Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday paid tribute to teachers as ”the front line of our education system” — and then matched his praise with hard cash.
”The investments announced in this budget constitute a concerted effort to improve the quality of schooling in our country,” he told the National Assembly.
He said that over the next three years, the government will set aside an additional R8,1-billion to hire more teachers, teaching assistants and support staff, and to improve teachers’ pay.
”Our teachers are the front line of our education system,” he said. ”It is in their hands that we place our 11-million children each day.”
R2,1-billion of the R8,1-billion was earmarked in the 2006 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.
Manuel said Education Minister Naledi Pandor will lead the process of determining how the money should be used, focusing on the need to reward good teachers, support poor schools and improve the quality of schooling in general.
An additional R700-million will be set aside for bursaries, in order to encourage young people to train as teachers and pursue careers in the public schooling system.
These allocations are accompanied by resources set aside in the share of national revenue earmarked for provinces, and will be spent on implementing no-fee schools, and a ”substantial” increase in resources for classroom building and providing water, electricity and sanitation in schools.
”It is a step change in resources going to schools, and we want to see a step change in results too,” Manuel said.
No-fee schools were introduced last year in a bid to remove what was seen as a source of marginalisation and victimisation of pupils from poor families.
This year, according to the Education Department, just more than five million pupils, or 40% of the total, will be attending 13 856 no-fee schools.
Overall, education remains the single largest category of combined national and provincial government spending, accounting for a total of R105,5-billion, with welfare coming second at R89,4-billion.
Protection services — including the police, defence force and justice — take third place at R88,2-billion.
According to the budget review produced by the Treasury, education is ”key” to sustaining long-term growth and reducing inequality.
The national Department of Education gets a budget increase of R4,6-billion this year, of which R2,2-billion goes to the higher education subsidy, which will grow at an average rate of 11% over the next three years. Another R850-million goes to the adult literacy programme.
The bulk of education spending is done through the provinces. — Sapa