KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE JEFF RADEBE, MP, MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY RESPONSIBLE FOR PLANNING, MONITORING AND EVALUATION, ON THE OCCASION OF EDUCATION IMBIZO; AT NTUZUMA F HALL, KWAMASHU
25 FEBRUARY 2017
Programme Director:
Parents, Principals and Educators present here
Learners and Tertiary Education Students
Mayors, Ward Councillors and other Community Leaders
Members of the Community
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
1. INTRODUCTION
It is a privilege and an honour for me to stand here to speak about a matter that is very close to my heart. I am sure that you are also here, in this cold Saturday morning, because you appreciate the value of education in our lives.
My presence here this morning goes beyond the responsibilities of being a cabinet minister. I am here because I am very passionate about education. I am here as a former student activist who grew up in these dusty streets of KwaMashu. I am also here as a parent who is concerned about the state of education in our country.
I am also here as the Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Task team on Higher Education, appointed by President Zuma to find sustainable solutions to the education challenges that we experienced particularly in the past two years. I will elaborate on the responsibilities of the task team at a later stage.
Imfundo ngenye yezinto ezisemqoka kuhulumeni waseNingizimu Afrika. Yingakho nje uMengameli ethathe isinqumo sokuthi bonke ongqongqoshe bahlangane nabafundi, abazali, othisha kanye nayo yonke intsha ukuze kukhulunywe ngemfundo. Lokhu kuzosiza ekutheni sithole izisombululo zezinye zezinkinga esihlangabezana nazo kwezemfundo siyizakhamizi zakulelizwe.
2. Education and the National Development Plan (NDP)
The government of South Africa considers education as an apex priority in its programmes. Access to basic and higher education and training are at the heart of our commitment for the future of this country.
The plans for the future of this country are clearly articulated in the National Development Plan (NDP), which is an overarching plan for the country as we journey towards the year 2030. The NDP identifies education as one of the key elements in creating a better and more prosperous South Africa. Improving education, training and innovation are cited as some of the key elements in creating a better and more prosperous South Africa by 2030.
The NDP envisages a South Africa where everyone has access to education of the highest quality, leading to significantly improved outcomes. The attainment of Vision 2030 requires a special focus on early childhood development, quality basic education and higher education.
Lifelong learning, continuous professional development and knowledge production alongside innovation are central to building the capabilities of individuals and society as a whole. Education and skills enhancement are paramount in any society seeking meaningful growth and development.
The NDP sets clear goals for improving the quality of teaching in schools, colleges and universities. Teaching should be a highly valued profession and parents must complement the role of the teacher at home by supporting them and ensuring that they fulfil their school obligations.
The performance of learners tends to improve when parents are actively involved and take interest in their children’s education. All stakeholders should support the common goal of achieving good educational outcomes that are responsive to community needs and economic development.
The onus is upon us to make the ideals espoused by the NDP a reality. We must join hands and create a solid educational foundation for the future of our children. Access to quality basic education and a commitment to promoting reading are fundamental ingredients in the cultivation of a better life for the future leaders of South Africa.
In order to ensure that we are able to measure progress towards the attainment of our targets for Vision 2030, the government of South Africa identified key outcomes for a period of five years. This is what we call the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), which covers the period 2014 to 2019.
The government has demonstrated its commitment to promoting education by making it the first priority out of 14 listed priority outcomes in the MTSF. What this means, in practical terms, is the apex priority for South African government and that there is a special focus in ensuring that education is as accessible as possible to the majority of our people. The focus includes improving infrastructure, investing resources and ensuring easy access to reading material.
3. PROVIDING QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION
Ladies and Gentlemen
Education is a right enshrined in the constitution of our democratic society. Since the dawn of democracy in 1994, government prioritised education as a means to transform the lives of young South Africans to have a brighter future.
Notwithstanding certain glitches encountered along the way, I can confidently say our interventions have led to continuous improvements in our education system as reflected in the steady increase in the overall matric pass rate.
Our monitoring and evaluation mechanisms give us a clear picture of the progress that we have made as a nation, not only in the education sector but across the spectrum of our society. The NDP sets clear targets of a higher pass rate in matric with greater focus on subjects such as mathematics and science.
This being the year of O.R. Tambo, a liberation struggle stalwart who was also a maths and science teacher, we should reinforce the importance of these two subjects in particular. For those who may not be aware, Tambo who served as the president of the ANC for about three decades would have turned 100 years old this year if he were still alive. Let us uphold the values that he cherished during his lifetime. Education is one of them.
As government, we are increasing access to reading material by making millions of workbooks and textbooks available to learners for free. During the 2015/16 financial year, about 9 million learners from different schools across the nine provinces benefitted from the “no fee” policy. The increase in “no fee” schools reduces the cost barrier to school education.
The value of education goes beyond the role of government in providing school infrastructure, facilities and policy interventions. It is not solely about the learner either. Education is a communal endeavour. The importance of the role of parents in the education of their children cannot be overemphasised.
Learners need the support and guidance of both the parents and teachers in their education. As parents, we must ensure that our children are on time for school, have the correct textbooks, their school transport is roadworthy and that they do their homework diligently every day. I urge all parents to support their children and ensure that they get an opportunity to study at home.
In the same vein, we call upon teachers to rededicate and recommit themselves to quality learning and teaching. You must be exemplary to the learners and be in class on time to teach to the best of your abilities. You must provide career guidance and cultivate a culture of excellence among learners.
The disruption of learning should not be used as a tool to express a community’s dissatisfaction around social issues that have nothing to do with the schooling system. It is our responsibility as communities to care and protect our school infrastructure.
4. INVESTMENT TOWARDS HIGHER EDUCATION
Distinguished Guests
Over the past two years there was a significant increase of student protests over the prohibitive fees for higher education.
It is an unfortunate reality that our higher education institutions, especially universities, are unaffordable for many students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds and middle income families suffering from high debt burdens.
These unfortunate circumstances have led to many young South Africans not being able to access tertiary education in order to obtain qualifications that would pave the way for them to pursue viable careers as professionals. Consequently, we saw the upsurge of #feesmustfall protests over the past two years.
Given the complexity of the problems that confront higher education, President Jacob Zuma established an Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Higher Education, of which I am the chairperson. The purpose of the Task Team is to find ways of expediting the development of an efficient and sustainable model to address the funding challenge of South Africa’s students in universities and TVET colleges.
As part of the work of the Task Team, we have consulted a variety of stakeholders and as an interim solution, we made firm commitments and concrete recommendations, some of which are already in the process of implementation.
We are unequivocal in our commitment to providing financial assistance to the financially needy and the missing-middle. The allocation of an additional R17 billion over the next three years, as announced by the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan during his Midterm Budget Review on 26 October last year, is a further illustration of government’s commitment to providing affordable higher education.
In his State of the Nation Address, President Zuma reiterated the commitment of the government of South Africa to education. He said, and I quote: “Government has provided funds to ensure that no student whose combined family income is up to six hundred thousand rand per annum will face fee increases at Universities and TVET colleges for 2017.”
He further assured the nation that: “As the processes that we have set in motion draw to a close, such as the Heher Commission, the Ministerial task Team, broader engagements with students, university and TVETS leadership and civil society, we will find resources to give expression to our policies.”
This assertion was further corroborated by my cabinet colleague, the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, who gave the education sector the lion’s share in the national budget. I must indicate that the country’s education sector as an apex priority receives the largest portion of the national budget and it has been increasing exponentially over a number of years.
In 2016, the total government spending on education overall was 297.5 billion. This total allocation was broken down as follows:
· R205.8 billion went to Basic Education
· R8 billion went to university subsidies
· 14.582 billion was the final allocation to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) after several additions
· R15.6 billion went to Education Administration
· R6.9 billion was allocated to TVET colleges
In the budget that was announced by Minister Gordhan earlier this week, a staggering R243.0 billion total budget has been allocated exclusively to Basic Education. This makes Basic Education the single most beneficiary of the national budget accounting for a whopping 16% of the national budget.
Higher Education and Training remains one of the biggest beneficiaries in our national budget. The government has allocated a total amount of R77.5 billion to Post-school Education and Training. This accounts for 5% of the total budget. Amidst the education crisis last year, allocation to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) was increased exponentially as it now stands at R14, 582 billion.
As government, we are doing all in our powers to provide affordable quality education. The Fees Must Fall discourse occurs in the backdrop of a myriad of government initiatives aimed at addressing the education conundrum in our country. We have engaged with the student leadership who shared their perspectives with regard to the challenges faced by students.
As a government of the people, we have listened and are acutely aware of the pertinent challenges that confront them with regard to access to higher education. These included the dilemma of the “missing middle” students and how the NSFAS has become a debt trap when the beneficiaries start working.
These are some of the interim measures that we have put in place, but discussions continue in our quest to find sustainable solutions. One of the ongoing discussions in the Task Team is the possible conversion of the NSFAS from a partial loan to a full student grant for disenfranchised students.
This is a matter that has got huge budget ramifications and needs to be treated with caution as there are many other competing demands on the fiscus.
5. SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Distinguished Guests,
Our investment in education must fall onto a fertile soil ready to receive and blossom. There are worrying factors that interfere with the education of our young ones. I am deeply disturbed by the increase in the scourge of drugs and substance abuse in our communities especially in schools.
Drugs do not only destroy individuals but they break family units and they can collapse the future of this country. The severity of the drug problem and its devastating effects on youth is visible in our communities across South Africa. When learners get involved with drug abuse academic results suffer and, even worse, drugs undermine their health and destroy young lives.
The increase in drug abuse, and nyaope in particular, is breaking families, destroying communities and killing our people. Nyaope is a highly addictive, dangerous and destructive drug. The toxic concoction with which nyaope is made leaves one bewildered. How can anyone consume a mixture of dagga, anti-retroviral pills, steel wool, rattex and all other ingredients and expect something good out of it?
It is despicable, to put it mildly, to learn that now there is a new worrying trend called “blue tooth.” Apparently those who have consumed nyaope, extract blood from themselves using syringes and give to their friends to inject themselves in order to have the drug in their system. This is not only disgusting but poses a major health hazard as it is not only the substance that you share but also transmittable diseases like HIV/AIDS.
The drug peddlers have the audacity to bring drugs even to our schools. We must work together to revitalise schools as centres of learning and not places of gangs and drug lords. Communities must unite to fight against drug abuse and those who sell these drugs to young people.
We encourage parents and families to have meaningful conversations with their children about resisting peer pressure to participate in drugs. We must encourage them never to experiment with drugs.
6. MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER
Ladies and Gentlemen
As a citizen of this country, I feel duty-bound to take the responsibility of ensuring that education is accessible to all South African citizens. The past few years have not been the easiest in the education sector, particularly in higher education and training. We must all put shoulders to the wheel to ensure that our children have access to quality education.
As parents, teachers, community leaders, learners and ambitious students at centres of higher education and training, we must work together to make the 2017 a resounding success at all levels of education. Those who are able to pay for the education of their children should do so. This will help government to cater for those who do not have the means.
As we embark on the quest to find amicable solutions to the current impasse, we should be guided by the ethos of ubuntu, which includes, among others, respect, consultation and mediation. The violent scenes that we witnessed on university campuses over the past couple of weeks are highly regrettable.
7. CONCLUSION
It is through education that we can change our lives for the better. Education is what will equip us to be able to deal with the challenges and demands of the 21st century. Education underpins development in all sectors of society and any disruption in our education system is the destruction of the future of South Africa.
As I conclude, I would like to echo the words of the late President Nelson Mandela who once said:
“It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that the child of farm workers can become the president of the nation.”
In our pursuit for freedom during the struggle for liberation in South Africa, we were inspired by the Freedom Charter, which proclaimed that the Doors of learning shall be opened to all. This is the promise that we made to the nation when we jettisoned the apartheid regime and ushered in democratic rule.
In honour of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives so that we can have access to education and have a better life, let us fulfil their dreams by recommitting ourselves to education. That is how we can build future leaders of South Africa from this community of KwaMashu. It is possible. It is our future, let’s make it work!
Ngiyabonga.
