An expenditure report on the Dinaledi schools grant, for the third quarter of 2012/13, shows eight of the nine provinces underspent in terms of their allocated funds. Of an overall budget of R105.4 million, spending was R86.2 million, resulting in a total expenditure of 81.8%.
The provinces that are of concern, however, are Limpopo, Free State, North-West and Western Cape. Limpopo's actual payments - percentage wise - are shown as 39.8%, with Western Cape at 48.3%, Free State at 70.3% and North West at 77.8%.
Director of the Department of Education (DOE), Dinaledi Unit, David Silman, notes these figures look significantly different when looking at the fourth quarter report. "Significant spending has taken place during the fourth quarter, but this information is not yet available."
However, Silman explained there are other factors responsible for the under-spending in some of the provinces. Prior to the past financial year, there had been a procurement system in place in the Western Cape where funds were transferred directly to the schools, which, in turn, procured goods and services according to their needs.
This was, however, changed to a centralised procurement process on recommendation of the auditor-general, making the process more accountable. Funds were withheld from Limpopo, because they were not spending, says Silman. There were also concerns about schools spending money outside the Dinaledi framework.
According to Brian Schreuder, a deputy director-general at the Western Cape Education Department, lack of capacity was not to be blamed for the delays in spending in the province over the past financial year, but rather the change in procurement process in the middle of the year. He says although capacity was a constraint, it was manageable by the department.
Teacher performance
The measurement of teacher performance seems to be another point of concern. According to the report, the measurement of teacher performance was difficult, as educational impact delivery was a long process that worked through the system.
According to Silman, there is a major deficiency in the execution and management of the Dinaledi grant, with little done in baseline assessment to see where teachers were in terms of their content knowledge. "The difference between the national averages and the averages generated by schools in the Dinaledi programme is nowhere near commensurate with the amount of money spent." He says a nationwide assessment system will be implemented in the coming year in an effort to measure teacher performance.
Nhlanhla Nduna-Watson, director at the DOE, says a diagnostics report has shown a lack of foundational skills in maths and science, language, pedagogy and methodology, and lack of content knowledge among teachers as issues that need to be addressed. DVDs with self-study guides were created to address these issues.
There is, however, more being done, says Silman. "Teacher content training is a significant output of the Dinaledi grant and it is being done. How effective it is I don't know at this point."
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