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Support for R121bn education budget

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:31

An education specialist has hailed Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s R121.1 billion budget allocation for education as key to growth and development in the country.

“Trevor Manuel has been an enthusiastic supporter of programmes that could make a difference while growing capabilities and opportunities by improving quality and access to education,” said Graeme Bloch, an education specialist from the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

“South Africa is lucky to have a Finance Minister who understands the need to commit funds to the long term growth of our human potential and skills,” he added.

During his Budget Speech in February, Manuel allocated the largest share of the budget, R121.1 billion, to education with priorities in building schools, childhood education, school books and educator remuneration.

The minister said over three years, provinces have budgeted to spend over R18 billion on schools infrastructure and equipment “so that we can indeed eradicate unsafe schools.”

Bloch said the 30 percent growth in school nutrition was recognition of the impact of poverty on schooling.

Additional allocations were also proposed for higher education, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and further education colleges have been recapitalised.

“The desire to utilize skills funds creatively to fund Further Education and Training [FET] colleges is innovative and essential to step up artisan-level skills and the money has been provided to achieve these goals.

“All South Africans will have to focus on improving our education if the money spent is really to find its measure in quality outcomes across the board.

“This will help our children to focus on learning and great opportunities that may come,” said Bloch.

However, he said education problems in the country were deep and complex and there were no quick answers that could be expected.

“Nonetheless, one would like to see the funds spent wisely and properly by the provincial education authorities who are the key implementing agents.

“Officials should do their job properly and on time. In addition, more needs to be done to support teachers and to move them from being opponents of government on labour relation issues and partners in the building of quality education,” said Bloch.

He said the promise to improve teachers’ financial circumstances was welcomed while it put increased responsibility on teachers to rise to the challenge.

“With the real focus of on achieving a critical leap in education outcomes, we could as a country examine the inevitable need to really ramp up education expenditure in the medium term so that all schools can have the minimum,” he added.

This, Bloch said, included laboratories, libraries, sport fields and computers that all schools deserved as this was still a distant dream.

“However, the capital expenditure program is a good start that we hope all provinces will implement effectively,” said Bloch.

- BuaNews