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INTRODUCTION
The provision and delivery of education in South Africa is a concurrent responsibility of both the national and the provincial departments of education. Thus, the successful provision and delivery of a progressively high quality of education for all learners in order to lay a strong foundation for the development of the talents and capabilities of all South Africans (RSA, 1996c) depend on the policy as well as the legislative guidance and directives of both the national and the provincial departments of education. This shared responsibility is underpinned by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA, 1996a) which explicitly provides for co-operative governance between the different spheres of government. In addition, the Constitution of South Africa (RSA, 1996a) categorises education as a “schedule four” function. This means that education becomes a functional area of concurrent national and provincial legislative competence for guidance and direction (Rembe, 2005:156).
According to the co-operative governance system, the locus of education control is shared between the various spheres of government, albeit in different levels. The powers and authority of control and governance of the education system are devolved proportionally to the spheres of government to ensure effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens. Thus, an analysis of how the concept of co-operative governance is understood and how it finds expression in the education system is critical in defining how the respective spheres of governance understand and deliver on their educational mandate.
It worth noting that co-operative governance as a system of governance in South Africa influences and affects service delivery in general, and education forms an integral component of the broader exercise of service delivery. Therefore, where reference is made of service delivery it is supposed to include education as the focus of this study. Sometimes the officials in the department of education use the concepts “service delivery” and “education delivery” interchangeably because education is delivered as a form of service to the nation.
It would appear that both practitioners and bureaucrats do not have a sound understanding of the concept of co-operative governance and its broader meaning as a system of governance in South Africa, particularly in education. As a result this concept of co-operative governance does not find proper and adequate practical expression in the relationships between and operations of the various spheres of government. This, in turn, has a noticeable impact on the way in which they are supposed to deliver their mandate in education. As mandated by the Constitution the spheres of government are supposed to be interrelated and interdependent with these forms of relationships being given effect through mutual support and assistance and by the spheres of government complementing each other in terms of their functions. However, it would seem that the spheres of government are involved in a “paradox of the defined relationships” and this, in turn, has a marked impact on their effectiveness and the efficiency with which they deliver education to the nation.
CHAPTER 1: CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE WITHIN THE SOUTH AFRICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.3 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.6 THE SCOPE AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
1.7 LAYOUT OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AS A SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
2.3 THE FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
2.4 THE UNITARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
2.5 THE QUASI-FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
2.6 DECENTRALISATION AS A MANIFESTATION OF CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE
2.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 RESEARCH APPROACH
3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.4 SAMPLE SELECTION
3.5 DATA COLLECTION
3.5.1 Data collection strategies
3.5.2 Individual interviews
3.5.3 Semi-structured focus group interviews
3.6 DATA ANALYSIS
3.7 CREDIBILITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS
3.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATION
3.9 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY
3.10 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4: A PARADOX OF DEFINED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE SPHERES OF GOVERNMENT
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 WORKING TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL/EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY
4.2.1 Co-operation
4.2.2 Power relations
4.2.3 Shared responsibilities
4.2.4 Co-ordination of activities
4.3 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5: THE DILEMMA OF DECENTRALISED AUTONOMY
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 THE TENSION RELATED TO POWER AND AUTHORITY
5.3 THE DISJUNCTURE BETWEEN PLANNING AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION
5.4 THE AUTHORITY TO PRIORITISE ACTIVITIES
5.5 COLLABORATION: AN OPTION OR NECESSITY
5.6 ADMINISTRATIVE FLEXIBILITY
5.7 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 6: PRACTICAL EXPRESSION OF CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
