Ron Swartz, Superintendent-General of WCED
DDG's, Chief Directors and Directors
Officials from the national and provincial education departments
Prof Kopano Ratele, Chairperson of the Provincial Adjudication Panel and other members
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentleman, and last but not least
Those Teachers who will receive awards tonight
Let me also acknowledge the presence of some special guests in the audience tonight - all the way from the United Kingdom - Raymond Moorcroft from the Manchester Metropolitan University and Trevor Summerson from the National College for School Leadership - they are here to help us with the development of a Pilot Certificate Course in School Business Management targeted at our administrative assistants and school secretaries.
Our school principals, and there are many in the audience tonight, face a myriad of complex challenges. Not only do they have to ensure the effective delivery of the curriculum in the classroom, but they also have to look after the social well-being of children and deal with day to day administrative burdens.
Last year I was able to see first hand how the School Business Management Certificate course helped transform many schools by empowering secretaries with skills to assist in the overall management of schools. I mention this programme because I believe that, as we celebrate our teachers, we also need to take practical steps to lessen their burdens which take them away from the core task of teaching our learners.
The concept of the school business manager as a dedicated individual who is able to manage human resource, budget, infrastructure and provisioning issues at school can add massive value to a school community, enhance learning and relieve the burden on our principals and teachers.
So, I want thank our friends from the UK and our WCED officials who have worked hard this week to develop a programme towards the implementation of a pilot certificate in our province.
I think all of us are aware of the massive challenges our province and country face in regard to fighting poverty and creating work; and the centrality of quality education and skills development in achieving the goal of a better life for all.
I believe that we are making steady progress in our attempts to bring about quality education. Although massive challenges remain we are building this country slowly - brick by brick - to borrow a phrase from our Premier Ebrahim Rasool.
This progress can largely be attributed to the outstanding contributions and the dedication and commitment of our teachers. And tonight therefore, is really just one way in which we want to acknowledge you, and encourage others to follow your example.
I also want to acknowledge the fact that many of our teachers on the Cape Flats in particular, are working under tremendous stress in an environment affected by gangsterism, crime and violence.
The incidents of violence over the last few months impacting on our educators and learners in a number of our schools are of great concern to the department and me.
In my view the WCED's Safe Schools programme has developed to the point where many our schools generally offer safer environments under the difficult circumstances. Our relationship with the SAPS, Community Safety and our community police forums has improved.
But clearly it can never be the responsibility of the school and the department alone to deal with this massive challenge. It is also the responsibility of our parents and communities to promote a culture of respect, tolerance and non-violence.
All of us need to embrace the slogan of "My child is your child, your child is my child". We need to act together, government, community, parents, teachers and learners to ensure that our schools are sacred places of learning; places where guns, drugs, violence and intolerance have no place.
As part of paying tribute to our teachers who give of their best every day, I also want to highlight a complaint that I received from two learners. They complained to me that their Maths teacher had been absent for 50 days and that some teachers arrived at school under the influence of alcohol.
All of us, the department, teacher unions and school principals need to be united in our approach to such issues. Unless we act consistently to condemn such behavior and take action, we contribute to the demoralization of those educators giving their best.
We are all aware of the challenge we face in regard to the levels of Literacy and Numeracy amongst our children. When we launched our campaign to improve Literacy and Numeracy, we recognized the fact that teacher development is central to the success of this strategy.
Our teachers were not trained to teach in multi-lingual classrooms but there has been a huge migration of learners and that is what we are faced with. We have a new curriculum with a fundamentally different approach to teaching and learning.
Worldwide there are discrepancies between the intended curriculum and that which is actually taught in the classrooms. This is particularly the case during curriculum changeovers. I believe that the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement is, however, beginning to reach completion.
Our grade 8, 9 and 11 teachers received orientation in July this year. Next year it will be the turn of our grade 12 educators. By 2008 our grade 12s across the country will write matric in terms of the new curriculum. With our curriculum almost bedded down it is critical that our focus shifts firmly to content, classroom practice and support.
Our teachers have to have "time out" so they can stock up on new skills. And they need more than a quick workshop at the end of a long hard day. The training that we envisage for teachers will be very carefully designed.
Predominantly we are looking at certificated courses offered through tertiary institutions. This is an expensive option and not one to be achieved overnight. However we know that we must undertake it. The CTI residential courses will play a pivotal role in this regard.
Besides teacher development, I think it is important that we acknowledge steps that have been taken to improve the conditions of service of our teachers. By talking about these steps, I believe we can begin to show that teaching is not only the noblest profession, but also one where efforts are being made to retain teachers in the service.
Earlier this year, parties to the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) signed an agreement that provides for improved career-pathing for qualified post level one teachers, as well as accelerated salary progression for all teachers on certain salary levels.
This agreement makes provision for the new rank of Master Teacher. We can now promote Senior Teachers on Salary Level 8 to the rank of Master Teacher on Salary Level 9, if they meet performance criteria determined by the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS).
The agreement on accelerated pay progression now enables teachers to progress more rapidly through a salary level, for example, by three notches after three years of good performance.
Teachers can also achieve three notch increases over five years, for example, if they achieve three good performance ratings during this period. The initiative is part of the R4.2 billion allocated to improve the remuneration of educators nationwide.
The agreement will enable us to retain quality teachers in the classroom, where their skills are needed, while giving them the necessary promotions and incentives to stay in classrooms, and in the profession.
Whilst on the one hand we must make sure that the conditions of service of teachers are continuously improved, it is critical that invest in building effective leadership of our schools, at all levels. If our schools are effectively led and managed by principals and senior management, great success can be achieved.
I am fully supportive of the initiative by Minister Pandor to ensure that every aspirant principal will have to complete a Diploma in School Leadership and Management before being able to apply for such a post.
This will have a fundamental impact on the management and leadership of our schools. Minister Naledi Pandor also announced in her budget speech in May that the Department of Education was about to publish an agreed framework for the professional development of teachers.
To quote Minister Pandor: "We intend as the departments to take active steps to restore the dignity of teaching as the most important profession in our society. We will consult teacher unions to establish what should be done beyond remuneration and training to regain lost and waning dignity and status.
"Beyond these actions we will also intensify our efforts at increasing the supply of new teachers through the introduction of teacher bursaries or loans that are tied to service contracts."
Minister Pandor confirmed that we have acted to address the improved remuneration of teachers, as shown by the recent Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) agreement.
I am also pleased to report that, for the third year in a row now the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will increase the total number of teaching posts in the province by 500 next year to 30,872 at a cost of R83.5m.
It represents the highest increase in the number of posts over this period. This means that teaching posts in the province have increased by 1,157 at a total cost of R182.9m since 2005.
As the MEC I have to determine the total number of posts based primarily on what we can afford, taking into account the curriculum and redress needs of schools as well.
The total number of learners in the Western Cape has stabilised at between 919,000 and 920,000 over the past two years, in Grades 1 to 12. Despite this trend, the WCED has continued to increase the total number of teaching posts to address specific challenges, especially those requiring redress.
We continually have to balance the demands of personnel and non-personnel expenditure and the declaration of an extra 500 posts was the best scenario which could be managed for 2007. I will continue to raise the issue of additional resources for education within the overall pressures faced by our provincial budget.
I am convinced that we need to improve teacher-learner ratios, especially in the Foundation Phase. Our high schools also require additional support given the demands of the new curriculum.
This year, we have used the basket of posts creatively by using the funds of 100 teacher posts to appoint 510 Teaching Assistants in poor schools to assist Foundation Phase teachers in primary schools, for 2006.
The appointment of the Teaching Assistants was a direct response to our studies of learner performance in Grade 3 and 6, which show that learners in these grades are struggling to meet the requirements of the national curriculum, especially in poor communities.
The duties of the Teaching Assistants include listening to learners' reading; working with groups and individuals to improve words skills; developing number concept skills; and assisting teachers with classroom organisation and management.
The project got off to a good start. The assistants are working well with the teachers they are supporting, and they are keen to make a difference in the reading, writing and maths skills of the learners in their care.
While our assessment in November will tell whether we have been successful, initial signs are that we have every reason to be optimistic.
As you may very well know, it is a pilot project at this stage, involving 163 schools. If the project is successful, the department will consider expanding this form of support.
I am pleased to say that most teachers in the Western Cape are committed to ongoing professional development, and the WCED is deeply committed to supporting this process.
The WCED has supported more than 21,000 training interventions during the 2005/06 financial year. These included those provided by the department, as well as those where teachers took the initiative to register for courses at tertiary institutions.
The Cape Teaching Institute, for example, has accommodated the training of 1,456 teachers and principals during 2005/06, with courses lasting between six and eight weeks.
The WCED also provided short courses for 15,040 employees, mostly teachers, on topics ranging from information technology to ABET, Human Resource Management, ELSEN and HIV and AIDS.
It addition to this training, the WCED organised orientation workshops for about 14,000 teachers on the national curriculum, most of which took place during the July school holiday.
Teachers, as in any profession, are required to ensure their ongoing professional development. I am pleased to say that the teachers of the Western Cape are demonstrating this commitment in a big way.
Thanks to the IQMS, we now have our first comprehensive picture of the developmental needs of all teachers in the province, and we will use this database to develop our training support for our teachers further.
Meanwhile, the WCED provides a wide range of other forms of support for our teachers, including the day-to-day work of our Education Management and Development Centres in every district.
This work includes the work of multi-functional teams who provide support holistically, from school-based management to special education needs and curriculum support.
We recently embarked on a joint project with Social Development to train 900 ECD practitioners. This is part of an overall integrated Western Cape strategy to support Early Childhood Development. A key component of our joint strategy includes accredited education and training for practitioners and caregivers involved in ECD.
We provide special support for our 50 Dinaledi schools, where we are trying to increase the number of learners from poor communities who pass Maths and Science in matric, as well as our 28 focus schools.
Our focus schools offer opportunities for learners in poor communities in Arts and Culture; Business, Commerce and Management; and Engineering and Technology.
Other forms of support include our award-winning Khanya programme, which uses Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to support teaching and learning.
By the end of the financial year, Khanya had trained or was in the process of training 14,230 teachers on how to use technology to enhance teaching and learning.
The WCED Client Services provides a Walk-in Centre and a Call Centre to answer queries dealing with human resource and salary issues. Client Services won a Premier's Award for Service Excellence in 2005, following a rigorous assessment process.
Services of the Walk-in Centre include finding temporary posts for unemployed teachers, which has proved to be highly successful. The centre initiated a database of unemployed teachers, which is now also available to schools on the WCED website, to make it easier for schools to find temporary and substitute teachers.
I've spoken about some of what the WCED is doing or is planning. That was a bit about "our" part of the deal, as it were. But what we're here to celebrate tonight is what our teachers are doing.
Let's try to get into a teacher's shoes a bit.
In a classroom, the teacher is contending with the complex and distractible minds of around 40 other people when maybe only a handful of them are actually interested in what's happening in the classroom at that moment. Our children's lives are full of ordeals and challenges like peer-pressure, drugs, poverty and violence.
The teacher somehow has to orchestrate everything - all the different backgrounds, the different paces and learning needs, the changing curriculum, the demands of administration and record-keeping? In the mix also are the learners' crucial needs to play and socialise.
Then there's the urgency of preparation for tests and examinations ? because out there is a "dog-eats-dog" world with employability challenges and all the expectations of parents that their children simply must end up with better life opportunities than they had.
Dealing daily with young minds and fragile egos, being measured all the time against the clock, against the curriculum, against the stream of demands coming from all directions makes being a teacher surely one of the most exhausting professions.
I salute each one of you here today: all you outstanding role models and achievers. I salute all those beyond this room who are also serving, leading and inspiring our young people.
I thank you most warmly and sincerely for the remarkable way in which you are devoting your lives to our children and clearly going out of your way to find ways both to serve and to challenge them.
Our world has much that is vicious in it. Our children need to know how to be strong. And you are helping that to happen. Our children need to be critically literate. They need what I'll just sum up as "hard skills". You are getting that right too.
I'd like to acknowledge your families too as I know that such contributions as you are making do not come without sacrifice. Enjoy tonight and the time in the limelight. We seldom give thanks and praise where it is due: let's try to get that right tonight!
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank all those who have worked so hard to ensure the success of the process thus far. A very special thank you to the Adjudication panel - nobody can envy them their difficult task! Our teachers are our most important resource. The National Teaching Awards are a special way of expressing this appreciation.
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
