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Provincial Budget

Western Cape budgets R9bln for education

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:42

By Bathandwa Mbola

The Western Cape Education department has provisionally budgeted R9 billion for education to ensure quality outcomes throughout the system.

In her Budget Speech, Finance and Tourism MEC Lynne Brown said the education budget had grown by R1.3 billion to more than R9 billion in 2008/09, with expenditure of R29-billion over the next three years.

MEC Brown said an increase in the Community Safety department's budget allocation would also benefit schools.

"The department of Community Safety plans to scale up its Safer Schools intervention by deploying 750 Bambanani volunteers at 160 high-risk schools and further Bambanani volunteers at 45 Metrorail stations in and around the City of Cape Town and the Winelands.

"Over the next three years, the Safer Schools programme and Commuter Safety Programme have been allocated R47 million,” MEC Brown said.

The education budget includes money for salary improvements for teachers, teacher training and management skills as well as a focus on special needs schools.

"Additions to education also compensate for inflation and salary improvements for education personnel and provide for increased investment in school construction and maintenance,” Ms Brown said.

She said expenditure on early childhood development would ensure greater success for pupils at schools.

"It has been proved that starting basic social, language and numeracy skills in the pre-school years significantly increases learners' chances of succeeding at higher levels.”

Funding for early childhood development, including Grade R increased to R226.7 million.

This will allow the department to accommodate 6000 more Grade R learners a year in predominantly poor and rural communities and provide more support material, build schools and upgrade the skills of early childhood development practitioners.

Provision has also been made for the department's cultural affairs and sport section to focus on its pre-school sports programme, which Ms Brown said will help improve the motor skills of children early in life.

MEC Brown said the budget for special school education in 2008/09 would be upped by 18.1 percent.

“Money has also been set aside for the nutrition programme that provides food to needy children at school, while about R69.8 million has been put aside for support materials from Grades 10 to 12 to give pupils the best chance of succeeding with the new curriculum.”

Education MEC, Cameron Dugmore has also welcomed the R9 billion budget allocation.

However, the MEC said the negotiations for the occupation specific dispensation (OSD) have not been concluded, which leaves a level of uncertainty for the coming financial year.

The costs to the province still need to be quantified, he said.

"We face immediate pressures regarding infrastructure and may be forced to approach treasury to utilise funds from the outer medium term expenditure framework year to meet these needs within the 20008/09 financial year.

"Every school, educator, principal, learner, parent and every official must rise to the challenge and produce quality outcomes.

“Resources are critical but attitude, passion and commitment are needed to turn the situation around,” MEC Dugmore said.

- BuaNews