Honourable Premier Ebrahim Rasool
Mr Francois Pienaar, former Springbok Captain
Kevin Chaplin, Provincial Manager from FNB
Moira de Roche, President of the Computer Society of SA
John dos Santos, Business Manager of Picasso Headline
Kobus van Wyk, Project Manager of Khanya and his team
Esteemed guests from the Corporate Sector
Officials from WCED
Principals from schools represented

Ladies and Gentlemen, a special welcome to a very special friend and partner of Khanya and the WCED, Mr Alan Mills from the Specialist Schools Trust of the United Kingdom.

Thanks to the friendship between Khanya and the SST, the students from the UK school of Birchwood collected £15,000 - and if my maths is up to scratch, it should be about R165,000! - for the studies of a talented daughter of a Grabouw farm labourer - Allezonia Davids.

This underscores the value of partnerships, which create opportunities for learners who would otherwise not have had the opportunity. So thank you very much Mr Mills.

Khanya has already shown us what they are capable of, and we are all proud of the efforts of Kobus van Wyk and his team. The fact that you enjoy recognition locally and internationally, says much about the efforts of the entire staff and team.

Thanks to them a school, which is situated in an economically depressed community, last month won first prize in the category Technology Enhanced Learning and Teaching at the Most Improved Schools Awards 2004, which was held at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria. So Congratulations! to Mr Charles Marthinusen, the Principal of Atlantis Secondary School.

Information and Communication Technology is at the heart of our country's future growth. With technology comes greater access to information, the development of IT skills, more effective administration of schools, a higher level of accountability and increased confidence for entire communities.

The power of technology should be used to enhance the quality of the learning experience in the classroom. This should assist in improving the learner outcomes in all grades in terms of the number of passes and quality of results.

In many of our schools in affluent areas parents have contributed liberally to creating an environment in which technology is integral to the education of their children. However in most schools parents cannot afford this. The result is that the digital divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots" is widening.

If we are going to be able to build our province as a Home for All, we must ensure that all our youth are equipped to deal with the demands of the new economy.

A large portion of our youth languishes in the most remote rural areas and includes learners with special educational needs, those who are at centres for rehabilitation, farm labourers and factory workers. And therefor we shall not forget them.

More and more of our schools must have the opportunity to enjoy the enhanced learning experience that the Khanya Project facilitates. And to this end, we are committed to ensure that all our high schools have access to computer labs by the end of this year.

I am therefore very thankful for the contribution of Multi-Choice, which have committed themselves to equip every disadvantaged school with a television set, VCR and satellite dish, which would give learners access to various educational programmes.

Our National e-education white paper has two main objectives, i.e. that all our 12 million learners in General, and Further Education and Training will be ICT capable by 2010; and that all our 28,000 schools countrywide must transform into e-Schools by 2010.

Our Human Resource Development Strategy document says: "The goal of technology, and especially information communication technology, must be to create an environment where every learner will have a series of resources and teachers in different discipline expertise and in different locations, with a teacher/mentor to help organize the information, and help the student pursue some areas in depth."

Ladies and Gentlemen: Towards the end of last month, we hosted a conference with the theme "A Learning Home for All". Our aim was to generate debate and input concerning the finalisation of our Human Resource Development Strategy.

The conference generated robust debate, evoked much passion and arrived at several recommendations concerning key aspects of our strategy.

On the second day seven commissions worked on a range of issues consistent with our HRD strategy. One of the commissions on education technology raised several questions and made recommendations regarding the future of education technology in relation to our Human Resource Development Strategy.

Among others, the commission raised the following questions:

• Has education improved as a result of the considerable injection of financial resources into education technology?
• Are the time-lines realistic concerning our e-education policy document?
• Is there evidence of a turn-around in teaching and learning as a result of IT?
• Have we drawn comparisons between our interventions and interventions in other provinces?
• Are our communication channels within the WCED in need of review?

I believe these questions were not raised as criticisms, but to build our efforts to ensure a deepening of the sustainability of effective intervention.

Among others, the commission on Education Technology made the following recommendations, which are part of on-going debate and input into our strategy document.

• The commission recommended that we conduct research in a number of Khanya schools to establish the extent to which the introduction of educational technology has had a positive effect.
• We should analyse performance of the Khanya school sample in the literacy/numeracy survey.
• Our system and policies should support the notion of the teacher as a Knowledge Worker.
• We need to assess our support initiatives, for example, are Khanya schools supported once the laboratories have been established.
• We need to ensure that policies and strategies have a funded mandate.
• Time-lines need to be synchronised.
• We need to provide detail to our global plans to ensure sustainability and effectiveness.

The above issues are important and we need to apply our minds to the issues raised by the conference delegates, since we regard education technology as having a pivotal role to play as we move into the 21st century.

Therefore we will drive the educational technology component in a concerted fashion. The question arises, therefore, how do we use the Khanya project as a basis for developing digital learning communities?

How do we define and develop teachers as Knowledge Workers? What appropriate forums and platforms do we create to share best practices?

By now, I am sure, most of us are aware that one of the most critical challenges we face in this country as our economy takes off, is the shortage of skills, especially in the industries of engineering, science, accountancy and information technology.

And therefore, I believe we must continue grappling with the challenges posed to us by the Education Conference as we strive to bridge the digital divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots".

But in all our work, we are guided by the President's call for partnerships. If indeed we are going to Grow and Share the Cape as a Learning Home for All, we need to join hands as industry, commerce and education.

For this reason we are reviving the Western Cape Education Foundation, which seeks to create innovative partnerships for the improvement of the skills profile of our province.

Khanya, which makes a critical contribution to the overall objective of the provisioning of education in this province, relies on partnerships with the private sector and civil society.

Partners have tangible evidence that their corporate social investments are yielding results. Some partners are outright donors, while others provide Khanya with products and services at great discount.

All these partners are highly valued and their significant contributions are recognized. I want to thank all of them for their contributions to bridging the digital divide.

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 alone will not succeed in overcoming them.

The involvement of business in education, training and skills development creates opportunities for business to transfer skills and share ideas. These networks provide a platform for business and government to talk and strategise together.

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.

If indeed we are going to build a Learning Home for All our children, we need your contributions, by making available resources, finance, expertise and goodwill to realise this vision.

Khanya is already adding significant value to the needs of all stakeholders - industry, commerce, the public sector and the learners themselves.

As key stakeholders and likely beneficiaries of the outputs of this initiative, I therefore appeal to you for your continued support. Those who are not yet on board, I ask for permission for my colleagues to arrange for an appropriate occasion to discuss this initiative in more detail with you.

The fact that you have accepted my invitation to this event, already is a clear indication of your commitment to this country. I therefore have no doubt that we can rely on your support.

Thank You Very Very Much