ECD spending in 2002/3 predicted at 69% or R48 million, up from 15% in previous year. Budget reform in education, common strategic planning and annual reporting formats put in place. Comments on recommendations

14. Staffing and skills development should be taken seriously to ensure delivery. Several systemic interventions including the PASD and management development interventions have been initiated to do just this. Anti-corruption interventions in procurement has received attention as well as efficiency in the conversion of inputs into outcomes and impact in education terms for the broader population. There have been sincere endeavours made to improve schooling and access to basic education rights. Inclusion of evidence of improved enrolment rates in ECD, General Education and FET. Inclusion of evidence of equity in resourcing – non-personnel and personnel through PPN SGB quality enhancement initiatives Comments on recommendations

15. If information such as key indicators is not available, the report concludes on page 286 that most government departments are operating in the dark. The following slides illustrate indicators which may have been useful to show about education rights, access to basic education, further education and literacy opportunities by young people and the general population. (Data from Statistics South Africa and national Department of Education data and publications including the Annual Report) Access, equity, quality, democracy and efficiency issues prevent uptake of rights. These issues not analysed sufficiently in the report to give an idea of macro- and other trends in uptake of rights to education. Data is collected and presented but not systematically analysed. Comments on recommendations

16. Some macro-indicators showing impact of interventions designed to improve the uptake of rights in education and training Sources: EMIS Statistics SA Annual reports Treasury documents

17. Gains in Basic and adult education, FET and HEPercentage of population aged over 20 years olds in each population group by highest education level completed - StatsSA

18. Provision for fee exemptions ECD Poverty targeted funding (to vulnerable, poor, HIV/AIDS affected communities) enables ECD benefits to accrue to the poorest (including better school performance and life chances). Local economic development will result from the creation of a corps of newly qualified practitioners (not post provisioned) recruited from communities. Literacy and opportunities for sustainable livelihoods will result. Encouraging expansion by 12% since 2000 to 280 000 in 2002 (on track for full enrolment by 2015). Ikhwelo (R40m) and poverty alleviation grants (Thuba Makote R64m) – to enhance sustainable employment and develop infrastructure. Education interventions improving access to quality education

19. More participation in governance by parents and major role players (as intended in Education White Paper 1 and in SASA, HE, ABET, FET Acts). Grade 3 systemic evaluation in 2001 showed 7 in 10 parents involved in school activities at least two or three times a year. More financial management capacity in schools – double the number of section 21 schools in 2002 than in 2001 . Education interventions improving access to quality education

20. Compulsory education Improving enrolment rates, especially of younger children since 1996 Population grade achievement Increasing. Younger people have more grades of education completed than older people. Out of school youth Estimated to decline. Census 2001 (when released) will tell us if they have. FET college participation growth Education interventions improving access to quality education

21. Enrolment rates by age, 1996 to 2001

22. NSFAS Between 1996 and 2001, R2.6 bn disbursed to half a million HE students. Estimated 33% of the expansion in higher education since the mid 1990s due to NSFAS inputs. PSNP Increasing allocations targeted to poorer provinces, but efficiency of distribution within provinces needs to be improved. Better targeting, imrpoved service delivery through partnerships and improved monitoring system set up with hand over from DoH. Education interventions improving access to quality education

23. Stability in pass ratio and increased pass rate Pass rate Pass ratio

24. Female participation in higher education from 1993 to 2001

25. Participation in higher education by population group

26. Coverage Disabled and out of school learners - repetition and drop out rates especially in more rural areas. Conversion of inputs (increased inputs into LSM, HIV/AIDS education 21%, ECD 89%, FET 25% nationally according to IGFR 2003) Challenges

27. Next steps Improving rights monitoring relating to education

28. Reporting using macro- information and data on outcomes and rights uptake disaggregated by province, gender and race supplemented by provincial information on programmes. More analysis with clearer trends quantified and shown – with link to recommendations in the sector. Improving rights monitoring

29. Simplification of protocols to focus on key issues of impact and probable contributors, to improve reliability More consistent triangulation of information (by analytical team) with other credible sources of information which exist in the sector e.g. national and provincial annual reports, education strategic planning formats, treasury documents, EFA reports etc. Suggest alignment of protocol indicators with those existing in the system to improve accuracy and consistency between reports. Improving rights monitoring

30. Eliminate duplication in reporting. Focus on the aim and objective of the reports – tracking human rights contribution in social and economic development. HRC and education sector interaction on analytical and monitoring framework for refining future reports and/or protocols. Improving rights monitoring

31. EFA monitoring BMSO Budget reform Strengthening efficiency in systems Action plan for free quality education for all. Expanding non-personnel and non-capex amounts for quality improvements. Improving uptake of rights