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Fellow South Africans,

I have already conveyed my appreciation to all those who have been involved in education over the past year, and who have made determined efforts to improve the quality of our schools. The administrators, the managers, the teachers and the parents, through School Governing Bodies, have each made their contribution, and together you have made a better life for thousands of learners. Success is no accident - it happens by design, and through effort and determination. My appeal to you today is that we should not let our efforts end now, for there is a new class of learners to teach and support.

Education is not for the faint-hearted, but you have collectively faced the challenges of delivery, and won a partial but important victory.

The year 2000 was a year in which we have thrown off some of the remaining shackles of our apartheid legacy, especially in regard to the education of our children. We have exorcised the scandalous malpractices of the former examination certification process, by putting a stop to exam paper leakage and to the ruthless manipulation of marks for political gain. We have established a public examination system of which the nation can be proud, and produced results which learners can feel is a truer reflection of their worth. These are all major accomplishments.

However the Ministry of Education cannot be content yet, and remains committed to improving even further on the matriculation results of last year. Various initiatives to reflect this have already been put into place.

One of the key strategies towards this end is to ensure that all learners receive a full year of tuition - at least seven hours a day for 196 days a year. My Ministry will therefore once again be deploying a number of senior officials into the provinces on the 16th and 23rd of January to monitor the opening day of the new school year. These officials will ensure that all schools start effective teaching on the first day of the year, or, if not, to analyse the problems which are preventing this, and to correct these.

It is incumbent upon schools, and especially their management teams, to ensure that timetables are prepared well in advance, that classrooms are prepared for the learning programmes, and that learners have the stationery and books necessary to begin teaching. The start of the school term is not a time for administration - that should all be done in advance to ensure that teaching begins from the very first day. Where there has been neglect of these duties, provincial departments will be urged to take strong action against the school managers who are failing their learners, the parents and the nation. If need be we will replace them with other more highly motivated and committed professionals who take their responsibilities seriously.

Our young people deserve the best.

The results of last year have had a remarkable effect on the morale of teachers, which is improving dramatically. The celebration of the International Teachers' Day and the National Teacher Awards have both highlighted the country's appreciation for the work of teachers, and the results of 2000 have shown that the vast majority is doing a fine job. Job security for teachers has been realised after a long rationalisation process, and there is no threat to their continued employment. Teachers are being assisted through various in-service initiatives, and a National Plan for Teacher Education will be presented in the course of this year to ensure that we attract the best recruits into the profession. The universities have taken over teacher training, and we expect qualitative improvements in the way people are trained for this profession.

During the course of this year I will release a national curriculum statement, developed with the assistance of teachers, unions, education specialists and others, and which will provide and facilitate a streamlined approach to the implementation and practice of outcomes based education to which we all remain fully committed.

Eighteen months ago, on taking office, I indicated that "the battle of the mountains" had been won but I warned that the "difficulty of the plains" was about to start. While we can never claim to have won the war against ignorance, we have met head-on at least one of these difficulties, and achieved a fine victory. We are now continuing the march across the plains; our mood is good, and our heads are increasingly held high. In disciplined formations, let us advance to even greater achievements, and to a better life for all.

So to the learners and their parents, the teachers, principals and managers, we wish you a successful year of learning. May you exceed the efforts of the past year, so that again we can proudly show that we have put apartheid education behind us, and are now firmly on the road towards a system of education for the 21st Century.

Ends

Issued by the Ministry of Education, 16 January 2001