Education in the Budget
Posted by Ingrid Thomson | 11 Feb, 2009Quoting from the budget. (page 12/13)
Government’s contribution to public education remains our single largest investment,because we know that it is the key to reducing poverty and accelerating long-term economic growth. Education spending has grown by 14 per cent a year for the past hree years and accounts for 140.4 billion in the spending plans of provinces and ational government for 2008/09.
We received a tip from Mr. Xolani Notshe of Port Elizabeth thanking us for allocating money to libraries. He says “libraries are central in community development. Libraries will assist your successor to collect more taxes because we would be an educated and skilled nation”. I agree entirely.
Key priorities in education include extending the no-fee schools policy to 60 per cent of s chools, from 40 per cent at present, expanding the school nutrition programme, reducing average class sizes in schools serving lower income communities, increasing expenditure on school buildings, strengthening teacher training programmes and recapitalising technical high schools over the next three years. An additional R700 million is allocated for higher education subsidies and to accommodate the anticipated growth in student enrolment from 783 900 last year to 836 800 in 2011. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme receives an additional R330 million. Funding is provided for a new National Education Evaluation Unit.
Many South Africans will agree, I am sure, with Mr. Paul King who writes, “Regarding the salaries of teachers, I personally feel that we do not reward them enough for what they do and what we expect from them in terms of the daily care and education of our children.” Madam Speaker, a new salary dispensation for teachers was introduced last year, linked to school and teacher performance, hence the urgency of establishing this new Evaluation Unit