Education – Ever diminishing opportunities

By Hentie Gericke.

The academic year 2014 saw a complete overhaul of textbooks for Grades 1–12. The Heads of the Education Department Committee (HEDCOM) has recommended that the present catalogues be retained for another five years. The main reasons are that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is happy with Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and budgets are under pressure. A new catalogue process will put increased pressure on the already strained economy.

DBE announced the current life span of a textbook is five years, which historically fitted in with the National Catalogues Timeframes. DBE will not budget for replacement of these textbooks.

In terms of the Grade 12 Literature, National is still busy with the screening process. This is causing delays in ordering throughout all provinces. Each learner will receive the minimum in terms of literature, i.e.

• three titles for Home Language
• two titles for First Additional Language
• one for Second Additional Language.

The DBE aims to spend no more than 15% of annual LTSM spend on top ups.

Central Region (KZN)

Many of the schools are giving their orders to Ndabase Trading after the department encouraged them to do so. Some suppliers have probably overcharged and the legitimate trade, our members included, are probably being tarred with the same brush. We hear Ndabase has ordered R130 million of schoolbooks for supply next year.

Since we wrote the letter protesting accusations of overcharging to the department, we have had no reply. Nor have we had the opportunity to meet the department.

We will write to the department again to request a meeting and to draw attention to the irregular behavior by the department.

Ndabase’s tender for just over R217 million management fee a year is for the supply of Section 20 schools. Does this cover the delivery costs? If so it is wrong to compare their invoice prices with ours.

Gauteng Department of Education (GDE)

Zylec Investments has been introduced as the new LTSM Service Provider for GDE. With engineering and logistics experience they will also be a service provider for the Western Cape. Their warehousing and distribution service
centre is based in Isando and their main task will be to:

• Ensure the delivery of LTSM to all public schools in order for learners to have their material by the start of the new school year i.e. 2017.
• SLA’s will be drawn up between the parties involved and future meetings will be scheduled.

Zylec Management has experience in providing large scale solutions as principals at EOH.

African Paper Products (APP) is the new STATIONERY Service Provider. APP are a KZN based company with their main warehousing and distribution service centre based in Verulam and a plant in Port Louis, Mauritius. They are the biggest paper supplier in Africa. They manufacture everything in the line of stationery. They have a warehouse in Lenasia and are in the process of acquiring a warehouse in Midrand. They will ensure that stationery ordered is prepacked and delivered to all public schools before the end of the 2016 school year. SLA’s between the stakeholders involved are being finalised legally.

More logistical information will follow from both providers once systems are up and running and orders are being processed. The Department is to advise schools and perhaps do some training with the SGB’s regarding the expenditure of budgets allocated.

All public schools (i.e. section 20 & 21) must procure and utilise their LTSM allocations centrally through GDE/ZYLEC, and only once all the priorities are processed on the procurement memo their remaining allocation will be transferred to the section 21 schools banking account in order to purchase other material needed.

The GDE has requested that publishers should indicate if they have e-learning material linked to material on the CAPS catalogue. The GDE tender sent out is a platform for e-learning and e-LTSM. Textbooks are the responsibility of Zylec but they will have to align with the GDE service provider that will be announced.