Michael Maas, Chief Executive of Artscape
Marlene Le Roux, Director of Audience Development & Education
Michael de Beer, Project Manager of the Schools Arts Festival 2006
Curriculum and Subject Advisors of the WCED
Representatives of the various sponsors
Principals, teachers and parents
And above all, I want to greet all our performers
I am sure that tonight must really be a very proud moment for both the parents, the organisers, the teachers and the learners, when this month-long cultural festival of dance, song, writing, chorals and drama will culminate in showcasing the best schools' performances from among 85 items delivered by 65 schools, performed by over 2,500 learners.
I am looking forward to the display of the talents of our young people. So Artscape, thanks very much, once again, for inviting me to this occasion, to share this occasion with you.
Our Premier Ebrahim Rasool says we must build the Western Cape into a Home for All. Seeing all of you here, from such a wide variety of our schools, is exactly what we mean by a Home for All.
A Home in which all our learners - irrespective from which school they come from and the socio-economic background of the school community - can express themselves in their most innocent ways. By singing and dancing together, we are actively building this Home.
I am saddened when I hear of incidents of violence, behavioural problems, ill-discipline and late-coming among our learners. Often some of these things overwhelm the unknown and hidden stars within our schools.
Earlier this year, nineteen schools from the Western Cape participated in the annual National Championships of the South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod, formerly known as the Tirisano Schools Choral Eisteddfod.
It was held in Randburg during June/July, and is the biggest musical event for schools organized by the Department of Education. The event formed part of the celebrations of national events of historical significance.
School choirs and soloists from all nine provinces took the stage to compete in thirty-one categories of the Eisteddfod. The categories included solo performances, small ensembles and choral items. The event was attended by the national Minister of Education, Ms Naledi Pandor and several of my other counterparts.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to say that the Western Cape schools excelled in both the primary and secondary sections of the competition and were the champions in five categories; obtained six second positions; and five third positions.
Music plays such a key role in developing our learners intellectually, emotionally and spiritually, and to improving the quality of life in society. Music also contributes to education and society in general in lots of ways.
It allows us to celebrate; it allows us to rejoice; it unites us; it makes us aware of important social issues, such as HIV-Aids. So it has an important role to play in promoting awareness and changing the attitudes of our learners.
By now I am sure you are well aware of our Provincial Government's strategy to "grow and share the Cape" - Ikapa Elihlumayo - of which our Human Capital Development Strategy is a cornerstone.
Music and the arts in education have an important role to play in providing our learners not only with the necessary skills and knowledge, but also with healthy value systems and sound attitudes towards life.
Through our Human Capital Development Strategy, we want to ensure that many more learners acquire knowledge and practical skills to contribute to growing our economy.
For this reason the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has establish Arts and Culture Focus Schools in every EMDC to ensure access in these fields for all communities.
I am fully committed to developing the talents of all our learners. Arts and Culture is one of the learning areas in the National Curriculum Statement, for both the General and Further Education and Training bands, which allows us to do that.
The arts is now firmly part of the mainstream of education, which is a highly significant development. Our challenge now is how to make the most of this opportunity, to transform and expand education in the arts.
I have, in my mind, a vision and some sort of plan about how I see our music in education strategy evolve, based on six key pillars. First of all, we already have three existing music centres, which I think needs to be strengthened.
The Beau Soleil, Hugo Lamprecht and Frank Pietersen music centres all have proud histories, and they have produced some of the finest musicians in South Africa. Some of them have performed with orchestras throughout the world.
Secondly; the WCED has thirty-nine dance posts allocated to the Curriculum Development Directorate. The posts are allocated annually across all EMDC regions.
These posts form a learning pathway for learners who have an interest or talent in dance and to prepare them for selecting Dance Studies as a subject in FET (Grades 10 - 12).
Unfortunately, we do experience a shortage of qualified dance teachers and arts and culture teachers and there are many career opportunities in the workplace for learners with a good dance background.
Schools have to apply annually to be allocated a dance teacher. Currently posts are shared between primary schools to allow as many learners as possible to benefit from this special privilege.
High Schools, however, receive a full-time post so that the dance teachers can prepare the Grade 8 and 9 learners in a Dance Specific Learning Pathway in Arts and Culture, to prepare them for taking dance as a subject from Grades 10 - 12.
I do however think, that our strategy must look at the possible employment of more itinerant music teachers at EMDC level, to move to various schools.
A third pillar of my strategy would be that we must strengthen our support for our nine Arts and Culture Focus Schools, making sure that the music learning area is linked to economic opportunity.
Our music centres and focus schools also make it possible for schools to outsource music training where they may not have the resources to provide this training themselves.
Fourthly; all our high schools now have computer labs. I want to suggest that we look at installing appropriate music software, to provide our learners with digital composition and editing skills.
Fiftly; I think we need some sort of an Institute for Contemporary Music, linked with one of our FET colleges in Cape Town, with perhaps a second one in the rural areas, perhaps in George, linked with the Southern Cape College.
Judging from the various comments from teachers, it is clear to me that this year's School Arts Festival is a huge success, and continues to grow from strength to strength. I just want to share some of the quotes from the brochure produced by Artscape, which I think captures the essence of everything we value in this.
Teacher Eric Steyn from Belhar Primary School says as a focus school, they now have access to sound equipment and a studio. "Most of the learners hope to continue and become professionals and a programme like Artscape's festival is the perfect stepping stone".
Teachers Kelly Shikwambana & Pamela Mtati from the CDW Dance Project in Athlone have participated in this festival over the past three years. "The Schools Arts Festival is a huge adventure for our pupils. These pupils come from squatter camps and totally disadvantaged backgrounds. Just being able to perform is seen as a blessing, an important opportunity to showcase their talent."
Nicely Gogi from the Diazville Primary School in Saldanha Bay says although their group has been performing together for almost five years now, this was their first experience at the Schools Arts Festival. "We all felt a sense of empowerment, equality and freedom at having the opportunity to perform in a professional setting."
And then lastly, Bianca Baxter of Bianca's School of Ballet in Wellington says: "The pupils are highly motivated by the Schools Arts Festival. They perform regularly at concerts and shows, but the students all agree that this festival is a completely different experience for them. It makes us feel like professionals and inspires us".
I must say, that even though our schools have access to resources in varying degrees, judging by the comments from some of the participants, I am extremely proud of the work done by all of the instructors, teachers and those who give support.
Thank you to Michael Maas, Marlene Le Roux and Michael de Beer, the team at Artscape who, I'm sure, must be pretty tired but pleased. A big thank you too to our sponsors, who continue to support our endeavours to realise the full potential of our learners in the arts.
To the learners who are performing tonight, I want to say to you: you provide hope for many learners and teachers, as well as communities who struggle with the challenges of poverty and crime every day. You are showing them a way out.
To all the parents who may not always have enough money to give; the teachers who are putting in long hours; the learners who are willing to sacrifice; THANK YOU for making all of us proud - you are a true example to the rest of the Western Cape and South Africa.
I thank you.
For enquiries:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Email: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za
