Dankie Mnr. Claassen vir die skriflesing en gebed
Mnr J. Beukes: Direkteur van die Weskus Wynland OBOS, en ander senior personeellede van die OBOS en die departement
Mnr. Herman Bailey: Burgemeester van die Drakenstein Munisipaliteit
Prof. J.D. Jansen, Dekaan aan die Universiteit van Pretoria
Alle skoolhoofde en adjunkhoofde van die distrik
I was asked to address you on the challenges facing our schools, and what are we to do as education leaders. And I'm sure you will agree with me, it warrants a discussion and analysis of almost a week, for the problems in education are huge and complex.
Unfortunately none of us have the luxury of time, and we must make do with the time we have been afforded.
So let me immediately apologise to you that, as much as I would have liked to engage with you in discussion on some matters that will arise from this conference today, unfortunately, I still have to attend a court case at 10h00 and thereafter the Premier's State of the Province Address at 11h00.
Let me start off by explaining to you what drives me every morning when I wake up. Giving each and every child an equal chance in life to rise above his or her circumstance, is what drives me most, in terms of my vision for education in this province.
Ideally we should ultimately have a situation where a parent can send his or her child to the nearest public state school, and be confident that that child will be adequately prepared to not only make a meaningful contribution in society and in the economy, but break new grounds for South Africa, for Africa and the world.
Maar ons is nog vêr van daardie ideaal. Daar is nog te veel erfenisse van ons apartheidverlede waarmee ons tans nog worstel.
Toe ek in Junie verlede jaar my eerste Begrotingstoespraak gelewer het, het ek gesê: Siza kuyitshintsha le Ntshona Koloni! - Ons gaan die Wes-Kaap verander!
Ons Provinsiale Regering het 'n eenvoudige dog sterk visie: om die Wes-Kaap te bou as 'n Tuiste vir Almal. Ons wil by hierdie visie kom met ons ekonomiese ontwikkelingsplan wat ons noem: Ikapa Elihlumayo - om die Kaap te Groei en te Deel.
As deel van Ikapa Elihlumayo, moet ons departement 'n Menslike Hulpbronne Ontwikkelingsplan daarstel om die Kaap van kennis, vaardighede, waardes en houdings te voorsien. En ons skole, waarvaan u as skoolhoofde die leiers is, is sekerlik die mees kritiese element van ons oorhoofse strategie van Ikapa Elihlumayo.
U sien, u as prinsipaal moet vir die provinsie en vir die land die fondasie lê om ons leerders van kleins af toe te rus, sodat hulle nie net 'n sukses van hul persoonlike lewens kan maak nie, maar ook die leisels van more stewig kan vasvat.
Ons prinsipale van die toekoms gaan 'n integrale deel uitmaak van die nuwe wêreld-ekonomie. 'n Prinsipaal moet die visie en insig kan hê om talente en vaardighede in leerders te identifiseer, wat ons ekonomie nodig het om ons land wêreldwyd mededingend te maak.
As prinsipaal het u eintlik die mees belangrike taak in ons Menslike Hulpbronne Ontwikkelingsplan. Want indien ons kinders nie met 'n gesonde grondslag die grootmens-wêreld betree nie, is ons almal se toekoms slegter daaraan toe.
En daarom is dit vir my hartseer om die volgende kwessie met u te opper, maar laat ek dit vroeg uit die pad kry. Ons het verlede jaar talle klagtes ontvang van ouers wie ons kantoor toegestroom het met klagtes van skole wie rapporte en vertrek-kaarte terughou weens nie-betaling van ouers. Sommige ouers en kinders was verneder en hul menswaardigheid aangetas.
Ek sê nie van die skole is hier nie, want die meeste klagtes is afkomstig van die metropool. Ek sal binnekort stappe bekend maak om van die onderwysers en skole tot beantwoording te roep, veral in gevalle waar kinders se onskuld en menswaardigheid gruwelik geskend was.
Maar ek is nie hier om 'n lat te swaai nie. Ek is terdeë bewus van die uitdagings van geldinsameling van ouers, en ek is bereid om saam met ons skoolhoofde 'n sinvolle gesprek hieroor aan te knoop.
Having gotten that out of the way, colleagues, I cannot understand why some of our children still have to get up in the early morning hours to take a bus, and drive past an existing school to an adjacent town of some 10 kilometres or further away. En wanneer 'n mens vra "hoekom is dit so?", is die antwoord "die skool is vol". En tog, die skool waarheen die leerders vervoer word, is dubbel die getal.
Meneer die Direkeur, ek wil nie vinger wys na enige van ons hoofde hier nie, want ek weet sommige kere is hulle in onbenydenswaardige posisies, veral weens die rol wat skoolbeheerliggame uitoefen.
But I cannot understand why, ten years into our new democracy, there are still two primary schools in a town, one historically wealthy with empty classrooms, low learner numbers and lots of resources. The other school in the historically disadvantaged community is normally overcrowded and have very few resources, with parents battling to keep up with the payment of school fees because of poverty levels.
En wanneer 'n mens vra "hoekom nie amalgameer nie?", is die antwoorde altyd: "dit sal lei tot verlaagde standaarde, vrese vir veiligheid, en oorbevolking...".
How can it be that some schools have more than 12ha of land, a fully-fledged sports field, school hall, fully equipped science laboratory, television, technological and digital equipment; and computer lab with internet access. On the other hand, when I came into office, twelve schools in the rural areas did not even have electricity or proper sanitation facilities! Let alone any of the other facilities...
When I came into office, I found a situation where some of our schools have up to 60 and even 80 learners in a classroom, and some have numbers as low as 25.
Is hier enigeen in hierdie vertrek wat dink dat dit nie sy probleem is nie, en maar gelukkig is om voort te leef in sy wêreld van relatiewe welvaart en basta met die res? Meneer die Direkteur, ek wil glo dat dit nié die geval is nie.
Kollegas, ek wil glo die feit dat u hierdie konferense bywoon, 'n bewys is van u verbintenis tot die nuwe toekoms. Dit wys dat u 'n visie het, en dit is wat ons nou nodig het - leiers met visie. Want sonder visie weet ons nie waarheen ons op pad is nie, en dus ook geen bestemming het nie.
Ons moet almal 'n bydrae lewer tot die bou van 'n toekoms waarin elke kind 'n regverdige kans in die lewe kry. Daar is mense wat sê "Don't fix what's not broken". Met ander woorde: moenie aan die skole raak wat tradisioneel goed doen nie. Met ander woorde, die probleme van arm skole is nie ons probleem nie.
I want to make it clear that I do not intend to interfere in the running of schools. But it does not mean that our schools are private or independent schools, and that somehow certain schools must be exempted from the project of nation-building and transformation.
Al ons 1,471 openbare staatskole behoort aan almal ons kinders - wit, bruin, swart, ryk, middelklas en arm. Elke kind het 'n Grondwetlike reg tot gehalte onderwys, of sy ouers finansieël dit kan bekostig of nie. En ek sal voortgaan om alles in my vermoë te doen om die ongelykheid in ons onderwys stelsel uit te wis sodat 'n kind van Khaymandi 'n gelyke kans kan het om mee te ding met 'n kind van Paarl Gimnasium. Dit is die grootste dryfveer vir my as Provinsiale Onderwys Minister.
Last year I was confronted with the possibility of the retrenchment of up to 2,000 teachers. I must confess, normally I am somebody who deal with challenges confidently, but that was a period during which I was a bit depressed.
Needless to say, this has seriously threatened the stability of education and the teaching profession in the Western Cape. I therefor want to thank the Premier Ebrahim Rasool, my colleague MEC Lynne Brown and my Minister, Naledi Pandor, for the additional funding, which not only helped save 1,800 teaching posts, but also employ an additional 365 teachers.
Nóg 'n uitdaging wat ons almal se aandag verg, is die "drop-out rate". Ons weet dat ons stelsel die helfe van die sowat 80,000 leerders wat jaarliks inskryf, verloor. En ek is verbind daartoe om gedurende my termyn hierdie syfer drasties te verbeter.
When this government was sworn in, the Premier launched a 100-days-delivery campaign. As education we had to complete the building of and move learners of the Usasazo High School in Maitland to Khayelitsha. Secondly, we had to make sure that 50% of twelve schools still without electricity, must have been electrified. We have delivered on all of this.
Similarly, the Premier has now instructed us to deliver before the end-of-April, the following:
- Start-up kits for 30 Grade R sites in poor areas
- 80 Bursaries for Maths and Science Teachers
- Sod turning for seven new schools
- 320 high schools to have computer labs
So, colleagues, you can see that the President and the Premier put us under enormous pressures. Besides all of the above, we also have the following challenges in education:
- Finalise our Provincial Human Resource Development Strategy with a focus on youth, to meet the demands of the new economy.
- Thoroughly prepare the department and our learners and parents for the implementation of Further Education and Training.
- Finalise our policy of when is a school full. At the moment we have a guideline of 35 - 38. We need to bring down the numbers of overcrowded classrooms, and make optimal use of available space.
- By the end of this year all our historically disadvantaged high schools should be equipped with sattelite dish, TV and VCR, which will give them access to various learning programmes.
- Transformation of the civil service, especially with regards to employment equity and representivity.
- With regards to our programme of building human capital, we want every school to have a dynamic Representative Council of Learners (RCL) and School Governing Body (SGB), and that these are organised at a provincial level to become a partner with the WCED in the provisioning of education.
- I also want to form an Association of Retired and ex-Teachers, to utilize their skills to further improve the quality of our education.
Principals, colleagues, we have a serious shortage of skills in the engineering and technology industry in our country. SA needs to produce between 13,420 and 15,680 engineers a year to cope with the developments of the economy. But last year the Engineering Council of SA registered only 3,037 candidates.
So I want to urge you to encourage our children to take subjects such as mathematics, science and accounting on the higher grade. I know that some of our teachers discourage the learners from taking it on the higher grade out of fear for low pass rates. But it's important that we encourage and inspire our learners to do so.
Laastens: my pa was ook 'n prinsipaal aan die York Hoërskool in George. Ek het die hoogste waardering en agting vir u, omdat ek weet van watter waarde my pa vir my beteken het en steeds is. Ek het nou wel 'n paar sensitiewe kwessies geopper, maar ek is seker u beskou dit nie as persoonlik nie.
Ek het steeds net die hoogste agting vir u. Ek weet u dra ook net die beste belange van almal ons kinders op die hart. Dit is my plig om u by te staan om 'n omgewing te skep waarin almal ons kinders gehalte onderrig kan ontvang. Ek het 'n ope deur, so voel gerus vry om enige tyd aan my deur te kom klop.
Good luck for the rest of the day, we dare not fail our children…
I 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
