Where to for Provincial Education?: Reviewing Provincial Education Budgets 2006 to 2012

Detailed programme expenditure analysis

Detailed programme expenditure analysis The financial data used in the analysis are published in the Provincial Budget Statements 2010. We have also obtained financial and nonfinancial information directly from the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training. Our aim in combining financial and non-financial information in the same analysis is to enable us to say something meaningful about the implementation of education policy in each of the education sub-sectors. Financial data for 2006/07–2012/13 have been analysed, although the tables only provide data for the present MTEF period. Early childhood development budgets (Grade R)7 Table 4 provides information about the budgets of the nine provincial education departments over the medium term. Table 4: Expenditure on the early childhood development programme for the period 2009/10 to 2012/13 by provincial education department (ZAR thousands) Province 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 Real change between 2009/102010 /11 (%) Real av. ann. change between 2009/102012 /13 (%) Real av. ann. change between 2006/072012 /13 (%) Eastern Cape 290,486 528,492 652,168 676,000 72.1 28.7 56.9 Free State 82,122 95,738 100,978 105,717 10.3 2.8 7.5 Gauteng 280,785 557,541 660,215 679,843 87.9 32.2 64.8 KwaZulu Natal 264,963 598,678 722,054 758,157 113.8 42.2 35.8 Limpopo 144,116 237,423 249,253 267,750 55.9 18.7 29.8 Mpumalanga 97,922 124,553 155,718 134,667 20.3 6.6 14.1 Northern Cape 50,337 47,930 51,655 55,673 -9.9 -2.2 22.8 North West 194,503 209,020 224,109 239,553 1.7 1.2 5.4 Western Cape 305,489 342,657 363,593 384,764 6.1 2.0 20.8 Total 1,710,723 2,742,032 3,179,743 3,302,124 51.6 19.6 28.0 Source: Provincial Budget Statements 2010 DETAILED PROGRAMME EXPENDITURE ANALYSIS|21| WHERE TO FOR PROVINCIAL EDUCATION? REVIEWING PROVINCIAL EDUCATION BUDGETS, 2006 TO 2012|22| Expenditure on the ECD programme is projected to grow from R1.7 billion in 2009/10 to R3.3 billion at the end of the present MTEF. This translates into a real average annual growth of 20% over the present MTEF and, overall, over the six-year period, a 28% real average growth rate. This is incontrovertible evidence of prioritisation in line with the policy framework that provides for universal access to Grade R by 2010.8 Whether this policy goal has been realised is, of course, a different matter. The largest real average annual growth in expenditure over the medium term is projected for KwaZulu-Natal (42%) followed by Gauteng (32%). This is to be expected as large populations of young children live in these two provinces . The Eastern Cape is projected to increase allocations on average by 29% in real terms over the next three years, while the corresponding tally in Limpopo is 19%. Only one province, Northern Cape, projects a small real average annual decline in spending over the MTEF, while relatively small positive gains are planned for North West (1.2%) and Western Cape (2%). The Northern Cape provincial government has had financial challenges recently and this appears to be reflected in the state of the Grade R allocation . But it must be noted that despite financial challenges, this province has managed to increase access to Grade R in 2009, but it will probably be much harder to sustain such rapid increases over the medium term. How well have provincial education departments done in attaining universal access to Grade R and ECD in general? Table 5 provides the latest available figures for the number of children accessing Grade R in publiclyfunded and private Grade R institutions. Table 5: Total number of learners enrolled in Grade R in publicly-funded and private institutions in 2009 Province 2008 Average Enrolment (Grade 1 to 3) 2009 Grade R learner numbers Publicly funded Non-publicly funded Grade R learners Public ordinary schools Community-based sites Independent schools Eastern Cape 201 794 151 738 11 000 2 776 Free State 55 913 23 294 9 230 473 Gauteng 176 030 55 802 4 126 9 133 KwaZulu-Natal 242 972 152 069 25 000 2 597 Limpopo 134 460 95 508 26 000 2 062 Mpumalanga 90 357 44 851 6 026 1...