SG - Mr Ron Swartz
DDG's, Chief Directors and Directors
Officials from the national and provincial education departments present
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentleman, and last but not least
Those Teachers who will receive awards tonight
Thank you for the introduction.
Celebrating the important role of teachers, is something that we probably do not do often enough.
I have been in this post now for a little more than a year. During this past year, teachers have raised various issues with me, ranging from learner behaviour, to school safety and curriculum matters.
Sometimes the issues were raised very sharply, many at times teachers were irate, sometimes it was urgent, at times not. But I have always walked away with the impression that what the teacher was raising, was because he or she had the best interest of the children at heart.
Our country has achieved a lot in the last eleven years, and our teachers have been making outstanding contributions towards the development of our country. Because of your dedication and commitment we have been able to achieve many national goals.
And therefor these awards are just one of many ways in which we want to show our appreciation to you, and acknowledge and encourage you in your efforts to develop our young people as better South Africans.
Our President Thabo Mbeki has tasked all of us with growing the economy by six percent. This is critical if we hope to halve unemployment and poverty by 2014. However, the growth of our economy is directly related to education and training - there cannot be one without the other.
In the last ten years the Western Cape economy has grown and consistently outperformed the national economy. But unemployment keeps rising. A disproportionate 46% in the age group 16 - 25 years are unemployed. That means that, right now, nearly half of our recent graduates are sitting at home.
At the same time our provincial population is growing, and we are experiencing "in-migration" - an estimated 48,000 per annum, or 1% per annum, typically under 36 years of age.
South Africa currently has a projected growth rate of 4% in 2005, compared to around 2% and 3% in the preceding years. But the lack of skills in our country poses a serious threat to our ability to sustain the expected economic development boom in the run-up to the Soccer World Cup in 2010.
In the last decade of freedom, more learners have been completing grade 12 and tertiary education. However, we are not producing sufficient learners for higher education and also not providing the knowledge and skills in sufficient numbers required by our economy.
Our provincial government under the Leadership of our Premier Ebrahim Rasool, is actively working towards the realization of the vision of a Home for All. The strategic path we have adopted to arrive at this vision, is our economic development blueprint, Ikapa Elihlumayo - to grow and share the Cape.
There are a number of lead strategies, which underpin Ikapa Elihlumayo: the Micro Economic Development Strategy under MEC Tasneem Essop; the Social Capital Development Strategy under MEC Koleka Mqulwana; and the Infrastructural Development Strategy under MEC Marius Fransman. As Education we have been mandated to lead the Human Capital Development Strategy, with a focus on youth.
In pursuit of our vision of a Learning Home for All, the mission of our Human Capital Development Strategy is to ensure that all our learners acquire the relevant skills, knowledge, values and behaviour they need to realise their full potential, lead fulfilling lives, contribute to building their communities, contribute to the growth of our economy, and be internationally competitive.
In order to produce better young South Africans, we need a skilled teacher corps, who understand and value the importance of their responsibilities.
May I take this opportunity to inform you that the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will add 292 posts to the total number of teaching posts, to meet new demands and to provide additional support to poorer schools in 2006 - in other words, no teacher will loose his job.
This will increase the total number of teaching posts in the Western Cape in 2006 from 30,080 to 30,372. The department is currently informing schools about the allocations, following consultations with teacher unions, principals associations and school governing bodies.
As is the case every year, some schools will find that they will gain teachers while others will lose teachers, mainly because of changes in learner numbers. Other reasons for changes in staff establishments include curriculum changes and special efforts to support our poorest schools.
Some of the creative ways we are looking at using the additional posts to enhance education next year, include the following:
- Using 51 posts to enlarge the existing basket of posts;
- Using the remaining 240 posts to ensure curriculum redress and support strategic programmes, for example allocating 50 posts to our Dinaledi schools to try and improve mathematics results;
- Allocating 21 posts to other focus schools to support subjects in Arts and Culture, Engineering, Agriculture and Business Management;
- Allocating 70 posts to our Education Management and Development Centres (EMDCs), to provide additional support to clusters of schools, which could include lead teachers for subjects such as Mathematics or Science, education project managers, itinerant isiXhosa teachers and experienced school managers who could provide support for principals;
- We are looking at allocating the equivalent of about 100 posts to employ teacher assistants, to assist Foundation Phase teachers in their efforts to improve numeracy and literacy results. Funding for the 100 posts could provide resources for between 300 and 450 assistants.
The overall basket of posts will include the 458 ad hoc posts we added last year. Some of these posts will go to small, combined schools offering secondary education. We will use most of these posts to improve the teacher: learner ratio where this support is needed the most.
These are all important transformation initiatives. Our resources remain limited, but by working smarter and harder, we hoping to make an important difference to education delivery in 2006.
In her budget speech earlier this year, our Minister Naledi Pandor announced that Finance Minister Manuel set aside R6.9 billion to improve teacher salaries, of which R4.2 billion will be used for expanding pay progression, for performance rewards, and for targeted incentives.
This is in addition to various other efforts to support our teachers. Firstly, on a national level, parties to the Education Labour Relations Council signed an agreement on notch salary increases for teachers who were in service during the period 1996 to 2002.
Agreement was also struck on the need to cooperate on efforts to train, recruit and retain skilled teachers. The Minister is committed to develop and implement a new career-pathing system for teachers, and to develop a model for providing human resource development.
Meanwhile, initiatives of the WCED have included the launch of the Cape Teaching Institute, to provide in-depth in-service training for teachers and principals, as well training programmes to prepare teachers for implementing the National Curriculum Statements for GET and for Grades 10 to 12.
Teachers and principals have responded excellently to these training programmes so far and we deeply appreciate your commitment to professional development as we prepare for the introduction of the curriculum on all levels.
The WCED is committed to the national system of Whole School Evaluation, which includes procedures for assessing requirements for ongoing professional development, which includes the IQMS.
In April last year, we launched a state-of-the art Call Centre designed to assist our employees on human resource and salary issues. The Call Centre handles about 95% of queries immediately and refers calls that it cannot handle immediately to the relevant directorates for their attention as soon as possible.
We have also launched a special Employee Wellness Programme, with a toll-free telephone number, to assist members of staff needing confidential counselling on more personal matters.
We have revised terms of employment for contract teachers, in conjunction with unions, so that they enjoy the same benefits as full-time employees. At the same time, we have launched a concerted effort to fill all vacancies with permanent staff.
We cannot rely indefinitely on contract and temporary teachers to fill these positions. By ensuring that we appoint staff to permanent positions, we will bring greater stability to the profession along with all the associated benefits.
We all have a role to play in improving the quality of teaching and learning in our schools and in improving the status of teaching in general. Tonight's function is one way of acknowledging and recognising excellence, and identifying examples of best practice for others to follow.
I have been informed that the standards of entries this year have risen a level higher then before. The nominees were well prepared and could easily answer the questions that were put to them during the adjudication process.
Whilst some in the media and commentators are saying that the morale of educators are low, I am told the Adjudication Panel had a different experience.
Schools in disadvantaged communities with limited resources, employ all kind of methods to ensure that their learners rise above their circumstances and not to be prisoners of their circumstances.
We need to continue rewarding our teachers, and therefore our school governing bodies, educators and school managers must take ownership of these awards by nominating as much educators as possible, to ensure that the pool of nominations are broadened and that the perceptions that might exist be dispelled.
In conclusion, I want to quote Minister Pandor, in an article in May she wrote: "We must record the critical role of teachers themselves in defending and promoting the status and image of the profession. Teachers, individually and collectively, are the best advertisements for the profession, and what they do and say has a huge bearing on how the public views the profession."
I have no doubt that tonight's winners will be able to stand their ground in the national round of adjudication. We have absolute confidence that the Western Cape, as in the past, will perform well.
To each of you I say, well done. We deeply appreciate your efforts. I would also like to thank all those who have worked so hard to ensure the success of the awards process thus far.
Also, thanks very much to the Adjudication Panel, which worked under tremendous pressure to finish all the site visits.
Congratulation to all of you! I trust you will enjoy the rest of the evening.
Thank you
For enquiries, contact Gert Witbooi: 082 550 3938, or gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za.
Gert Witbooi
Media Secretary
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za
INtshona Koloni - iKhaya loMntu wonke
Die Wes-Kaap - 'n Tuiste vir Almal
