Director of the Breede River/Overberg EMDC
Mr Piet Hermanis and his team
Paster JJ Jack
Mr Williams
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for inviting me to this occasion. I want to commend this EMDC and pay tribute to the work of Mr Piet Hermanis and his team. This occasion could not come at a better time.
About three weeks ago we held our inaugural Community Schools Initiative Week, which is part of the overall Learning Cape Festival. As you may very well know that this is also International Literacy Week, of which International Literacy Day is celebrated on September 8.
On that evening our Minister Naledi Pandor will present awards to the Best Adult Learner, Best Learner Educator, Best Centre Project and other awards.
The Western Cape is of course well represented with the following nominations: Portia Godfrey, a 19-year-old learner from the Share Community Learning Centre (CLC), in the category Adult Learner of Year; Elsabie Petrus from the Westwood CLC (Mitchell's Plain) for Adult Educator of the Year; Winsley CLC (Bellville) for the Provincial Group Award; and the Breede River-Overberg's programme "Abet 160 Days Intervention Strategy" will compete for Provincial Project of the Year.
In the category "Special Awards" our much-loved 97-year-old grandmom Anna Ernest from this area here in Touwsriver, I am sure will win many hearts, if not win the prize. We keep our thumbs for all of them.
All of the people who are participating are truly an inspiration to all of us and entire communities. Grandma Ernest, we know, is also the product of the commitment and dedication of our EMDC officials in the Boland/Overberg, with their sustainable 160 day intervention campaign.
International Literacy Day is a day used by the United Nations and the international community to reminds us that there are still some 771 million people in the world who cannot read or write, of which the majority is to be found in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
This year's theme, "Literacy sustains development", emphasizes that literacy is not only a positive outcome of development processes but also a lever of change and an instrument for achieving further social progress.
To quote Koïchiro Matsuura, the UNESCO Director-General in his message on the occasion of International Literacy Day 2006: "Literacy is not merely a cognitive skill of reading, writing and arithmetic, for literacy helps in the acquisition of learning and life skills that, when strengthened by usage and application throughout people's lives, lead to forms of individual, community and societal development that are sustainable,"
Literacy is an indispensable means for effective social and economic participation, contributing to human development and poverty reduction. According to UN figures, approximately 50% of the South African adult population (or 10 million adults) had less than nine years of schooling.
In the Western Cape alone, the 2001 Census indicate that 162,000 people over the age of 21 never attended school. Nationally it is estimated that about four-and-half-million never attended a school.
Research indicates a strong link between poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. Businesses cannot succeed in the long term by drawing workers from illiterate and innumerate communities.
So, clearly adult literacy is an indispensable means for effective social and economic participation, contributing to human development and poverty reduction. It empowers and nurturers societies and contributes to the fair implementation of human rights.
In 1998 approximately 14,000 adults attended our ABET centres. In 2005, 34,500 learners were reached. This indicates the tremendous progress we have made with adult education in this province. It is clear that Abet has a fundamental role to play in achieving the objectives of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative - AsgiSA.
Through our Human Capital Develop Strategy, the WCED aims to reach 72,000 adults by 2014. The question must and can rightfully be asked: Are we geared towards achieving these and other objectives of government and are our ABET programmes aligned to ensure the success of these initiatives?
In all honesty we have to concede that our currently delivery are not necessarily adequately responsive towards achieving the objectives of the Expanded Public Works Programme, the Human Capital Development Strategy and AsgiSA, amongst others.
With regards to delivery of Abet, we continue to face some serious challenges, which among others include an inadequate budget; lack of support and infrastructure; shortage of Learner Teacher Support Material and inadequate human resources personnel.
Many centres still operate mostly in the evening; the curriculum often does not address the needs of local communities and/or does not prepare learners for participation in the local economy; there is a lack of involvement of the private sector and business; and lack of involvement of learners in the operations of centres.
Another very important matter is the issue of the conditions of employment of personnel. A lot must still be done to professionalise the sector, and it is something currently addressed by the National Department of Education.
A school is part of the community, its community role is to reach and serve the community, opening its doors to everyone and enabling the whole community to become a learning community.
I believe that learners, teachers and administrative staff are not only school agents; they are also community agents, agents of social change and development.
During our first WCED Community Schools Initiative Week, which was an inter-sectoral and transectoral effort, engaging all role-players, I witnessed some inspiring and creative activities. The key words were participation, collaboration, learning, ownership, integration and joy.
Some 200 of our schools rose to the challenge and reached out to serve their communities in a different way. Many of our schools opened their doors to everyone and enable the whole community to become a learning community. I have witnessed some amazing and creative initiatives.
The principal of Westridge High School in Mitchell's Plain told me that they have regular incidents of burglary, and that they had suspected that it was maybe residents of a nearby informal settlement.
But I thought the way they responded to this was fantastic; they have used the Community Schools Initiative Week to make friends with the residents, and actually delivered to them blankets, clothes and food.
Another school, some years ago, had a problem of gangsters frequently having running battles on the premises. What they then did, was to offer one of the classrooms to the local neighbourhood watch as a base, and the school appears not to have any problems now.
Kalkfontein Primary in Kuilsriver presented an amazing sight. The whole school was lit up and in use, as it is three times a month, as a medical clinic being run by students from Stellenbosch University.
The parking lot full of Bambanani volunteers made visitors feel secure and welcomed. Inside, the classrooms were filled with mothers and babies, a pharmacy and signs of huge efficiency. There were educational speakers, entertainment and every indication that this is a community hub to be proud of.
This meeting in particular will be interested to hear that this service runs under an impressive Kuilsriver Network called the "Local Integrated Network of Kuilsriver" or LINK.
I can't list the achievements and wonderful work done in all of our schools and I'm not going to try: these are just some examples of communities and schools that are already fully mobilised.
I am convinced that it's through inspired partnerships and the conscious cultivating of social capital that we will find the power to make huge and real strides in learning and development in this province.
MEC - refer to your visit to Cuba?
Also, when I visited the UK last year, I have come to learn how Ireland managed to turn their economy around. It was based on two key elements, which was entry into, and participation in the European Union, which then led to direct investments in their education system. In other words, capacity building through networks.
Believe it or not, England and Ireland have similar problems when it comes to the levels of literacy and numeracy. However, what was interesting, was that their definition of literacy included the use of everyday technology.
Ireland, for example, has established a dedicated independent national agency, funded by government, to run literacy programmes. Workers who want to participate in these programmes, are given time off by their employers. The President of the country is the patron of this agency, which is a clear indication of the seriousness with which they are tackling the issue.
I have already identified and committed myself to making literacy and numeracy one of my five key priorities during my term of office. The others include school safety, infrastructure provisioning, the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in schools and FET Colleges, and the re-engineering and transformation of the Western Cape Education Department.
Ladies and Gentlemen; let us enjoy and celebrate five years of the Learning Cape Festival. It is important that we continue to highlight education, training and development opportunities to promote lifelong learning as an important vehicle for achieving equity and redress.
As the WCED we have been an active participant in this annual showpiece, and we have now even added the Community Schools Initiative Week.
I believe we must use occasions like these to bring hope to those South Africans - women, men and children - who cannot read or write even their own names. We must use occasions like these to remind us of the challenges, and to inspire individuals, families, communities and indeed whole societies.
I thank you.
For enquiries:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Email: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za
