PRESENTATION TO THE PC:PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

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PRESENTATION TO THE PCPUBLIC SERVICE AND
ADMINISTRATION

• Transformation of the Inspectorate in Education
  and impact of SA-India Cooperation on on going
  transformation
• Firoz Y Patel
• Acting Director General
• Department of Education
• 29 March 2006

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WHERE WE COME FROM (1)

• Up to about the late 70s SA education had an
  inspectorate that based on fault finding and
  maintaining the apartheid system.
• Inspections were judgmental and based on once
  of visits.
• They were punitive rather than judgemental.
• Inputs and attitude towards the state were focus.
• Inspectors attached to black schools did not
  represent the population in SA nor were they the
  best in the system.

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WHERE WE COME FROM (2)

• 1976 its importance and consequences
• The defiance campaign of the 80s
• Peoples education late 80s
• Labour and teacher rights movements
• Alternative systems and programmes
• New democratic system and transformation

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TRANSFORMING THE SYSTEM (1)

• New framework adopted for quality education
• South African School Act (SASA)
• School Governing Bodies (SGB)
• Educators Employment Act
• Educators Labour Relations Council
• South African Council for Educators

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TRANSFORMING THE SYSTEM (2)

• New structures, systems, processes, management,
  curriculum, funding
• New education sub-regional systems (Provinces)
• New organograms, new job descriptions
• Merging and integration of previous systems
• Voluntary severance, redeployment,
  rationalisation
• ALL WITHOUT ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR I.R.O
  PROVINCIAL EDUCATION

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES (1)

• Systemic evaluation
• Development appraisal system - DAS
• Performance management system - PMS
• Whole school evaluation -WSE (2001)
• Integrated quality management system -IQMS

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES - WSE (2)

• Indicates ways in which very good schools should
  be recognised and under-performing schools
  supported.
• The main purpose of the policy is to facilitate
  improvement of school performance through
  approaches characterized by partnership,
  collaboration, mentoring and guidance.
• Unlike the inspectorate process, is meant to be
  supportive and developmental rather than punitive
  and judgment.

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES - WSE (3)

• The focus of WSE is on three components
• Internal evaluation or school-based
  self-evaluation on the nine critical areas for
  evaluation as stipulated in the Policy.
• The school-based self-evaluation must precede the
  external evaluation.
• External evaluation that is conducted by the
  provincial-based supervisory units to validate
  school-based self-evaluations.
• Mentoring and support provided by the
  district-based support teams.
• One of the key responsibilities of the
  district-based support teams is to guide schools
  in the implementation of the recommendations of
  the whole-school evaluation reports.

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES - WSE (4)

• Challenges in implementing WSE Policy
• Districts do not have the capacity to review
  school improvement plans and to provide the
  necessary support to schools.
• District, provincial and national improvement
  plans are not necessarily informed by school
  improvement plans. Provincial-based supervisors
  do not have the capacity to externally evaluate
  all schools in a cycle of five years (for primary
  schools) and three years (for secondary schools).
  Given that supervisors are government employees,
  the credibility of their data is questionable.
  Therefore, the Department of Education is
  currently reviewing different options for
  external evaluation of schools.

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES - WSE (5)

• The shift in terminology and process from
  inspection to whole-school evaluation is
  important. Whole-school evaluation encapsulates
  school self-evaluation as well as external
  evaluation. It also provides for school to
  receive advice and support in their continual
  efforts to improve their effectiveness.

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES IQMS (1)

• In 2002 there was a review of these multiplicity
  of processes and the three process of WSE, PMS
  and DAS were integrated into the IQMS.
• The IQMS was implemented for the first time in
  2005.
• For the first time in about 25 years ALL teachers
  were subjected to some measurement and evaluation
• Very good performance was rewarded with a notch
  increment

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES IQMS (2)

• System not perfect
• Lack of effective moderating or involvement by
  system
• Cumbersome and large (350 000 educators)
• Lack of operational systems, capacity human and
  otherwise.
• System to be reviewed.
• Need to link other process Districts, skills
  improvement, system improvement to changes

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES DISTRICTS (1)

• Towards improving capacity and legal standing of
  districts
• An initial study conducted in 2003 using
  interviews across provinces to establish a
  baseline on the current status of the districts.
  This process resulted in the production of the
  Districts at a Glance. This report defines all
  districts in the South African Education system
  and provides a snapshot of the status of
  provincial education sub-units. It presents a
  broad idea of how provincial Departments of
  Education have organised their sub-units for
  education service delivery.

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES DISTRICTS (2)

• Six districts identified by the provinces were
  visited and data was collected and a report
  entitled Towards a Model District was produced.
  The report presents the pockets of excellence or
  key indicators of effective district performance
  and good practice identified across the six
  provinces and districts without singling out a
  particular district.    

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QUALITY SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES DISTRICTS (1)

• The Department of Education also initiated a snap
  survey of provincial sub-structures in 2004,
  which would provide baseline data on education
  districts. This process was prompted by the fact
  that there was no aggregated information on the
  staffing, resource and capacity levels of
  provincial education sub-structures for the
  Department to use for informed developmental
  intervention in districts. A District Education
  Management Information System (DEMIS) tool,
  developed in consultation with the EMIS
  directorate, was field-tested in 2004/5, reviewed
  and refined and implemented in 2005/6.

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CHALLENGES AND INDIA COOPERATION (2)

• The partnership with India is to assist the DoE
  make districts live up to their envisaged roles
  and responsibilities, and will helpfully assist
  in the process to
• a.     Develop Norms and Standards for District
  Post Provisioning and Resourcing and
• b.     Identify the critical skills and knowledge
  required for district management and
  administration.

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CHALLENGES AND INDIA COOPERATION (3)

• One of the organisations visited was Ed.CIL.
  Ed.CIL is a Public Sector Enterprise established
  by the Government of India in 1981, under the
  Ministry of Education and Culture to offer
  consultancy and technical services in different
  areas of education and human resource
  development.
• Ed.CIL works with clients to set and attain high
  standards in education. The organisation has
  worked on several national and international
  projects and is the Indian governments nodal
  organisation for promoting Indian education
  abroad. Ed.CIL places students in various
  institutions and seconds Indian experts and
  faculty to over 15 countries. Ed.CIL has worked
  extensively in Africa.

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CHALLENGES AND INDIA COOPERATION (4)

• The South African delegation enquired whether
  Ed.CIL could provide
•         Expert evaluation of the requirements
  (personnel and other) for district offices
•         Details of the India governments
  strategy for rural education
•         Analysis and benchmarking of the
  Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy and Science
  curricula for Grades 10 12 and
•         Diagnostic testing of teachers of
  Mathematics and Science content knowledge in
  relation to the curriculum.
• Two visits took place to Ed.CIL. The Minister of
  Public Service and Administration led the first
  delegation. Ed.CIL presented its programmes and
  areas of expertise. The South African delegation
  was given an opportunity to ask questions and
  explore areas of common interest.

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CHALLENGES AND INDIA COOPERATION (5)

• Study a range of districts and advise on the
  optimal administrative size of a district and the
  skills and knowledge required for district
  management and administration
• Share their rural strategy with SA
• Examine the Mathematics, Mathematical literacy
  and Science curricula for Grades 10 12 in order
  to benchmark its standards and to develop a test
  for high school mathematics and science teachers
  in order to place them on the correct training
  programmes.

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CHALLENGES AND INDIA COOPERATION (6)

• Ed Cil in India has been requested to send a team
  of 10 experts to spend a total of 5 days in SA
  based in five districts representing a cross
  section of our districts and representing both
  rural and urban as well as high and low
  performing schools. Their report and
  recommendations can helpfully take us to the next
  level of ensuring fully functioning and well
  resourced districts.