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Honourable guests present here to day, parents, educators, colleagues, learners, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to be once again present in these Matric Awards, which are an annual event in our province. This years function is totally different from the ones we used to hold in the previous years, in that this year we are smiling, because at long last, as a Province and a Country we have turned the corner, and for that we have to congratulate those who have toiled, and made this improvement a reality, while on the other hand we want to motivate those who have not yet made the grade, and say to them tomorrow is yet another day.

THE NEW SCOPE FOR THE PROGRAMME

It is the aim of the Department that the programme does not concentrate on grade12 only, and that it covers the entire Senior Secondary Phase, starting from grade 10-12. It is out of this strategy that we can begin to think that our learners will obtain good results at the end of grade 12.For the first time after a long time, many stake holders have started to accept their responsibility and started placing the learner as a priority. This is shown by our last year's results. However, we also need to acknowledge the fact that, in spite of the fact that as a Province, we have improved by 9,7% the reality is that we are still the only Province whose results are still less than 50%.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to remind you that, the performance of grade12 results is the yardstick through which our department is judged. Therefore, improving the quality of teaching and learning requires strategies, which focus on change at the school and classroom levels. This is where teaching and learning takes place. We need to see more learning taking place and more learners in learning institutions during learning times and even beyond. The Department of Education and other stake holders need to turn the situation around at the classroom level, if we are hoping to create future worthwhile leaders, and there is no other time to do that than now.
System.

THE WHOLE SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT

The National Minister of Education is convinced that, our schools are not doing enough in terms of developing the whole school. He believes that, we need to introduce strategies, which are aiming at the whole school development. Good schools do not only look neat from outside they go beyond that, in that even the parent community is playing an important role in assisting the programmes of the school. The SGBS in these schools get a lot of support from their fellow citizens as well as from the educators and learners. When talking of the whole school development, we need to understand that the Matric results are the product of 12 years of schooling. The quick fix, peace meal and fragmented strategies of dealing with effectiveness improvement like winter schools and spring schools are strategies that are merely tinkering with the problem, and will not yield sustainable mechanisms of re-inventing our education system.

A holistic approach that at the minimum looks at the schooling system as a whole is the only logical route to follow. We are hoping that as a Province that is the route we will have to follow if we are serious about turning the situation around in our education system.

If we are to succeed in the whole school development, we need to come up with a sustainable strategy that will amongst others concentrate on the following:

* Strong leadership by the principal and the other management teams.
* High expectations by staff for student's academic achievements.
* A clear set of goals and an emphasis on the schools vision and mission.
* An effective staff development programme.
* An orderly atmosphere conducive to learning
* An emphasis on basic skill acquisition and many more

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

As from this year, the continuous Assessment is a process that has come to stay with our system. This is a policy issue, which has some guidelines. It states clearly that learners must start very early with their work if they expect to pass at the end of the year. There are guideline documents, which are being distributed to schools, and workshops and meetings are also being organised for various Regions, Districts and circuits, so that everybody at grassroots level can own the whole process. We admit that the Province is a little bit behind in this process, but we are optimistic that, we will pull it through.

PARTNERSHIP WITH NGOs.

It is clear that, the department on its own cannot afford to fulfil all the expectations of the community. Hence we applaud all the efforts of the various NGOs who have forged links with us in an effort to turn the situation around.

It is indeed a responsibility of everybody to improve our education system, particularly NGOs and business, because some have better facilities and infrastructure. It is for that reason that we embrace and welcome the partnerships we have forged with some NGOs. We value more, the support of those whose assistance is concentrated on the rural and disadvantaged areas and communities. Many of those learners have never been exposed to adequate equipment and infrastructure. We also value the fact that, these NGOs are assisting mainly in the so-called "Difficult subjects". It is indeed evident that they no longer want to fold their arms and watch our system collapse. To us that is a sign of accountability and responsibility. We pray and hope that, this partnership can grow from strength to strength

HIV/AIDS

Ladies and gentlemen, the Department has noted with alarm the decrease of numbers in both the learners and educators particularly in the upper grades. At first this was a mystery to many of us, but after some time we noticed that there is a trend indicating that many of these people are being killed by HIV and AIDS. We want to warn our people that AIDS kills.

COMMITMENT OF INSTITUTIONS

We do not want to forget the institutions that are to be awarded here to day. We want to commend them for their dedication and commitment, which yielded these good results.

We hope that, these results are going to encourage them to do even more this year i.e.2001.Remember Madiba once said," it is after one has climbed the first mountain that one realises that, there are many more mountains to climb." To you, we are saying the greatest challenge lies ahead, and that will be to maintain your positions. But with the dedication and commitment you have shown so far, that cannot be too difficult. The department wants to applaud the performance shown by schools this year. However, it is still a fact that not all the schools in our Province are performing to their ability. To those schools we are saying, we cannot afford to keep people who do not make a difference in our education. If we do that, we pay too high a price.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, let me share with you an extract from an article by Prof. Bengu published in" The Tribute' (January 1999)

He remarked that education in South Africa truly reflects our country and its people. The bright promise, the guts to succeed against the odds, the will to liberate, the desire to heal, the passionate engagement in the knowledge of the revolution, the joyful exploration of our unique African identity, all these brilliant qualities are alive and well in South African Education. We have what it takes to make our education system the powerhouse of National reconstruction and development.

I thank you.

Issued by Education, Eastern Cape

9 June 2001