part a: strategic overview - Department of Education

The Department collaborates with other Provincial Government Departments and structures in the three
provincial Clusters, especially the Social Needs Cluster, in pursuing these priorities. We will work with other
members of this and other Clusters in pursuing integrated planning, budgeting, service delivery, as well as
pooling of resources and capabilities since we believe Government can achieve much more in this way with its
available resources. In addition to this, we shall continue to engage all stakeholders and social partners in the
planning and delivery of our programmes. To this end, all stakeholders were invited to the Education Summit
convened from 13 to 15 July 2005 to deliberate on the ransformation Agenda. My Department and I will also
work closely with the four higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Province to more effectively harness their
expertise and specialized skills to the best advantage of the Department and the Province.
I am very pleased that the Department, who has the biggest share of the Provincial Budget and the
biggest footprint of all the Provincial Departments with over 6 000 educational facilities and a presence in
most communities, has embarked on an initiative called ‘Local Economic Development and Educational
Provisioning’ to make a more significant contribution towards poverty alleviation and employment creation
in the Province by targeting community cooperatives as service providers in procuring goods and services.
I regard these cooperatives as more effective vehicles for broad based black economic empowerment and
moral regeneration as they are rooted in the indigenous culture of ilima/letsema. This initiative is also based
on cooperative governance and community-public-private partnership, and it will realize my vision of schools
becoming ‘centres of community life’. Social issues like poverty significantly impact on our learners; it is for
instance not possible to effectively teach a hungry or malnourished child and for her or him to do well at
school. The Provincial Executive Council (EXCO) adopted our recommendation that this initiative be rolled
out to other provincial departments and institutions and that the Department of Economic Affairs, Environment
and Tourism be the Lead Department in implementing the initiative in the Province. The high level of poverty
(63.6% of households) and 53.7% unemployment in the Province indicates the extent of the prevalence of the
Second Economy epitomized by market failure which demands effective government intervention.
Over and above the Provincial priorities, the Department’s Strategic Plan reflects the priorities set by the
National Department of Education and Government. The plan further outlines our strategy to turn this
Department into an organization capable of delivering quality services in a manner that is timely, relevant
and responsive to the developmental needs of the Province and the country in general. The Department is
committed to rolling out its service delivery model articulated in previous plans by establishing adequately
resourced and capacitated District Offices. Key to this end is the implementation of a matrix structure to
facilitate programme and project management between provincial Head Office and the District Offices.
However, the Executive Council’s resolution that the districts in the Province need to be properly coordinated,
implies that serious consideration be given to the fact that the current number of District Offices in the
Department do not coincide with the existing demarcation of District and Metropolitan Municipalities to
facilitate coordination and integration of planning and service delivery between the Department and these
municipalities. This will also entail that attention be given to strengthening the Circuits, mindful of the
concomitant financial implications. Furthermore, related to a possible reconfiguration of the District Offices is
to establish and/or develop comprehensive primary and secondary schools that offer good quality education in
these centres to attract people with particular scarce skills such as educators and other public servants, who
have to now send their children elsewhere where schools of this nature exist inside or outside the Province.
The slight improvement in the 2005 matric results has demonstrated that my Department is close to turning
the corner and beginning to make, as the biggest provincial department, its rightful contribution in realizing the
provincial vision: the Eastern Cape, a compelling place to live, work and invest in!
M Matomela, MPL
MEC FOR EDUCATION