Controversial legislation requiring school governing bodies to apply to provincial education departments for permission to give teachers extra pay or benefits was approved in the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday.
The Education Laws Amendment Bill has already been approved by the National Assembly, in September.
Introducing debate on the Bill, Education Minister Kader Asmal said the ”practice of school governing bodies paying state-employed teachers additional income has created enormous complexities in the system, and needs to be regulated”.
Among other things, it has the effect of making criminals of teachers, who could be charged under the Employment of Educators Act for not having permission to receive extra income.
”Our aim is to reconcile the two laws, and to ensure nobody is prejudiced,” he said.
In terms of the Bill, a school governing body should receive departmental approval before making any additional payments to teachers.
”This in turn will require certain steps, including the assurance that all parents are aware of the intention, that explicit provisions are made in the school budget for this, and that there is transparency in regard to who gets the top-up, what this is for, and how much it entails.
”We have too many cases where parents are not aware of these matters, and where the payments seem to be a case of ‘perks for pals’, determined only by the principal.
”This is undemocratic, and contravenes the principle of transparency in the management of school budgets, which contravenes the whole spirit of the Schools Act, and is not acceptable,” Asmal said.
Provincial departments will be required to ensure that top-ups are only paid for genuine cases of extra work; state employees should never be paid extra for doing the jobs for which they are already paid by the state.
Only where there are duties going beyond the ”call of duty”, such as additional extramural activities, or some special responsibilities for educational leadership, should departments give approval.
An agreed set of criteria will be used by all departments, which will ensure consistency in the application of the law, he said.
The House also approved the Higher Education Amendment Bill, which provides, among other things, for the establishment of the National Institutes for Higher Education in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.
The institutes are intended to serve as administrative and governance hubs for ensuring the ”coherent provision of higher education programmes in response to regional needs through programme collaboration between higher education institutions” currently operating in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape, Asmal said.
Both Bills now go to President Thabo Mbeki for signature. — Sapa