The President has called on all of us to "move faster to address challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation confronting those caught within the Second Economy, to ensure that the poor in our country share in our growing prosperity..."
In order to achieve just that, Government has announced its Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative. AsgiSA has two key components, namely a R370-billion drive to invest in public infrastructure and a concerted effort to acquire the skills the economy needs.
Under the leadership of our Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Government has introduced a high-level task team - the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) - which is tasked with identifying urgent skills needs and advise on ways to respond to these challenges.
Our Premier, Ebrahim Rasool said we must make the Western Cape a Home for All. We have an economic development blueprint to arrive at this vision - Ikapa Elihlumayo - to grow and share the Cape.
Ikapa Elihlumayo has eight lead strategies, namely, to develop human capital, social capital, micro-economic development, strategic infrastructure, communication, financial governance and greater interdepartmental coordination. As WCED we have been tasked as the lead department responsible for developing human capital in the Western Cape.
Our mission with our Human Capital Development Strategy is to provide our youth with relevant skills, knowledge, values and attitudes they need to participate meaningfully in the mainstream economy, and be internationally competitive.
There are four key strands to this strategy, which are:
- improving the conditions of education;
- improving the educational environment;
- improving the quality of education; and
- creating opportunities for skills and qualifications acquisition.
We have made great strides in the reconstruction of our education system since 1994. We have achieved the UN Millennium Development goal of universal enrolment for primary schooling; we have successfully united 19 different education departments; we have increased the number of successful black and women graduates; and the transformation process of our curriculum development is reaching stability and maturity.
Whilst we are proud of our achievements, we are also the first to acknowledge the continuing challenges, especially in respect of equity and redress; the drop-out rates (50%); the levels of literacy and numeracy; the performance of our learners in the subjects of maths and science; school safety - the list goes on.
As you know, our country has been awarded the rights to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup. This has massive implications in terms of infrastructural investment and job opportunities.
Experts and economists predict that in the run-up to 2010, we are going to have to produce at least 13,000 engineers per annum to cope with the expected economic development boom. However our local engineering council is registering just above 3,000 per annum.
Earlier this year, a major oil company, Sasol, had to import about two-thousand engineers to refurbish their plants. At this moment, there is about half-a-million vacancies in the industries of information technology, accountancy, and communications. In a country with a huge unemployment figure, it is clear that our education system has a fundamental role to play in addressing the skills gap.
Our school principals, both in South Africa, in your country, and indeed all over the world, face a myriad of complex challenges. Not only do our principals have to ensure the effective delivery of the curriculum in the classroom, but they also have to look after the social well-being of children, and at the same time ensure that every teacher has his basic needs. In essence our principals are managing large, complex and challenging institutions.
Last year, besides the fact that I was awarded an Honourary Fellowship by the Institute of Administrative Management in London, I have gotten a real sense of the positive impact the concept of School Business Management (SBM) had on the confidence of those who participated in the various courses and programmes.
The concept of the school business manager as a dedicated individual who is able to manage human resource, budget, infrastructure and provisioning issues at school can add massive value to a school community and enhance learning.
From the experiences of schools principals, or head teachers as they are called in the UK, it is clear that school business managers had been a fantastic investment for education in that country.
It has transferred skills in a real way, giving new opportunities and confidence to thousands of administrators and school secretaries, whose value is not often recognized and appreciated.
I am sure that kind of investment in the human capital of a country will be felt for decades to come. Without exception head teachers, which in our case are school principals, whom we met and spoke to, all agreed that the managers added considerable value, and have brought greater efficiency in the running of their schools.
The role of the school managers has allowed the principal to concentrate on his core function, which is the delivery of the curriculum and enhancing academic performance.
The school business managers we met in the schools we visited, spoke of a new lease on life, a new confidence and a passion for making a real difference in their schools.
Many of the school business managers, who were once receptionists, secretaries or administrators, are now integrated into school management teams, which is a very positive development.
I think that what we are now doing is taking this process forward, which is a necessary intervention aimed at upskilling the administrative staff at schools to enable them to progress at school level as well as at Head Office, the EMDC, other departments and the private sector.
The need for this SBM module is to equip candidates with the framework that will enable them to efficiently and effectively administer and manage the school operations and resources for a safe learning environment.
There is definitely a need for the upskilling of the staff to negate the possibility of mismanagement of school funds by staff due to the lack of the necessary skills.
In this regard reference can be made to the fact that for the period 2000/2001 to date a total of 240 cases of forensic audits were conducted at schools with regard to alleged mismanagement of school funds.
The development of the certificate course in School Business Management will take approximately one year to finalise. The content will consist of: Financial Management; Human Resource Management; Risk Management; Facilities Management; and General and Office Administration.
The final course specifications/qualification will have to be registered with SAQA and ratification by the appropriate Standards Generating Body (SGB). Therefor, the roll-out of the certificate course will probably be as from January 2008.
To enable all staff at schools to qualify for entry into the certificate course, which has an entry level of grade 12, current employees will be assessed according to their qualifications and prior learning experience.
Those who do not possess the necessary qualifications and experience will have to attend a bridging course to provide them entry into the certificate course.
The bridging course is intended to upskill targeted persons and/or reskill targeted persons. The course will consist of short courses and skills programmes according to the outcomes of the screening process.
It is the intention of the WCED to start with the bridging course in mid-2007 and a total of 200 staff members will be selected through a screening process.
I would like, for every parent to be comfortable to send his or her child to the nearest public school, within walking distance, confident in the knowledge that his or her child will acquire sound values, attitudes, knowledge and skills, in a safe environment, and is able to compete with any learner in any school anywhere in the province, in the country and indeed in the whole world.
I have learnt from my visit to the UK that 80% of successful schools have good leadership. It is these schools that are better placed to deliver the curriculum and better placed to prepare our learners for life and the world of work.
It is of utmost importance that the necessary skills are developed and mastered, in order to manage the funds and resources of our public schools more effectively, efficiently and economically.
This initiative fits in perfectly with the aims and objectives identified by the national strategy document A Nation at Work for a Better Life for All. This is also exactly what our Human Capital Development Strategy envisages.
Some South Africans wonder if we have the capacity to host the World Cup 2010. If only they realised that the world has enough confidence in our ability. The world and FIFA in particular did not take this decision in blind faith. They made this decision because they have hope in South Africa, they have hope for Africa.
Through the types of partnerships that we are developing now, we celebrate opportunity, we celebrate the spirit of international solidarity and sound investment in human capital.
I am convinced that this relationship will grow stronger by the day, ultimately leading to greater equity, redress and access to quality education for all our learners in the province.
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
