95 and Development Unit (NEEDU) which will focus on systemic monitoring of the overall provisioning of basic education, including governance. Plans are underway to re-open some teacher training colleges to increase the training of Foundation Phase teachers. This initiative has started in Mpumalanga province, with an intake of 100 student teachers in the Foundation Phase class in 2013. To further intensify South Africa’s efforts to promote universal primary education, the Ministry of Women, Children and People with Disabilities initiated the “Access to Education for All Children” campaign to promote the interests of orphans and vulnerable children in education. This campaign is also aimed at promoting the integration of learners with special needs into the mainstream education system as part of Inclusive Education Policy (IEP). Government subsequently aims to conduct an audit of special schools with the view to address various challenges that have been reported. Government continues to focus on ensuring that every child is given a good start early in life through the provision of quality Early Childhood Development. Currently, 432 727 children are subsidized at a cost of R12 to R15 per day in registered ECD facilities. Government is also paying special attention to school’s infrastructural base since this has the potential to inhibit teaching and learning. As part of governments attempts to improve infrastructure in schools, specific attention and priority has been turned towards the eradication of mud schools as well as the provision of adequate water and sanitation. Furthermore, a Norms and Standards Regulatory Framework for Public Schools has been initiated with the aim of ensuring that appropriate school infrastructure is developed across the country. In the meanwhile, a recapitalization grant of technical secondary schools is being considered. This will lead to the refurbishment of two hundred and fifty nine (259) workshops at these schools and the training of a minimum of one thousand five hundred (1,500) technology teachers. As mentioned earlier, during the reporting period, the DBE has established the National Education Evaluation Unit and the National Education Evaluation Bill was gazetted for comments in December 2011. The objective of the Bill is to evaluate how provincial and national departments monitor and evaluate schools progress, performance, assess quality of school leadership, and management as well as educator support processes. It is envisaged that this will result in the identification of critical factors that inhibit and/or advance school improvement and achievement in relation to specific sector goals. Efforts have been made to ensure that learners attend classes in habitable environments. The introduction of the Accelerated School Improvement and Development Initiative (ASIDI) has been introduced to eradicate inappropriate school infrastructure; provide basic water, sanitation and electrification of schools. The inclusion of the programme in the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee is meant to accelerate the provision of basic school infrastructure and pursue alternative models. An MOU was signed with Development Bank of Southern Africa in 2011 to fast track the building of schools infrastructure in identified areas. In 2011-12, the implementation of the above initiative has resulted in the provision of water to 55 schools, sanitation to 115 schools and electrification of 48 schools. Furthermore, the increase in the grant from R 93, 215 million of 2011-12 to R324, 098 million will solve the 95