Angie Motshekga accused of trying to influence education body
DA says an e-mail to staff at the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit suggests the minister is seeking to curtail its independence
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has been accused of seeking to curtail the independence of the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (Needu), which has previously produced reports critical of the state of basic education in the country. Needu is an independent body established in 2009 to provide an analytical account on the state of schools, teaching and learning in SA. It emerged on Monday that Motshekga had recently met Needu acting CEO Sibusiso Sithole and expressed her displeasure at how the unit operated in the past. In an e-mail to staff in September following the meeting, Sithole wrote that Motshekga was concerned about how the unit had operated. "She wanted Needu to be ‘closer’ to the department. She said, ‘Keep it independent, but keep it closer.’ She was concerned how Needu operated in the past. She said she wanted a working relationship between Needu and the department to allow the latter to integrate Needu work ... and to inform its planning," Sitho...
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