· The Programme Director, Mr Makume Tlaleane
· Mayor Cllr Chris Ndlela
· MEC Weziwe Thusi, KZN Social Development
· Cllrs
· Executive Director NYDA, Ankie Motsoahae
· Members of the media
· Ladies and gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to be here today on this very important occasion as we launch the Collins Chabane YouthBuild School. The late Collins Chabane was a dedicated cadre of our movement, who occupied various positions in the Limpopo ANC provincial structures as well as the Limpopo Provincial government before he was deployed as Minister in The Presidency and later Minister for Public Administration. As many of you will know, it was at the time of his last deployment that he tragically passed on during a vehicle crash in 2015.
It is fitting that we honour this gallant fighter for our freedom and democracy by bestowing the honour of his name of the efforts continuing where he left to rebuild our communities from the ruins of apartheid repression and marginalization. In his honour we discharge this responsibility to transform society because that is what he would have done had it not been for the tragic vehicle crash that cut short a life of a true revolutionary.
I am therefore confident that as we launch this YouthBuild School in his name, those who will benefit from the resources that we are in investing in this institution will be inspired by the spirit of Collins Chabane towards achieving the goals of a society freed from the devastations of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
I take this opportunity to thank all those who have been behind this noble deed, to launch this very important programme. We can only achieve the various goals elaborated as 14 Outcomes of the National Development Plan Vision 2030 if we collectively put our shoulders to the wheel. Essentially, the NDP must help us to achieve various development targets generally aimed at drastically reducing poverty, unemployment and inequality by the year 2030. These trio challenges have been rooted in our communities because of the legacy of the past.
It is important that on such occasions we remind our people why we take the various initiatives that we do, which is generally informed by the kind of society we inherited in 1994. The system of the past deliberately sought to marginalize the black majority by denying them trade skills such as those being artisans, which are essentially for a complex and developing manufacturing economy as ours.
The launch of this Collins Chabane YouthBuild School is appropriately named because it is not just an intervention but one that seeks to correct a legacy against which Collins Chabane fought for all his life since the age of 17 years when he joined the struggle. It is fitting that young people today will no longer take up arms as a form of struggle but picks and shovels, to construct houses and thus provide shelter for our people. Allow me to applaud the NYDA for this vision on the YouthBuild School but also for naming it after the late Collins Chabane.
The NYDA took up a challenge of establishing the Collins Chabane YouthBuild School, using the tried and tested YouthBuild International School concept. This is guided by the recently adopted White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.
As part of its mandate to promote effective tools for the development of young people in South Africa, the NYDA prioritised skills development as one of its most important programmes. Based on research findings on the impact of lack of skills on youth employability, the NYDA targets include prime focus on technical skills training. The establishment of the school thus presents a perfect opportunity for the NYDA to ensure technical skills training takes place. The purpose of the school is to give hope to the out of school youth especially those from disadvantaged and underserved community. It provides quality education that leads to qualifications and practical training that prepares young people for the world of work.
The functions of the school are captured in the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training in South Africa, and these are:
· To provide high school education that leads to higher qualifications such as higher certificates, diplomas and degrees.
· To provide accredited vocational and technical training that provides hands on work experience
· To provide such education and training to learners aged between 18 and 35 who come from low-income families, underserved communities and previously left or pushed out of traditional school system without a Matric qualification.
· To provide programmes in engineering, construction, leadership, community service.
In view of the challenges facing post-school education in South Africa, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) published a Green Paper for Post-School Education and Training with the aim of aligning the post-school education and training system with South Africa’s overall development agenda. This links to various development strategies such as the New Growth Path, the Industrial Policy Action Plan 2, the Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa 2010-2030, and South Africa’s Ten-Year Innovation Plan. This culminated into the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training, which was approved by Cabinet.
The new White Paper on higher education proposes the establishment of (‘Community Colleges’). Preliminary research undertaken by the NYDA suggests that the establishment of an NYDA YouthBuild School is an appropriate way forward. The target market for the school will be the most vulnerable, out of school youth aged between 15-24 years. This age group has the highest unemployment rate of more than 60%. It thus presents an opportunity for NYDA to serve this market.
Project implementation assumes three phases. The first phase is the design and conceptualization of the school. The pilot phase follows and then the final hand-over phase of the college to the DHET. The DHET is the natural institutional home for the project. It is therefore critical that the DHET is mobilized early as a key partner for this project. This ensures that lessons learnt lead to subsequent maturation and institutional roots for community colleges. The model promotes continued learning.
At the point where NYDA is satisfied with the integrity of the model as a delivery approach to sustainable and lifelong development for young people, the school will be handed over to the DHET. It is imperative that the model is tried and tested to ensure academic and financial sustainability. Over a period of five years starting from 2016, the NYDA will go through a process of designing, developing and implementation of the school. On an annual basis the model will be reviewed, lessons will be collated and improvements made for efficient implementation in subsequent years. At the end of the five years the school will be handed over to the DHET.
The 2016/17 financial year constitutes the Design, Develop, Finance and Delivery elements of the project. Lessons learnt will inform subsequent project phases. The following phases will see the introduction of a broader and fuller school curricular, stronger governance, processes and systems elements as the school concept continues to be matured towards handover.
The objectives of the school focus on the following:
· To train 25 young people in Mechanics: Boilermaking Technology at NQF level 2
· To train 25 young people in Construction Plumbing NQF level 3
· To expose young people to practical training with reputable institutions(such as Department of Human Settlement, Department of Public Works) or private companies
· To provide an opportunity for young people to demonstrate leadership in their own lives and within their communities by conducting community service activities.
· To provide young people with life skills training and personal and career counselling that will equip them to deal with life challenges and direct them towards clear career paths.
· To collate lessons learnt, refine and broaden school curricular
The primary beneficiaries of the school will be the 50 young people who reside within the Greater Edendale area of Msunduzi Local Municipality. The potential beneficiaries possess a minimum of Grade 12 qualification with either pure Mathematics or Mathematics Literacy and can read and write English. Preference has been given to young people not in Employment, Education and in Training (NEET) between ages 18 – 35 years.
The Collins Chabane YouthBuild School Model consists of five pillars which are a) Counselling and support, b) General education, c) Technical training, d) Ubuntu–leadership, service & Citizenship and e) Exit opportunities. This approach to youth development advocates for the implementation of integrated programmes and it is in this light that the model will be integrated into the school curricular going forward.
The goals of the general education component are to create opportunities for academic progression for those participants who need to secure a Matric certificate. This is coupled with the facilitation of life skills and leadership development training. This is in line with the broader education objectives of encouraging every individual to be on a path of life-long learning.
Participants will be assisted to formulate personal development plans and will receive individual or group counselling support. On a needs basis, participants will also have access to referred counselling expert services.
The technical training component is made up of classroom-based and hands-on practical training. Participants will be trained on National Certificate in Mechanics: Boilermaking Technology at NQF level 2 and National Certificate in Construction Plumbing at NQF level 3 qualifications accredited by the CHIETA and CETA. The training will be conducted by qualified school instructors and it is envisaged that the training will prepare the participants for work opportunities.
Good leadership is defined within the NYDA YB programme as young people taking responsibility to make things go right for their own lives or themselves, their families, the programme, their community and their country. The previous YB programmes served as a platform for the young people to practice Ubuntu in their communities. Some good practices of this concept were demonstrated through the participants’ initiatives to renovate homes for orphaned and vulnerable children.
It is against this background that we see the importance of fostering personal leadership skills in all young people, enabling them to confront issues in their personal lives. This assists them to get rid of feelings of dependency on others, and enables them to take initiative for their own benefit, their families and communities.
The exit opportunities component will be part of a six months After Care period to give further support to all young people after completing the programme. The main objective of this activity is to give young people exposure to opportunities outside of the project. A YouthBuild Job Developer will support participants to identify and pursue career interests as identified in their personal development plans. Whether pursuing immediate employment or further education, the Job Developer will support participants towards the appropriate opportunity.
It is the resolution of the ruling party, the African National Congress, that the State must assume a developmental role. That is why we have come up with these YouthBuild School because we cannot sit on the margins as poverty, unemployment and inequality ravages our people in general and the youth in particular. It is common knowledge that the poor give birth to the poor in what becomes a vicious cycle of poverty, inequality and unemployment. However, it is our belief as government that we can break the neck of the demon of racial inequality by empowering the youth, whom in their old age as parents will accordingly stop giving birth to poor people as it has been engineered by the apartheid regime.
Once more allow me to thank everyone involved in making this occasion a success. As the Chinese would say, a journey of a thousand miles begin with a first step. Like Madiba, we too must walk our on long walk to freedom. Like Collins Chabane and many other cadres who fought for our freedom, we too must as young people seize the opportunity to contribute towards abuilding a better country for all our people. Over the weekend on the 26th June 2016, we celebrated the 61st anniversary of the Freedom Charter. This occasion bears practical testament to the noble vision of the Freedom Charter, whose values first found expression in our constitution and subsequently in the may policies and programmes aimed making this historic documents adopted by our people at the real Congress of the People in 1955 the lived experience for all. All our policies and programmes, including the NDP Vision 2030 as well as these initiatives on the Collins Chabane YouthBuild School, they are aimed at fulfilling this historic mandate.
As we approach the Local Government Elections on August 3rd, it is important to emphasise that youth development as conceptualised through the National Youth Policy 2020 must find expression in the Integrated Development Plans in all municipalities. That is why we are finalising the Integrated Youth Development Strategy so that we have a comprehensive approach on youth development across all three spheres of government.
I would like to urge all young people to seize the opportunities of democracy to develop themselves. We have noted the increase in the usage of drugs such as nyaope or hunga which is often linked to other criminal activities including robbery and murder. This Collins Chabane YouthBuild School will help take the youth from the street and enlist them in productive activities. Many people fought for our democracy and our freedom was not free. Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu paid the ultimate price so that his blood, as he declared in the face of the gallows, could nourish the tree that was the bear the fruit of our freedom. Those who will enrol in this school will accordingly remember that they stand on the shoulders of giants!
Today we conclude the June Youth Month and our final message is that do not betray the struggle for freedom by burning public property and engaging in criminal activities including nyaope or hunga.
Allow me to restate the two quotes that have been my golden thread during this youth month and 40th anniversary commemoration of the 1976 Soweto Students’ Uprising. I have indicated before that whilst historically the youth fought for liberation it was for material upliftment of their lives that they were in fact fighting for as the celebrated author Amilcar Cabral eloquently captures it:
“Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anybody’s head. Hey are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children…”
As I conclude, I hope these words inspire you as you seek to contextualize history into the present situation in your own lives. As another African patriot Frantz Fanon famously declared:
“Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it”
It is my golden thread message during this month of youth that we must discover our own mission particularly you as young people. Very importantly as Fanon warns us, we dare not betray the mission that history has entrusted us with. Out of this history we curve our own role. By betraying our own mission, we are inevitably betraying the various generation who gave it their all. We are inevitably betraying the youth of 1976. We are inevitably betraying those chilling words by Solomon Mahlangu as he faced the gallows that his blood would nourish the tree that would bear the fruit of freedom. It would be betrayal to his clarion call after he had done the best he could as he declared tell my people to continue the fight!
I thank you!
