Pretoria - Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has approved an outstanding pay progression for Limpopo Further Education and Training (FET) college staff as part of administrative intervention in the province.
Staff at seven FET colleges in the province are due to receive their outstanding pay progression payments from the 2010/11 financial period following signed approval of the R1.5 million payment by Nzimande.
This is part of the FET Colleges Improvement Project between the Higher Education Department and the Department of Basic Education to implement a turnaround strategy to support the Limpopo Department of Education as part of national government's Section 100 (1) (b) intervention in the province.
Nzimande said the department became aware, when the intervention commenced, that the provincial education department had not implemented the pay progression for FET colleges' staff for the year 2011 in full.
"Signing approval for these payments is part of our ongoing support to the department. We hope that the payments to staff will be effected before the end of the current financial year because they should have been paid a while back," Nzimande said.
He added that the sooner the turnaround succeeds and stability returns in the provincial department, the better for all, especially the students and teaching staff, as well as the parents so that focus can be shifted 100% to effective teaching and learning.
College employees who have completed a year of continuous employment and have undergone the required performance assessment are supposed to receive a pay progression of between one and five per cent, based on satisfactory performance.
One of the key objectives of the FET Colleges Improvement Project is for the Higher Education and Training Department in collaboration with the Basic Education Department, to provide the necessary assistance to public FET colleges to comply with their obligations in terms of the prevailing legislative and policy requirements to which they are subject.
The affected colleges for the pay progression payments are Capricorn, Lephalale, Letaba, Mopani SE, Sekhukhune, Vhembe and Waterberg, with the total of the payments making up R1 533 650.
Payments will be sourced from the Conditional Grant.
