…..Minister Neal says Eswatini is performing relatively well in terms of education
BY MBONGENI NDLELA
MBABANE – Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg has announced an allocation of E3.96 billion to the Ministry of Education and Training.
Speaking during the National Budget Speech of 2023/2024 today in Parliament where he presented a budget of E26.4 billion, the minister stated that the education sector, including scholarships of E647 million, represents 19 percent of the total budget.
He said this was in line with Government’s commitment to 15 percent of the National Budget being spent on Education.
The politician further disclosed that Government will increase the Free Primary Education grant per learner and implementation of the revised fees is going to commence in the fiscal year 2023/2024 at a 20 percent level of adjustment, amounting to E45.6 million.
“Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini recognises the critical role played by Education and Training in the alleviation of poverty, improving the quality of life for all Emaswati, attainment of accelerated economic growth and enhancing social cohesion. Government is implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and education is an enabler of all 17 goals, particularly SDG 4 on Quality Education. Government continues to closely monitor the key indicator in the access to education parameter i.e., ‘getting every child in school’. The Free Primary Education (FPE) grant programme continues to assist pupils to have access to school and plays a pivotal role in lifting the enrolment rate at primary school level. In all Secondary Schools Government pays school fees for orphaned and vulnerable children, which is not a completely Free Education Programme hence the percentage of enrolment is low at this level,” he said.
He stated that government has supported several communities through the opening of ten new secondary schools over and above the four inclusive schools opened with the assistance of the Government of Japan.
Rijkenberg stated that Eswatini is performing relatively well in terms of education; according to the World Bank (2019), it has the highest literacy rate in the region at 95.8 percent, while it has the second highest secondary school enrolment rate in the region at 73.3 percent.
“The approval of the Eswatini Qualification Framework (ESQF) by Government is one major milestone that will serve as a blueprint for development of education and skills in the country. In line with the ESQF, a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) policy was developed to address governance and coordination, provision of sustainable financial resources for quality TVET, improvement of quality of TVET programmes to enhance employability, and enhancement of programme relevance. Government also approved The National Open and Distance Learning Programme to strengthen and ensure the continued provision of quality education by addressing the acute shortage of spaces in secondary schools to meet demand and enable tertiary institutions to absorb all qualifying secondary school graduates,” he said.
He said following the impact of Covid-19 and other disasters, the education system’s resilience is being strengthened through the provision of a multi-mode teaching and learning system which includes the traditional brick and mortar classroom setting and a learning management system called Learning Passport.
“This system is currently offering subjects at Higher secondary (Form 4 and 5). Four core subjects have been developed and now focus on the elective subjects and plans are underway for developing content for subjects at the Junior Secondary Level. Moreover, the Ministry has piloted another learning management platform in grade 4. Teaching and learning materials have been created and plans are at an advanced stage for development of content for other grades to complement the traditional face-to-face teaching and learning,” he said.
The minister explained that government has developed a web-based Education Management Information System that will be used by all schools in the Country (both public and private schools) to update and capture both learner and staff information using their personal identity number (PIN) and track them in the education system in real time. He said the system will also be of great use in the disbursement of the Free Primary Education (FPE) grants, human resource management for the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) and schools’ assessment for the Inspectorate.
“There are about 400 000 learners and 16 000 teachers that will be recorded and tracked by the system,” he said.
He further stated that government is piloting the 4-year secondary school programme of institutionalising as build up to the A/AS-levels as a school leaving certificate.
He said this will enable learners to access tertiary education regionally and internationally without having to go through bridging courses.
“A total of 32 schools have started implementing the 4-year certificate in 2022. In the academic year 2023, the Ministry of Education will be conducting checkpoint assessments for the pilot schools. This entails developing a series of diagnostic tests to check learning progress of learners and inform teachers about the learning needs of learners,” he said.
He continued: “The Ministry of Education continued to roll out grade 0 in our public primary schools. To this end, the Ministry has rolled out 80 more Grades 0 classes, 20 per region. This initiative will also assist in the reduction of inefficiencies in the education sector since studies have shown that the large repetition rates at early grade levels is a consequence of learners who were not adequately prepared for school. Progress has also been made with the staggered implementation of the Competency Based Education. The programme is now at Grade 5. This is a curriculum reform wherein the country is moving away from the objective based education to competency based. This will ensure that learners have access to a learner center and inclusive curriculum,”
The minister disclosed that since 2015 Eswatini Higher Education Council conducted institutional and programme assessments for over 40 higher education institutions.
“As a result, there are about 45 registered higher education institutions in Eswatini and in the 2023/2024 financial year deliberate focus will be on assessment for accreditation of Government funded institutions,” he said before announcing that government is allocating E3.96 billion to the Ministry of Education and Training. This represents an E430 million increase over 2022.
Read what the minister said on other departments:
Youth
I could not help but notice that every time His Majesty spoke of the youth in his speech from the Throne, there was a louder than normal “Bayethe” being shouted by all those present indicating that the welfare of the youth is very close to the hearts of all of us in leadership.
The budget for the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs has increased from E69 million to E85 million. The amount of budget allocated to this Ministry is purely for auxiliary activities related to Sport and the Youth, and is no way reflective of Governments full commitment to empower the youth. If one considers this budget holistically the E900 million increase in the wage bill is mainly for the youth, the E286 million increase in scholarship is 100% for the youth, the E430 million increase in the Education budget is 100% for the youth and I can keep on going. These numbers are the true reflection of how this budget is focused on youth empowerment.
Tourism and Environment
Mr. Speaker, the year 2022 marked the re-emergence of Eswatini’s robust efforts to revive partnerships and increase its brand visibility across the region as a destination of choice. With the easing of travel restrictions, the world over, Eswatini has reclaimed its reputation as one of the world’s most accessible and preferred destinations for domestic, regional, and international tourists. This has been possible through the Triland Agreement between the Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA), Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency and the Mozambique Tourism Board which promotes the region as a tourist, trade, and investment destination.
According to ETA’s Tourism Research Annual Report for 2021, Eswatini recorded 164,807 international tourist arrivals. Between January and October 2022, this number surged to 393,298 accounting for a 138.6% increase, which demonstrates an impressive recovery from the Covid-19 shock.
Agriculture
Mr. Speaker, the agriculture sector has demonstrated resilience in the wake of the production disruptions faced in the past year, attaining a growth of 1.6% of GDP in 2022. The sector is expected to maintain this growth rate in 2023 and Government will continue to invest in the agriculture sector to ensure food security at household and national level, as well as promote commercial agricultural production.
The establishment of the Agricultural Development Fund is also at the final stages. This fund will mobilise resources that will enhance access to agricultural credit by private sector players in the sector and individual farmers. It will also fund the setting up of basic and pre-requisite infrastructure that will attract more investment to the sector and increase production.
Government has allocated an amount of E1.63 billion for the Ministry of Agriculture. Amongst other things, the allocated funds will be utilized in the construction of secondary distribution canals and LUSIP II infield irrigation development where the target is to irrigate an area covering 5200 hectares in the lowveld. The LUSIP II project should start contributing significantly to the economy this year as the planting of crops accelerates. This budget also provides for the start of the construction of the Mkhondvo Ngwavuma water augmentation project.
Government has increased the budget for the Ministry of Agriculture by more than E274million.
Energy
Mr. Speaker, Government, through the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority has approved the implementation of the 75 MW Solar PV, 13.6 MW Lower Maguduza hydro power plant, 33 MW Maguga Expansion and Lower Maguga Hydro Power Plants. 80 MW of biomass power generation capacity, in addition to the already approved 40MW, has been assessed and confirmed viable for an additional generation. The country is also assessing the market for the development of wind generation capacity. All these projects are expected to add to the installed capacity and will contribute to the achievement of national security of supply and the target of at least 50% of renewable energy in the country’s electricity mix.
While the country is strengthening its local generation, significant progress has been made with electricity access through the Rural Electrification Programme which considers both on-grid and off-grid solutions, based on the specific location of beneficiaries. Government has further developed a model for the installation of Distribution Ready Boards to assist under-privileged Emaswati that are unable to wire their houses. This will assist to fast track the rate of electrification in the country and meet the 2030 target in a cost-effective manner and maximise on available resources. Eswatini is one of the leading countries in the SADC region that has invested substantially in boosting access to electricity, with a National electrification rate of 83%. This is higher than the average for Africa, which stands at 40%. Also, as reported by the World Bank, in 2020, Eswatini ranked 8th in the SADC region for access to clean fuels and technologies, with a score of 74.7%.
Government through the Eswatini National Petroleum Company (ENPC) is working towards the development of the Strategic Oil Reserve Facility, and has completed the land-use/planning, zoning at Phuzumoya. Construction of this project should start this year.
Government has allocated a budget of E1.09 billion which translates to an increase of E561 million Emalangeni, compared to last year’s allocation, to the Ministry of Natural Resources to implement its programmes including the access to clean water and electricity.
Labour
Mr. Speaker, in an effort to promote compliance with the labour laws, Government will be pre-testing the Strategic Compliance Plan portal – which is a tool aimed to maximise available resources in conducting labour inspections and promoting labour compliance. This tool was developed by the ILO in 2018 when the Kingdom of Eswatini volunteered to be amongst ILO Member States in whose jurisdictions the ILO Strategic Labour Compliance Planning on labour inspection could be applied.
Following the recommendations of the National Skills Audit Report 2022, the Ministry of Labour will be reviewing the National Human Resources Development Policy, which will serve as a guide to provide opportunities for all Emaswati in terms of human resource development in the Country. The Ministry has increased the scholarship budget from E361million by an additional E286million to be a total of E647million. This will increase the number of new scholarships from 2500 to 3500 scholarships this year.
Today I have also tabled the regulations for the establishment of a National Student Loan Revolving Fund that will be managed by one of the commercial banks. This fund should solve the problem of limited scholarships in time.
Health
Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Health continues to make notable strides in the fight against HIV and AIDS. According to the Eswatini HIV Incidence Measurement Survey (SHIMS 3), in 2021, the Ministry of Health reduced the HIV incidence (i.e., new HIV cases) from 1.4% in 2016/2017 to 0.62% and made significant progress towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets set for 2025. SHIMS 3 reveals that in Eswatini, 94% of adults, 15 years and older living with HIV, are aware of their status, 97% of those aware of their status are on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 96% of those on ART have achieved viral suppression.
Government is planning to enrol even more HIV positive patients on ART by at least 1,974 patients by March 2024. This means that targeted HIV positive people on ART will be increased from 204,483 in September 2022 to 206,457 in March 2024. The targeted HIV pregnant women on ART will be increased to 98% by March 2024. Whilst TB success rates will be increased from 84% in September 2022 to 90% in March 2024.
Since March 2020 the Ministry experienced a total of 74,053 confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 72,603 recoveries translating to a 98% recovery rate. 1,422 deaths were reported from the 14th March 2020 to the 7th of January 2023. Citizens are encouraged to continue being vigilant by following the guidance given by the health sector since the fight against Covid-19 is not won yet. In addition, the health sector has established a public health surveillance system to monitor several public health threats such as Ebola, Malaria and Maternal Mortality.
The burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) is increasing and requires that every citizen follow a healthy lifestyle. The Ministry continues to see the dominance of NCDs in the number of cases that the health sector transfers to hospitals within the Country, and to South Africa and Mozambique through the Phalala Fund. The decentralisation of NCD services has seen an increase to 212 of the targeted 229 primary health facilities. This is meant to diagnose, treat, or manage it early to reduce the burden so that there will be fewer complicated and costly cases to treat.
These commitments re-affirm the position adopted by Government a few years ago, that the health sector is a priority. Government has allocated E2.76 billion to the Ministry of Health. Mr. Speaker, despite these strides Government is still facing challenges to supply medicine effectively and efficiently to Emaswati. Today I am tabling a report shedding light on the problems we are facing in the Ministry of Health on the supply of medicines to Emaswati.
