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Where is education money going?

Where is education money going?

The government should find out what was happening to money budgeted for basic education, a school governing body said on Wednesday.

“The national government has put its money where its mouth is, but now we have to determine why the money disappears into a bottomless pit,” said the Federation of Governing Bodies of SA Schools (Fedsas).

“The money must reach the schools.”

Fedsas is a voluntary association of public school governing bodies, claiming to represent some 1260 schools.

Gordhan presented his 2011 medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

Fedsas deputy CEO Jaco Deacon said money budgeted for basic education, R231 billion over the next three years, confirmed the national government was serious about education.

The problem was to determine what this money was spent on because parents had to pay an additional R10 billion per year to fund salaries for additional staff.

“Fedsas applauds minister Gordhan’s continued commitment to and support of education, despite the fact that the system was underperforming,” said Deacon.

He said some schools in Limpopo had not received a cent from their provincial government the past year.

In the Free State the education department sent a letter to schools to explain that there was not enough money for reimbursement for exemption of school fees, despite regulations in this regard.

Fedsas said such examples suggested a misappropriation of education money.

The governing body said the focus should not necessarily be on the funds available for education, but rather on how this money was used.

Deacon welcomed money made available for the continuation and expansion of the annual national assessments.

“This was a positive step because these results are the only real measure of the success of the system.”