2.6 DEVELOPMENTS WITH REGARD TO EDUCATOR PROVISIONING According to House (2000:13) no government in liberal democracies can survive without
2.6.5 THE CREATION OF EDUCATOR POSTS AND THE NEW POST DISTRIBUTION MODEL
to be provided according to the complex curricular needs of each school. The model, it claims, was tested in all provinces and was to be implemented in 1999 (DNE 1998:68).
creation of educator posts in a provincial department of education as well as the distribution of such posts to schools.
The Regulation was quite explicit on aspects of educator post provisioning and contained the following important provisions:
• In determining the post establishment of a provincial education department, the MEC must consult with trade unions in that province which are members of the ELRC and governing body organizations which are active in that province.
• In the creation of posts, the MEC must take into account the budget of the provincial education department; the effect the post establishment will have on the employment security of educators; the need for redress in the implementation and promotion of curriculum policy; the fact that the division between expenditure between personnel and non-personnel costs in the budget should be educationally and financially justifiable and in accordance with national policy.
• In determining the educator post establishment, the MEC must take into account the terms and conditions of employment of educators that may be affected by the post establishment, including provisions for leave, substitution and remuneration related issues (South Africa 1998d:1a-d).
The Regulation also spelt out the post distribution model (a resource allocation model) to be used in determining educator posts at schools. An important factor to be taken into account in the distribution of educator posts was the need for redress in the implementation and promotion of curriculum policy. The head of a provincial education department was tasked with the responsibility to determine an annual programme in this regard after consultation with trade union parties to the ELRC and governing body organizations which are active in that province (South Africa 1998d:2b).
2.6.5.1 THE POST PROVISIONING MODEL (PPM)
The PPM was the brainchild of the Department of National Education. According to Motala (1998:9), the main motivation for the development of a post provisioning model was that educator posts need to be allocated optimally, and the creation and distribution
of posts must be in line with the funds available for this purpose. It was a significant shift from earlier policy guidelines where a uniform learner-educator ratio was set down. The PPM was workshopped, debated and amended to the fairest possible option at national ELRC before implementation.
The PPM determines the relative need and priority, in respect of post provisioning, of each school and distributes the total pool of available posts to these schools in accordance with the relative needs and priorities. The norms according to which the needs and priorities are determined are based on the following factors:
• Educational and organizational requirements in respect of class size.
• Whether or not more than one language medium is used.
• The number of school phases provided for.
• Disabilities of learners.
• The size of the institution.
A school’s share of the total pool of educators in a province is determined by the weighting of all learners in accordance with their relative post provisioning needs, after which the available posts are divided among the schools pro rata to their weighted number of learners. Apart from the posts distributed to schools through this model, provision should also be made for ad hoc allocation of posts to institutions were specific circumstances necessitate such additional allocations. A limited, but sufficient number of posts, therefore, need to be retained in a central pool for this purpose (South Africa 1998d: Annexure 1).
An important acknowledgement in the Regulation is that although a public school’s curriculum has a bearing on its post allocation, the inequities that exist among schools with regard to curriculum offerings are not taken into account by the PPM. Heads of education departments were, therefore, empowered to address separately these inequities.
The annual programme according to which the department will address these inequities should include the retention of posts in a central pool for the allocation thereof to schools
where these subjects are introduced and which, therefore, qualify for additional posts in terms of the PPM (South Africa 1998d:Anexure A).
2.6.5.2 WEIGHTING NORMS
Different weighting norms were applied to the design features of the PPM. The weightings were applied as follows:
Public Schools:
• A learner in grade 1, 2 or 3 is counted as 1.15 weighted learners based on the need to have smaller class sizes during the formative phase.
• A learner in grade 4, 5, 6 or 7 is counted as 1 weighted learner.
• Learners in grades 8 and 9 are weighted in terms of study fields based on the need to have smaller class sizes in certain subjects (usually those with a practical component).
• Learners in grades 10 to 12 are weighted in terms of all their subjects. The weightings that apply to these subjects are based on class size requirements. In respect of each learner the relevant weightings applicable to his or her six examination subjects are accumulated plus provision for non-examination subjects.
Special provision for schools with more than one language medium of instruction
• Schools offering instruction in an additional language medium will have the number of weighted learners being taught in the additional language in each grade increased by 15%.
Combined schools
• If a school offers education to learners in the primary as well as the secondary section, an additional educator post is allocated to the school.
Learners with special educational needs
• Learners who have special educational needs as a result of severe disabilities are weighted in terms of their disability category.
• Learners who are mildly to moderately disabled are weighted in terms of the curriculum they follow and not in terms of their disability.
Formula
• The number of posts to be allocated to a school is determined by means of the following formula:
P = wl/twl x (p – c x Inst) + c
Where wl = total number of weighted learners at the school
twl = total number of weighted learners in the provincial department p = total number of posts to be distributed to all schools
Inst = total number of schools to which the posts need to be distributed c = a constant value that determines the extent to which the formula will benefit smaller institutions