The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on Tuesday adopted its Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR), calling for the strengthening of anti-bullying frameworks in schools, among other things.
The BRRR process is important as it allows Parliament to make recommendations to the Minister of Finance and the cabinet minister responsible for a government department to ensure the effective and efficient use of resources for optimal service delivery. Parliamentary committees annually assess the performance of each national department before the national budget is introduced. The committees then annually submit BRRR for tabling in the National Assembly for each department.
During its deliberations, the committee expressed concerns over the safety of learners in schools amid the latest reports on bullying and statutory rape, challenges with school infrastructure, learner transport and the nutrition of vulnerable learners. The committee acknowledged improvements in the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) audit outcomes and financial management but emphasised that the protection and well-being of learners must remain a top priority.
The committee noted the rising incidence of bullying in schools. It urged the DBE to work with provincial departments, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other stakeholders and partners to strengthen anti-bullying frameworks in schools. In the BRRR, the committee recommends that the DBE embark on a national anti-bullying campaign. It also urges the DBE to ensure that every school’s code of conduct clearly addresses the prevention, response, consequences and accountability measures for bullying. The committee also urged the department to ensure that school safety programmes, including the National School Safety Framework, are fully implemented and monitored in all school districts.
The committee also welcomed the department exceeding its target to provide sanitation to 146 schools. The target was 100 schools. However, the committee expressed its disappointment that some provinces continue to lag in eradicating pit latrines. Among the recommendations is for the department to undertake a new audit of unsafe school structures and to update the school infrastructure database to accurately track progress on basic services and facilities such as water, sanitation and adequate classrooms.
Members called for a comprehensive review of provincial learner transport policies to ensure that learners, especially those in rural areas and farm schools, have access to safe and reliable scholar transport. In the report, the committee also calls for stronger interdepartmental collaboration among the DBE, the Department of Transport and provinces to address safety standards, overcrowding and budgetary shortfalls in the provision of safe and adequate scholar transport. The committee requested that the department brief it on the progress of the policy review and implementation of safer transport measures.
The committee also commended the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) for reaching over nine million learners and spending its conditional grant in full. It, however, remains concerned over irregularities in procurement and delivery in provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal. The committee wants the department to ensure strict oversight of tender processes and to act against service providers and officials implicated in misconduct. Members also emphasised that the department must guarantee food safety and uninterrupted delivery to avoid disruptions that jeopardise learners’ health and concentration.
There was also a call for stronger consequences and accountability, improved coordination with implementing agents and protection for whistleblowers who report misconduct and irregularities. The committee emphasised that the drive to ensure safe schools, equitable access to learning and dignified infrastructure must be accelerated through collaborative, transparent and ethical practices.
The report will now be tabled in the National Assembly.
Alicestine October
29 October 2025
Arrange a tour