The interim policy is in recognition of the critical importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD) as a fundamental pillar of the foundation for lifelong learning. The government aims to incorporate ECD into the components of the policy framework for education and training in South Africa. It seeks to leverage programmes and strategies to help families and communities meet the needs of children from birth to at least nine years of age. The policy will “holistically cover the development of the young child and ensure an environment characterised by safety, protection, anti-bias and cultural fairness, to ensure that attitudinal and psychological healing, reconciliation and the start of nation-building can take place at a young age”.

The Strategy forms part of the implementation of education white paper 6 – Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. The strategy allows children facing educational barriers to exercise their basic education rights, and access to support services. It introduces new roles, and responsibilities for the
education support system in the country: the district-based support teams, special school resource centers, full-service schools, and the institution-level support teams.

The government is using the period covered by the strategic and operational plans to collaborate with provincial governments, NGOs, and social and private partners, to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of education, so as to ensure that all elements of the system are subjected to rigorous scrutiny. The goals and objectives contained are anchored on the overarching goal of the department: to ensure quality education for all.

The national reading strategy has the vision to ensure every South African learner becomes a fluent reader who reads to learn and reads for enjoyment and enrichment. It underpins South Africa’s participation in United Nations development campaigns, including; the UNESCO Literacy Decade 2003-2013, and the Education for All (EFA) campaign, which aims to increase literacy rates by 50% by the year 2015.

The equitable policy sets out to address the persisting inequality challenges and inadequacies in allocation and access to basic school infrastructure services; laboratories, computers, and classrooms. The policy seeks to fill the gap of the lack of specific national and provincial policies. It serves as a framework to guide the development of physical teaching and learning environment.

The statement of policy and commitment by the department of education. The statement highlights the achievement in the education sector, as the country celebrates its first decade of freedom. The department pushes to build on the achievements; it seeks to enhance the professional status of teaching, and address infrastructural inadequacies in the education sector.

The Mini Drug Master Plan (MDMP) has an overarching goal to reduce the health, economic and social burden caused by substance abuse in South Africa, through the provision of targeted demand and harm reduction interventions provided by the National Department of Health, thereby supporting the implementation of the National Drug Master Plan.

This serves as a call for comments on the Action plan for 2014. The plan is a draft document of the Department of Basic Education intended to elicit public input.

The guidelines are premised on the sixth white paper on Special Needs Education Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. They serve as steps towards making all ordinary schools, full-service/inclusive schools. The guidelines contain criteria for schools, districts, and provinces, to measure progress towards inclusion; incentives are also offered, as a form of rewarding excellence.

The strategic plan outlines the building blocks necessary to ensure a strong foundation for the educational system. It strives to ensure that the skills needed to drive South Africa’s economic growth and social development are delivered at an increasing rate for both young people and adults. The revisions apply to the sub-programmed of universities, related to their academic planning and management.

The amendment operates under the South African Schools Act of 2006. It sets out the national norms and standards for school funding, it deals with the procedures to be adopted by Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) in determining resource allocations to schools, and it replaces all previous school funding norms issued in terms of sections of the South African Schools Act. The norms and standards deal with the public funding of public schools, the exemption of parents who are unable to pay school fees, and public subsidies to independent schools. They apply uniformly in all provinces.

The 2007-2011 strategic plan represents the department of education’s reaffirmation and commitment towards the transformation of the education system in South Africa. The 4-year plan focuses on improving support to schools, educators, and district offices. The strategic plan is anchored to the broad priorities of the department: dealing with poverty, skills development, quality improvement, health and education, and institutional development.

This policy is developed to guide the provision of a comprehensive, integrated school health programme which is provided as part of the PHC package within the Care and Support for Teaching and Learning (CSTL) framework. Its specific objectives include providing preventive and promotive services that address the health needs of school-going children and youth with regard to both their immediate and future health; supporting and facilitating learning through identifying and addressing health barriers to learning, and supporting the school community in creating a safe and secure environment for teaching and learning.

The regulations are subject to the agricultural product standards of 1990. They specify classes and standards, parking and marking requirements for types and sources of meat and carcasses in South Africa. It specifically states that meat shall not be sold except standards outlined in these regulations are met. The regulations apply to; the sale of meat from animals slaughtered in abattoirs with abattoir-identification codes; meat with marks indicating quality or class; treated meats that are not correctly treated and described; and use of restricted particulars in the sale of meat.

The regulations apply to all animals and plants listed in the schedules of the convention. The national minister for environmental affairs is empowered to be the authority on permit issuance, maintain international trade records, coordinate national implementation and enforcement of the convention, represent the Republic at national and international meetings, and allocate annual quotas to provinces. The duties and responsibilities of other management bodies are expressly stated.

The amendment notice contains redefinitions, the substitution of appeals sub regulations, and the addition of other sub regulations.

The NPAES is the 20-year strategy for the expansion of protected areas in South Africa. The strategy shall be periodically reviewed at 5-year intervals; the 2016 version serves as the first full revision of the 2008 NPAES. It sets the priorities for expanding the protected area network for ecological sustainability and climate change adaptation, and conservation of South Africa’s biodiversity. The 2016 update contains new biodiversity data, newly declared protected areas, updated provincial protection plans, a review of the performance of previously declared areas, and a description of priority activities. The expansion strategy is expected to be carried out cost-effectively. Maps of the most important areas for the protected area expansion are set out, and recommendations are made.

The notice of the Minister allows for the authorisation for the use of distinctive marks. It stipulates the distinctive marks that may be used in connection with the sale of products specified.

The plant breeders’ rights, the contents, and mode of exercise apply to the varieties of plants specified in the regulations. Applications shall be made for grants, and shall be accompanied by; description of plant varieties concerned; coloured illustrations; propagating material; written proof of authority of legal representative; written authorisation from the breeder or owner of the variety; and the application and examination fees. Priority is given to applications received first, in the case of applications for the same variety of plants.

The entire Namaqua Fossil Forest marine protected area consists of one offshore restricted zone, six inshore controlled zones, and five inshore restricted zones, which are determined using the World Geodetic System (WGS) of 1984. The regulations stipulate that no scientific research within the protected area shall be carried out except with a research permit issued by the Minister. It lists out the general restrictions within the protected area.