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31 May 2005

Programme Director, MEC Cameron Dugmore
Minister of Education, Naledi Pandor
Deputy Minister of Education, Enver Surty,
MECs for Education,
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Prof Shepard Mayathula,
Directors-General,
Provincial Heads of Education,
Vice Chancellors,
Leaders of the teachers Unions,
Members of the diplomatic corps,
Business leaders,
Distinguished guests,

I am delighted to be able to interact with you this evening, at this Consultative Conference on Education, dealing with a crucial topic in the quest for sustainable development in our country.

Education is also a key and essential element in the national agenda of nation building, for there can be no successful nation building or transformation of the society without proper and effective education.

We must remember that education has at times been used as a tool to undermine others by either denying them access to education or using education to create different standards among people. That is partly why the apartheid regime identified education as its very critical instrument to perfect its system of white supremacy.

Through education the regime separated people and by doing so eroded national cohesion and unity. It therefore goes without saying that when we achieved democracy, education had to become one of the aspects to be given special attention and priority.

It is an accepted fact by all that since 1994 we, as a democratic country have made good progress in education. It is therefore important that key stakeholders are meeting here today to review the situation, so that we can obtain a clearer picture of the gains made and challenges still remaining.

In fulfilment of the demands of the Freedom Charter, we have a single national system of education in the place of 19 different departments, based on race, language and ethnicity that we inherited in 1994.

This new national system is characterised by a single set of laws and polices, a national curriculum, a single set of employment conditions for teachers, and uniform funding policies.

The impact of all these developments has been visible to us all. We have achieved near universal access to primary schools, and we have places for all those who require them.

We have an exceptionally high participation of girls in our schools, a very positive feature that will ensure that we will meet this aspect of the Millennium Development Goals.

Our matric results keep improving – not just in numbers, but in terms of the quality of the passes, with more and more students qualifying for university entrance.

We have also sought to redress the inequities in funding of education. Education expenditure, which had been strongly pro the rich prior to 1994, has moved dramatically in favour of the poor. Since 1994, poor children have each had an additional R1 500 spent on their education – money that has been redistributed from within the system.

It can be said that no country has ever seen such a dramatic shift of education resources in such a short space of time, without causing damage to the system. We must pride ourselves on the fact that despite this transfer of funds, we have retained the vast majority of pupils in our public schools.

We have also worked hard to get children into schools. The recently published report by Stats SA notes that there has been an improvement in access to education and that the overwhelming majority of children aged 7 to 15 were indeed attending schools.

This suggests a more effective flow in the system. However, it does caution against generalisations, reflecting that there are still significant differences with regard to race, and location, especially in respect of the rural areas.

These developments have also been the subject of a book by Edward Fiske and Helen Ladd, American researchers, titled “Elusive Equity”. Their analysis shows that the quest for equity and fairness has been a partial success – and they add that this is an achievement “for which [the government] deserves great praise”, but they also conclude that for many, equity in education remains elusive.

The insights they offer, as partial explanations for these continuing inequities, are revealing, especially coming from outsiders. These are that history matters, resources matter and implementation matters.

The important point about our history is that we must recognise that 10 years of democracy is much too little to have overcome the ravages of 300 years of colonialism, and more than 40 years of apartheid. Whilst we often make that point, it is important that we all share this perspective.

Resources are obviously a factor in delivering quality education. While it is true that resources alone do not determine a good education, there is enough evidence to show that proper facilities and decent resources, especially good textbooks, make an enormous difference in the quality of education.

Ladies and gentlemen, one of the areas of concern we come across through our various izimbizo is with regard to special needs education.

I know we have decided on a policy of mainstreaming, that is, including our special needs learners in ordinary schools, where they can interact and socialise with other children.

This is correct, but we must accept that not all children can be mainstreamed, that they may need special care in dedicated institutions. Let us take into account their needs while we try to broaden access for others with lesser needs, who face less barriers to learning.

There is a concern with regard to reports that we still have many children out of school because of barriers such as physical and learning disabilities. It is said that the measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. Please let us not fail these children.

One of our challenges remains the backlogs in delivering suitable facilities for education such as schools, classrooms, libraries and laboratories. In the last financial year it seems from initial figures that some provinces may have under-spent their capital budgets. If these reports are true then we have a serious problem in this regard.

We need to assess as to where exactly the problem lies, since it is clearly not in the funds not being available.

The challenge facing the provinces in question is to explain frankly and honestly what are the problems that lead to under-spending.

We need to look at issues such as can a rural school with perhaps 20 children, where the parents are either away working in town, or illiterate, be expected to fulfil the same powers and functions as a school with lawyers and accountants on the governing body.

Speaking of rural education, I am delighted to see that the Department, together with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, is launching a report on rural schooling.

In so doing, we send a signal of hope to the many parents on farms and in rural areas who have had to put up with a second class education for far too long. Let us therefore act without delay to correct what is wrong, so that children of these rural schools have an equal opportunity to participate in the economic and social affairs of our wonderful country.

The same must be said of Adult Basic Education and Literacy work, as well as improved access to Early Childhood Development. We must support the community based Early Childhood Development Centres, where we have mothers and grandmothers doing what they do so well, but just needing some recognition and affirmation for what they do.

Cabinet is soon to consider an Integrated Plan for the delivery of Early Childhood Development from 0 to 5 years. We will insist that every responsible department plays its role in this plan, which is such a key determinant of later success.

You would also be aware of our policy on the promotion of indigenous languages in our schools. Our support for indigenous languages will need to be underpinned by teachers who are able to teach these, as well as an increase in the availability of indigenous texts.

The situation seems uncertain given the fact that writers of indigenous material are reported to be saying that they don’t get published, on the other hand publishers are reported to be saying there is no demand for such work, yet schools are said to be saying they never get offered indigenous language materials, and that is why they do not buy.

We must break this cycle, and encourage smaller publishers who are in close touch with communities to publish materials texts that are meaningful and accessible to these communities.

Books open and develop young minds – especially for poorer children who are not able to explore the world in real life, but can do so through books!

Distinguished guests, let me emphasise that the key levers for educational change remain the parents, and I must urge all of them to get involved and take an interest in our schools. They must feel fully empowered to participate in policy matters, and in the governance of schools, but not to take over the functions of the teachers.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me wish you fruitful deliberations at this conference, which will deepen policy dialogue, and enhance our approach to education policy.

We look forward to receiving the report, which will give us a broad view of what the various partners think about the state of education in our country.

I thank you.

Issued by: The Presidency
31 May 2005