Ralph Freese
John Fraser, Chairman: GrandWest CSI Committee
Dawn Malotane-Lindsey: Corporate Social Investment Manager
Officials from the Western Cape Education Department
Distinguished Guests
I also want to acknowledge the 25 students and their families present here tonight, who, I am told, are the first recipients of the newly launched Bursary Fund of GrandWest.
In the last thirteen years of our democracy, we have been able to implement significant reforms in our education system, and bring about a more just and equitable regime.
Resources are an enormous part of the equation in the provision of quality education. Therefore, all our interventions are guided and informed by a pro-poor policy that attempts to change the conditions in disadvantaged contexts across the province.
Apartheid was a systematic and systemic course of planning and action to undermine and devalue the black population, and make the white population understand and accept their superior abilities. Our challenge is to undo that damage with an equal and qualitative education system for all.
To this effect, several interventions have already been made as we continue to learn more about the education environment through research to become more responsive and more effective.
This is consistent with our Human Capital Development Strategy, which is a key pillar of the Western Cape Government's economic development strategy, iKapa Elihlumayo - to grow and share the Cape in pursuit of the vision of a "Home for All".
Some of the key interventions include the following:
The Budget: Our commitment to quality education is demonstrated in the steady rise in per capita spending since 2002/03. In this financial year the department is spending R6,507 per capita on public ordinary school education - this is R445 more than the national average, and the third highest total in the country. Pro-poor funding is growing, and spending ratios are skewed heavily to cater for poverty-stricken sectors.
No Fee Schools: The parents of about 345,000 learners at 652 of the poorest schools in the province will not have to worry about fees. This represents 45% of learners in the province.
National School Nutrition Programme: WCED is providing meals to more than 203,000 learners at about 900 primary and high schools. We involve more than 1,800 volunteers who receive an honorarium for services rendered. This itself contributes a little to poverty alleviation.
Literacy and Numeracy Strategy: This intervention has been accompanied by the deployment of 500 Teaching Assistants at 160 schools to assist and support Foundation Phase teachers.
Allocation of Posts: Next year will see the basket of posts grow with 747 more teachers. Also, re-allocation of 'ad-hoc posts' to the poorer schools, giving them a more favourable educator-learner ratio. The allocation of 353 posts in the basket to the Foundation Phase will result in slightly lower educator-learner ratios in primary schools.
Quality Improvement, Development, Support and Upliftment Programme: The Qids-UP initiative aims to allocate new resources to 407 schools in quintiles 1 and 2. A business and procurement plan of R71,442 million for 2007/08 has been drawn up and approved by the department.
The Dinaledi Project: Extra funding and support have been secured to increase the number of learners and pass rates in Maths, Science and Technology subjects in Grades 10-12 and higher education institutions.
Focus Schools: Twenty-eight schools from historically disadvantaged communities offer specialised subjects in Arts & Culture; Business, Commerce and Management; and Engineering and Technology, to increase access and quality in subjects that were previously not available to all learners, and equip them with scarce skills needed in the marketplace.
FET Recapitalisation: FET colleges are being remoduled to ensure a well-balanced selection of education options. Government is providing substantial financial assistance to improve access to FET as part of the iKapa Elihlumayo strategy.
The above interventions are just some of the equity and redress programmes government has initiated, in pursuit of access to, and quality education for all.
In the thirteen years of our democracy, we have been able to bring about radical changes and reforms, and significantly so thanks to the support of business, like the Community Social Initiative of Grandwest, especially in this province.
Thanks to you, thousands of children have already benefited from your previous investments in special, pre-school and adult education, and the computers you donated. Thanks to you our children now have access to opportunities they could previously only dream of.
I am three years into this position now, and the more and more we implement interventions to undo the legacies of apartheid, the more it becomes clear to me how deep those legacies still run.
For example, in terms of literacy and numeracy, our children do not perform on the levels required from them; too few learners from historically disadvantaged communities pass with exemption and with maths and science; more then 600 schools are still without halls; many require libraries and science labs; and our schools still battle against vandalism, crime and drugs.
I am very pleased with your commitment to education in the Western Cape, and that you are now taking it to an even higher plateau, with the launch of your R5 million GrandWest CSI Bursary Fund for Maths, Science or Technology students at tertiary institutions in the province.
This fund could not have come at a better time. We are all aware of the fact that the world will descend upon us in four years' time. In order to prepare for the Soccer World Cup, we have got to do some serious work in building infrastructure and technological networks.
We need to produce at least 13,000 engineers per annum, and we need about half-a-million professionals in the Information Technology, finance and other critical sectors of the economy.
Therefore, if we want to expand and sustain our economy, we need to produce even more learners passing maths, science and accountancy, and enrolling in the relevant courses at universities and FET colleges.
Our Premier said we must build the Western Cape as a Home for All. In order to do so, we must ensure that all our children are equipped to deal with the demands of the new economy.
The task of education provisioning and skills development require significant investment, both in terms of human and financial capital. The challenges of improving the performances of our schools and the implementation of the new curriculum, are huge and Government needs partners if it wants to succeed.
The involvement of our friends and partners in the business sector therefore will enhance the quality of education provision, which is an integral part of the answer to the President's call for a six percent growth in the economy.
Mobilising partnerships, friends and business acquaintances in fighting poverty and creating work, is a key component of our Human Capital Development Strategy, which is about social networks - communities taking responsibility for, and leadership in projects that are designed to improve the conditions of the collective in that community.
Social responsible corporate citizens and the commitment of business can contribute enormously to sustainable social and economic development. The involvement of business in education, training and skills development creates opportunities for business to transfer skills and share ideas.
So once again, thank you very much Grandwest and all other role-players, for your sustained involvement and commitment to the education of our children. You are making a very valuable contribution to our overall efforts of building a learning home for all.
Unless education and training institutions work with the private and public sector, it will never fully meet the needs of those sectors. Without a close relationship, training institutions will not be able to produce graduates with the requisite skills, nor will individuals be able to pursue new career opportunities.
To the students I want to say, if you are going to study maths, science and technology related subjects, you can be sure of a promising career part in a growing industry.
Congratulations and good luck with your studies. Remember, nothing stops you from realizing your dreams and objectives in life.
Thank you very much.
