Mr Zozo Siyengo, FET Director, and other Officials from my department
Honoured Guests from commerce and corporate industry
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for inviting me to address you on the changing trends in education and training, most especially about the new and exciting trends in methodology, particularly the Dassie Project.
The vision of this Provincial Government as articulated by the Premier Ebrahim Rasool, is that we must build this province as a Home for All. In order to arrive at this vision, we have adopted an economic development strategy, which we refer to as Ikapa Elihlumayo - which means "Growing and Sharing the Cape".
We have serious challenges in providing the knowledge, skills, values and attitude for iKapa Elihlumayo. But we are committed to quality education to produce the human resource personnel necessary to grow the Cape.
For this reason the Premier has instructed us to finalise by the middle of this year, our Provincial Human Resource Development Strategy with a focus on youth, to meet the demands of the new economy.
And therefor ladies and gentlemen, we are hosting a provincial education conference on 23 and 24 March, which is in two weeks' time, as part of the process of developing our human resource strategy for Ikapa Elihlumayo.
Our country is on the verge of huge possibilities. Economic activity towards the Soccer World Cup in 2010 is going to increase rapidly, against the backdrop of an economy with strong fundamentals, delivered under the stewardship of our President Thabo Mbeki, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni.
In his analysis of the economy in his Budget Speech about two weeks ago, Minister Manuel indicated that consumer price inflation has fallen to 4,3 per cent last year, and is expected to remain within the 3 to 6 per cent target range.
He furthermore expects a continued growth rate of between 4 and 4½ per cent over the next three years, "signalling a significant change in the pace of economic growth".
Yesterday my colleague Provincial Minister Lynne Brown confirmed the good news when she announced that capital projects, the upgrading of infrastructure, such as stadiums and roads, and maintenance have been prioritised.
Clearly, some of the biggest areas of growth in the job market in the next few years, are going to be in the fields of engineering, science, information technology and accountancy.
Just last month an article in the Business Day stated that "Sasol cannot find the mechanics, welders and riggers it needs among South Africa's 4.6 million unemployed workers as the country's biggest firm alters its refineries to meet government demands to phase out leaded fuel…". This amounts to about 2,000 qualified artisans.
A well-known economist Prof Iraj Abedian estimates that South Africa, right now, has as many as half-a-million vacant posts for computer technicians, financial managers, artisans and other professionals!
Experts estimate that our country needs to produce at least 13,000 engineers each year in order to cope with the expected economic development boom in the next few years. Yet, last year the Engineering Council of SA registered just over 3,000 engineers.
The subjects of maths and science are important for entry to university to study engineering, sciences and accountancy. But just last year, in the whole of the country only five percent of almost 500,000 candidates passed maths on the higher grade.
In the Western Cape alone, of the 4,268 Maths Higher Grade Candidates, only 1,478 are non-white. Even worse, only 305 African learners passed Maths Higher Grade.
One of the main reasons for this, analysts and experts say, is a shortcoming on the part of our education system. The shortage of skills can be traced back to apartheid education minister Hendrik Verwoerd's policy, that "there was no place for blacks outside the reserves above the level of certain forms of labour".
He wanted to know: "… what is the use of teaching a Bantu child mathematics when he cannot use it in practice? Education must train and teach people in accordance with their opportunities in life."
And therefor, ladies and gentlemen, the levels of numeracy and literacy among our learners in all grades, and the performance of our schools in mathematics and science, are important indicators of our reversal of, and liberation from, the legacies of apartheid in education.
Hence the subjects of mathematics and sciences will be critical to the implementation of FET in schools and colleges. It will be compulsory for all learners to take mathematical literacy as a subject from next year.
Already, the department has initiated various interventions in previous years to improve learner performance in numeracy, maths, science and technology. This includes teacher training, developing support materials, regular diagnostic testing and special interventions.
In addition, as part of our April delivery targets, we need to have allocated at least 80 bursaries to maths and science teachers. So therefor I am confident that we have laid a sound foundation for good and excellent performances.
The further good news yesterday by Minister Brown that R394.3m would be set aside to improve the flow of pupils through the FET programme with better courses and facilities, is a timely and welcomed intervention.
The fact that she allocated R20.3bn in total for education over the next three years, which accounts for one-third of the budget, is a bold investment in the people and especially the children and youth of this province. It is further proof of this government's commitment to the people of this province.
Transformation in education is about striking a balance between such imperatives as social development and citizenship on the one hand; and economic and employment objectives on the other hand.
I cannot enough stress the need for programmes and curricula of a high quality that are responsive to the skills and social development needs of our province, our country and indeed our African continent.
One of the ways in which we believe we can achieve these goals, is through relevant programmes and the innovative utilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Through the Dassie project, our colleges will be able to:
- improve education didactics for workshop-based training,
- benefit from connectivity infrastructure for broader application, for example multi-campus administration and management,
- provide more learners, young and adults, in the Western Cape with access to skills training at FET Colleges,
- deliver better and relevant education and training programmes in order to give learners "real life" skills,
- capacitate learners to gain access to career opportunities, and
- provide learners with skills and competencies required by commerce and industry.
By following a "blended learning" approach, many of the challenges can be addressed, especially those of relevance and access. "Blended learning" is a combination of various learning methodologies such as on-line, classroom, e-learning, group interaction, distance learning, etc. Hence, Project Dassie!
Project Dassie was launched in December 2000 as a WCED research project, in partnership with, among others SAP AG, e-Learning companies in Germany and the German Government's Technical Co-operation Agency (GTZ).
Due to the potential benefits of such an initiative it was decided to refocus Dassie in order to "mainstream" blended learning as a mode of delivery, and to increase access to vocational and technical training at all FET institutions in the Western Cape.
Thus Project Dassie was officially re-launched in 2003 with its primary objective to increase the number of students with 10% by year 2007 at Public Further Education and Training Colleges - formerly known as technical colleges.
An additional objective is to enhance learning and training, taking international global trends into account. So, what does Dassie look like?
Within the scope of Dassie a number of key projects come to the fore, such as Technology Infrastructure; Curriculum Development; Transformation, Change Management and Marketing; Business Models; and Community Involvement and Development.
With our Technology Infrastructure project, we intend to:
- Procure, install and commission an integrated Learner Management System (LMS), shared by all FET colleges;
- Refine, institutionalise and maintain the Wide Area Network (WAN), linking 39 colleges; and
- Establish learning centres at colleges and industry sites.
With our Curriculum Development project, key programmes to be developed and implemented are:
- A Generic Business Administration Programme (Level 4)
- An Electrical Engineering Learnership (Level 4)
- Community Development Practitioner Programme (Level 4)
- An Educator Skills Development Programme
- HIV/AIDS Programme for Learner Support
With regards to HIV/Aids, ladies and gentlemen, this pandemic is potentially so huge, that it could take years and years to undo the damage done to our future generations.
At the moment, about 1 in 4 people in South Africa, aged 14 and 49, are HIV positive; 16 million are younger than 15; and without effective prevention, 40 - 50% of this group is likely to become infected in the course of their lives.
Reviews of sexuality education programmes internationally show that open communication about sex and sexuality promotes less risky behaviour, and helps reduce teenage pregnancy, STI's and HIV. Therefor this Learner Support Programme can make a valuable contribution in empowering our young people to make informed choices.
In respect of our Transformation, Change Management and Marketing project, we intend to:
- Build capacity amongst our educators and administrators for innovative utilisation of ICT in learning delivery;
- Create awareness amongst stakeholders, it is our communities, learners, industry, commerce and public sector; and
- Promote and market programmes to learners and industry for increased enrolment
Our Business Model project should:
- Develop Business Models for colleges to sustain and manage blended learning; and
- Build capacity for efficient, effective and economical delivery of blended learning.
With our Community Involvement and Development project, we intend to:
- Establish Open Learning Centres within disadavantaged communities;
- Provide career guidance;
- Support learners through the Ikapa loan schemes; and
- Implement a learner tracking and placement system.
The iKapa Elihlumayo Financial Aid plan already benefited almost 4,000 learners since its inception in 2004. Furthermore, learners are supported throughout the learning process with activities such as course selection support, career guidance, mentoring, monitoring of achievement and enhancement of learning skills.
Through iKapa Elihlumayo, the development of new programmes with e-learning components will be facilitated, where applicable. Learning and learner support will be brought to the disadvantaged communities through the establishment of Open Learning Centres.
I am therefor confident that the Dassie initiative will succeed and that it can make a significant contribution in realising our vision and objectives.
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. This Dassie project, which seeks to strengthen the FET Sector, makes a critical contribution to the overall objectives of the Education Foundation.
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.
We must take learning out of the old classroom and into the real world, for example by developing learning centres at employer sites where learning can take place.
If indeed we are going to Grow and Share the Cape as a Home for All, we need your contribution to the Dassie Project, by making available resources, finance, expertise and goodwill to realise this vision.
This project will add significant value to the Further Education and Training College Sector by meeting the needs of all stakeholders - industry, commerce, the public sector and the learners themselves.
It is for these reasons that we are approaching you, as key stakeholders and likely beneficiaries of the outputs of this initiative, for support. In order to determine the exact nature of support required, my colleagues in the department will be in touch with you soon to arrange for an appropriate occasion to discuss this initiative in more detail with you.
I have no doubt we can rely on your support. The fact that you have accepted my invitation to this event, already is a clear indication of your commitment to this country.
Thank You Very Much
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
