Latest news with #Maimela
The Herald
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald
Parliament warns against stalling Bela Act implementation
Gwarube told the committee she had issued draft guidelines to help provincial departments implement the act, but these were not binding. She said 10 task teams were working on finalising the regulations, two of which were nearly complete and under legal review. The minister denied being influenced from outside to issue the guidelines. However, the committee voiced concern about claims that the draft guidelines clash with the South African Schools Act (Sasa) and interfere with provincial administrative powers. Issues raised include confusion over the phrases 'collaborative vs after consultation', powers of the heads of departments and the appeals process. 'We have not been furnished with any guidelines or regulations. During our engagements with the provincial departments of education, it became apparent the guidelines differ from the Sasa. Some provincial departments of education are also confused by whether they received guidelines or regulations,' said Maimela. 'This is confusion we were concerned about from the start. If the provincial departments of education are confused, what about the general public and other stakeholders. We cannot allow the confusion.' Some provincial departments told the committee the council of education ministers (CEM) rejected the guidelines and referred the matter back to the heads of education departments committee, calling for focus on regulation drafting. The committee has asked Gwarube to submit a full report within four working days detailing how the guidelines came about. 'The committee is of the view that the time spent for draft guidelines could have been used rather for drafting regulations. We need the detail of what led to the guidelines as we must discuss if we need to write to the office of the president and explain the confusion created in the sector,' said Maimela. The committee also noted challenges raised by provinces, including infrastructure issues, funding for compulsory Grade R, stipends and training for grade R, and stipends and training for Grade R practitioners. It refused to engage with the Western Cape education department's presentation, citing a lack of substance. Maimela said: ' The department has been told to amend its presentation and address the shortcomings. The Western Cape education department had a seven-slide presentation, but only three of the slides had the required information. We took a dim view as we noted the department seems to disregard our oversight role. We informed it to prepare a more detailed presentation that speaks to the request we sent to them.' TimesLIVE
IOL News
07-05-2025
- General
- IOL News
Urgent call for KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape school nutrition programme challenges to be addressed
A child has a spoon of food to his mouth File Picture: A child enjoys a good meal at a primary school. Picture: Independent Newspapers Archives Image: Independent Media Archives The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education has welcomed the Department of Basic Education's (DBE) commitment to urgently address the school nutrition crisis affecting learners in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. Since the beginning of the second term, several schools in the two provinces have been facing disruptions with the programme, an issue that has drawn serious concern from MPs. 'In many cases, these are the only meals that learners receive. They do not have food at home. So, now we are taking away that meal; learners cannot learn on an empty stomach,' said committee chairperson Joy Maimela during a committee meeting this week. The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) is a key intervention aimed at ensuring learners receive at least one nutritious meal a day while at school. The committee was being briefed by the DBE on school infrastructure planning and delivery when the the nutrition programme was raised, following recent media reports. Maimela said in a statement that she welcomed the commitment from Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, who pledged to urgently engage her provincial counterparts. 'We are encouraged by this commitment. We will certainly monitor this space carefully,' she said. Gwarube also clarified that the programme's funding is ringfenced and cannot legally be diverted to other expenses, prompting the committee to demand answers from provinces experiencing shortfalls. In KZN, the provincial education department had stated in a previous announcement earlier this week that it had paid most suppliers in the NSNP and that others would be paid by Thursday, May 8. However the department has since said that payment would now be made on Friday, May 9. The department said some payments had been unsuccessful due to technical difficulties linked to the implementation of a new financial system by the National Treasury and this was being dealt with. Nkosinathi Ngcobo, head of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, stated, 'We acknowledge the concerns raised by our valued service providers and wish to assure them that the department is doing everything possible to resolve the technical glitches affecting payment processes. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕
