Question no

QUESTION 888

DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 30 May 2008

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 15 of 2008

Mr C M Lowe (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What is the current backlog as at 30 May 2008 for (a) identity documents, (b) birth certificates (c) asylum applications and (d) passports;

2. 
   whether her department has trained any staff members to implement the turnaround strategy; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
   

NW1580E
REPLY

(1) As per the table below:

Type of application pending as at 30 May 2008	Identity documents	Birth certificates	Asylum applications	Passports
Number pending as at 30 May 2008	Currently there is no backlog	11610	89584	43 129

2. 
   Yes. The following training has already taken place as a direct result of the Turnaround Strategy:
   

• 
  A total number of 1700 employees have been trained countrywide on the new procedure for Late Registrations of Births.
  
• 
  40 Call Centre consultants were trained on all of the aspects, or applications relating to Civic Services functions.
  
• 
  38 Team Leaders attended project management training.
  
• 
  33 newly appointed Refugee Managers underwent training in management.
  
• 
  32 employees at Refugee Reception Offices have received training on the new Refugee System.
  
• 
  Training was also provided countrywide in respect of the “Track and Trace” system (Identity Documents).
  
• 
  It must also be mentioned that within the different workstreams, there is a Team Leader, and a number of Team Members who also facilitate sessions of skills transfer to other staff members within Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
  

QUESTION 890

DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 30 May 2008

INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 15 of 2008

Mr C M Lowe (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
How many officials of her department were (a) suspended, (b) fired and (c) prosecuted for corruption and fraud in each of the past five years up to the latest specified date for which information is available?
NW1582E

REPLY
(a) and (b) As per the tables below:

Financial year	Suspended	Dismissed
2003/2004	No information available	No information available
2004/2005	14	33
2005/2006	14	177
2006/2007	12	58
2007/2008	96	131
Total	136	399

(c) Statistics concerning how many officials were prosecuted are not readily available. Some cases would be referred to the South African Police Services (SAPS) to be dealt with, in terms of the criminal justice system. These would be cases that are criminal, in nature. The Department of Home Affairs does not receive feedback from the SAPS on the outcome of these cases.

QUESTION 891
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 30/05/2008

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 15-2008)
Mr G G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister of Education:
Whether her department is planning to schedule an extra five weeks of schooling after the World Cup in 2010 to assist learners to catch up for the time lost as a result of the closure of schools during the World Cup; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NW1583E
REPLY
No, we have no plans to schedule an extra five weeks of school. The draft school calendar for 2010, which has been published for comment, has the same number of school days as any other year.
This is in compliance with national policy, which requires that there should be between 195 and 200 school days per year.
Therefore, there is no need for any catch-up days to be scheduled.


QUESTION 892
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 30/05/2008

(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 15-2008)
Mr G G Boinamo (DA) to ask the Minister of Education:
How many (a) qualified grade R educators have been trained to deal with grade R material in each of the past three years up to the latest specified date for which information is available, (b)(i) Grade R schools are currently operating across the country and (ii) what is the breakdown by province and (c)(i) Grade R children have graduated from these schools in each of the past three years and (ii) are currently enrolled in these schools?

NW1584E
REPLY

(a) There are 15,966 grade R educators teaching grade R this year, and provinces have trained all of them on the curriculum. We are currently conducting an audit of grade R educators to gather detailed information on the status of their qualifications.
(b) (i) There are currently 13,941 schools offering grade R.
(ii)

Table 1: Number of ordinary schools offering grade R by province
Province	2005	2006	2007	2008
Eastern Cape	3,031	3,018	3,483	4,207
Free State	394	426	481	508
Gauteng	958	1,022	1,118	1,164
KwaZulu-Natal	2,118	2,585	3,189	3,423
Limpopo	2,045	2,223	2,107	2,221
Mpumalanga	364	635	792	911
Northern Cape	159	191	220	254
North West	265	406	440	568
Western Cape	683	709	650	685
Total	10,017	11,215	12,480	13,941

Sources: SNAP Survey Databases, conducted on the 10th school day, as published in: Education Statistics in South Africa at a Glance in 2005; Education Statistics in South Africa 2006; School Realities 2007; School Realities 2008.
Public primary schools offer grade R if they have space or as soon as the provincial education department is able to provide the infrastructure required to offer grade R. Community-based sites also offer grade R. In terms of the Norms and Standards for Grade R, these sites have to register with the provincial education department as Independent Schools. This will ensure that they receive support, and will also allow the Department of Education to keep accurate statistics on the sites and learners catered for in these sites.
(c) (i) We do not know the number of grade R learners who move into grade 1, but unless there is a particular reason for holding a child back all grade R learners progress to grade 1. We are in the process of establishing a national tracking system for all learners from grade R to 12. This will provide us with accurate information on the learners in the system, including the number who progress from one grade to the next each year.
(c) (ii)

Table 2: Number of grade R learners in ordinary schools, by province, from 2005 to 2007
Province	2005	2006	2007
Eastern Cape	105,231	106,045	112,889
Free State	18,449	20,046	22,429
Gauteng	41,073	48,774	49,931
KwaZulu-Natal	79,276	95,802	118,884
Limpopo	86,015	90,748	93,030
Mpumalanga	14,171	23,897	34,962
North West	9,737	13,663	16,143
Northern Cape	6,598	7,682	8,423
Western Cape	32,389	33,614	30,834
National	392,939	440,271	487,525

Sources: SNAP Survey Databases, conducted on the 10th school day, as published in: Education Statistics in South Africa at a Glance in 2005; Education Statistics in South Africa 2006; School Realities 2007.