Chairperson, thank you for facilitating this because I understand it was the wish of the Whips and arrangements committee. These two Bills are necessary. They are not housekeeping Bills, they are important policy Bills that enable us to get to where we want to go. Therefore, these Bills are both necessary and implementable.
The first Bill refers to the fact that adults pursuing studies, as well as children and youths, in schools and colleges, will be positively affected by the provisions of these pieces of legislation, if they are approved by this House. I hope that the members' principals in the provincial legislatures have mandated them to support the Bills in the interests of these learners. They are, of course, part of the general and further education bands, apart from the normal general education bands which we have looked at before.
In the first instance I had to introduce the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill, the Abet Bill. There is a saying that a country that does not invest in its children has no future. Likewise, a nation that does not invest in its adults faces the continuing spectre of poverty, stagnation and hopelessness that haunts us in South Africa. We saw this before 1994 when the previous regime and the private sector made little or no investment in the education of the adult population.
Therefore, let me elaborate on the challenges facing a section of our 24 million adult compatriots. First of all, 3,2 million adults have never entered a learning institution because there was no compulsory education for Africans until the democratic Government, in 1994, introduced a Bill that became part of the law in 1996. So we are only talking about four years of compulsory education for all our population. They are effectively illiterate, with the written words of our Constitution, legislation and policy papers remaining mere worthless symbols with little meaning to them.
Secondly, 9,4 million adults have not completed the equivalent of nine years of school, which renders them functionally illiterate, mostly unemployed and leading survivalist and undignified lives on the very margins of our society. They are virtually invisible to those who chatter at dinner times and those who sit in our shebeens. Many have ended up in prison. More than 60% of those who ended up in prison - I visited them on the Abet programme at Pollsmoor - are between 19 and 24. Even in these circumstances, as I found, prisoners are anxious to learn in order to get out of their dire situations. A little later I will say how we, as public representatives, can do something to help these people.
Thirdly, the participation rate at our 2 226 Adult Basic Education and Training centres stands at less than 300 000, at 294 000, with only one in three adult learners getting basic education and training. We now have a consolidated list of the Adult Basic Education and Training centres, which I will place in the library because we published it only recently. This suggests that we are not as clever, innovative or sharp as we could be in social mobilisation and recruitment, because without social mobilisation we cannot do anything here.
Given the new realities of the global economy, the low skills profile of our people is jeopardising our economic prospects and is stifling the new energies we need to reconstruct and develop our country, and to provide for the basic needs of our people. There are also dramatic implications for the employability of many of our citizens, especially if one factors in the technological illiteracy among even those who are otherwise quite literate. Of course, I am not suggesting that Government, acting on its own, can create demand for skills and jobs, although through its economic development and empowerment initiatives it will provide the learning and earning connection for the development of key skills and the creation of jobs.
It is only when it acts together with all its social partners, and I say this very seriously, that Government can successfully meet the skills development and employment creation challenge. So, I am confident that the recently appointed national board for adult basic education and training and similar provincial advisory bodies will enable Government to work successfully alongside its social partners to identify priorities and relevant programmes.
The Bill also recognises that collaboration on human resource development between the Ministries of Education and Labour, in particular the Skills Development Act of the Ministry of Labour, is essential for comprehensive human resource development, with adult basic education and training featuring strongly. In the next few days our two departments and the Ministries will be making a very important announcement on joint collaboration in this area.
Faced with this situation, the Department of Education in 1998 embarked on a five-year plan to develop structures, systems and the capacity of the public adult learning centres to respond to the challenges of adult illiteracy and upscale provision in these centres to a mass level of 2,5 million by 2001. I think that is a very optimistic approach, but we need a high degree of optimism here, while our mind may tell us that it may not be possible always to meet this target everywhere in South Africa.
The first objective has seen us, therefore, with the provincial departments of education, achieve our objectives of relatively small increases in learner enrolments, the development of the curriculum framework and unit standards within the National Qualifications Framework, which is a particularly South African progressive measure, that will provide linkages to further education and training and on-the-job training, the introduction of learner support materials, enhancing practitioner standards, and establishing providers and transforming them into a network of adult learning centres. On the second objective we are already gathering momentum.
I have identified, as the House knows, the absolute need to break the back of illiteracy, as a priority. We all know what illiteracy does. It disempowers people, not for the global revolution, but for technology. It diminishes them as human beings - we know that - and now we must seek to accelerate the work of fighting illiteracy through collaboration with all spheres of our society.
Let me make a special appeal to public representatives. For this reason, I have recently established the SA National Literacy Initiative with its board of advisers and agency - a nonbureaucratic, very creative body with, we hope, the expedience to do things rapidly on the ground. The National Literacy Initiative, which has representatives of all political parties, must succeed, and, towards this end, we call upon our people and organisations to offer national community service, particularly those who have the capacity, not the young people only, for the next five years, as we mobilise and jointly provide education and training to our target of 3,5 million adults. I said I would make an appeal to hon members. Next year is the Year of the Reader, again an initiative with NGOs, and we hope to make it a very exciting thing, to bring the book to our people. I went to Pollsmoor Prison, and saw that there are no books there. So I have given them 200 or 300 of my own, for they have no library resources.
I ask hon members to mobilise public representatives to donate books at 120 Plein Street - we are prepared to have thousands of books there to send to prisons. Of course, as we know, in 60% of South African schools there are no libraries at all. So I make this appeal to hon members, not for their rubbish books, not for their textbooks, but for books that would be relevant to our people.
The Adult Basic Education and Training Bill therefore provides the legislative framework to advance our constitutional obligations set out in section 29(1)(a) of the Constitution - recognising every person's right to adult basic education and training.
The Bill provides for the establishment of public learning centres and for the registration of private adult learning centres. It focuses on the quality of education and governance at these centres.
It does many other things. There is a five-year programme. It also obliges a head of department of a province to provide facilities for public adult learning centres to perform their functions. We should not have the authority there. If there are no facilities available, then the governing body of a public school or a further education and training institution must allow the reasonable use of the facilities by the adult centres.
We are getting rid of this idea that the principal and the governing body own the school. Schools are national assets, and the provincial head can, in fact, intervene there. Over 29 000 public schools and many technical colleges already provide ready facilities. They make use of these functions. There must a governing body for the adult basic education and training centres, and they can co-opt people without voting rights.
The Bill therefore provides for adult basic education and training to be funded in terms of norms and standards to be determined by the Minister of Education, in terms of the National Education Policy Act, from funds appropriated for this purpose by the provincial legislatures. Many of the provinces have made a modest start in that.
I call upon the NCOP to send a clear message to our country, that the era of cheap and unskilled labour, of a lifetime of low-skill occupations, of poor-quality curricula and qualifications by public and private providers, will be replaced by lifelong learning of high-performance, high-quality, relevant curricula and qualifications which will offer new pathways to higher education, particularly taking into account previous experience. For the first time in our country, we can draw on that quality of experience that many of our people have without any formal qualifications.
Quickly now I turn to the Education Laws Amendment Bill. We seek to amend three pieces of legislation: the South African Qualifications Authority Act, the South African Schools Act and the Employment of Educators Act.
The amendments to the South African Qualifications Act are technical, and recognise a change in the organisation of teachers since the inception of the Act and that there are now three teacher organisations rather than two, so that they are all represented on the board.
The changes to other laws are central to the governance and management of public schools. The South African Schools Act is significantly strengthened by the power of the Minister to make regulations regarding school safety measures, and any other aspects in pursuit of the primary objectives of the Act.
I have already declared schools and higher education institutions to be gun- free institutions. Now we must, in fact, ensure that communities are involved in providing safety and security. The schools must become centres of community life, and the safety of the schools is enormously important. Then, of course, the heart of this is changes to employment legislation to be able to deal more effectively with incapacity among teachers.
The President awarded prizes last Thursday as part of the National Teacher Awards, in a variety of categories. One of them was for lifetime service. I am sorry that all hon members could not be there. It was a very moving experience to have in the five categories teachers from all over South Africa, predominantly women, I should say, who gave their own two-minute statement about what it means to be a teacher, and why they want to be teachers.
The recognition came with money awards to the schools, not the teachers - one of the most moving experiences that I have had as the Minister of Education. We want to build on that to ensure that good teachers are recognised and that those who need assistance, particularly those who fail in their tasks, are given proper assistance because of their incapacity. I draw hon members' attention to incapacity in the Bill.
More important, also, is the fact that many teachers do not perform because of inadequate initial training and subsequent development, or simply a refusal to make the effort to be retrained. A procedure is laid down for poor performance by teachers.
Again I think it is a kind of first that we are involved in here. It is very important that we should do this gradually with the agreement, I must say, of the teachers' unions. Unless we have the agreement of teachers' unions, we will, in fact, not be able to enforce it as effectively as we should. On the other hand, these are professional matters, and Parliament, ultimately, must have the last word on that.
Finally, where the poor performance is the result of ill health or inadequate training, we are bound to support the developmental approach. The important thing is not to say, ``Kick them out!'' because there are human failures arising from our past. We must have a developmental approach.
Of course, we end by saying that where teachers seriously undermine the foundations of our education system, then the law must be strict and straightforward. Undermining the educational system includes theft, bribery and fraud relating to examinations. I must say that the examinations are about to end, and we have had one case of maladministration and corruption in the past year. That is a remarkable thing. When we talk about the size of the country and the millions of people involved in the process, it is a remarkable victory for good sense, ethics and morality.
Regarding sexual assaults on learners, I beg to say that, according to the Medical Research Council, 33% of the abuse of children under the age of 15 is against girls and committed by teachers. It is one of the most regrettable things to happen in our country - recently the Medical Research Council said that. Of course, the Act now makes it a serious form of misconduct.
Others are assault in general, ordinary sexual relations with learners - as if one can have ordinary sexual relations with learners when one is in loco parentis; and one should not abuse that authority - possession of intoxicating or - I like this - stupefying substances. These will result in dismissal. They are serious offences and there must be dismissal. Of course, there will be a hearing where the information is put forward, but the hearing will be short, deliberate, fair and constitutional - and, for these offences, there must be dismissal.
A stringent approach has to be adopted to restore the moral order of our education system, and in this way we might even begin to restore the moral order for all the people of our country. A list of other offences is included in that, including unfair discrimination and financial mismanagement.
The fact is that we now also allow for delegation of these powers. Up to now the provincial head of the department has been taking disciplinary measures, and members know how difficult it is to do that. We now allow for the delegation of powers to the principal at a lower level of the system. The principal is empowered to counsel, to educate and then to issue verbal or written warnings. Only when the nature of the offence is sufficiently dangerous, the hearing must be held within 10 days, because, in fact, the community's sense of rightness is violated if a serious offence takes place and no hearing is held for six, nine or up to 15 months, as was the case in the past.
We cannot allow undisciplined educators to linger in our system. They are protected by weak procedures and ineffective administrations. We appeal to all our communities to take action, but we must therefore make sure that our procedures are open, fair and without victimisation.
Can I end by saying that a class without a teacher is a terrible thing, but a class with a morally corrupt teacher is much worse. I recently received a badge which read: ``If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.'' Members can see it in my room. I have no dispute with this sentiment, but I would add a rider: that the social costs of re-education and rehabilitation of the miseducated are greater still. The moral regeneration of our society starts, really, not in Parliament, but in our classrooms, and teachers must be the leaders in this campaign by setting our best example. The Bill and the earlier Bill are both positive steps towards this, and I call upon this House's support. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, special delegates, colleagues, let me take this opportunity to say thank you to the committee for considering the Bills, and also playing a very profitable role in finalising our work for this year. Maybe before I say anything else I should indicate to the House that the committee met on 10 October at 2 o'clock and we looked at the Education Laws Amendment Bill. As members of the committee, we agreed to the Bill without amendment. We then looked at the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill, which we also considered carefully. In that one we agreed to accept the Bill with an amendment, and it was a very small amendment that we made. We were then very satisfied that we had played our role, and I want to thank everybody who contributed to that effect.
Allow me, just for a few minutes, to echo the words of the Minister. According to our Constitution, education at all levels, with the exception of tertiary education, is a functional area of concurrent national and provincial legislative competence. As such, provinces have an important role to play in ensuring that the right to primary and secondary education, as well as adult basic education, is enjoyed by all people living within the geographical boundaries of our provinces. Whereas it is the responsibility of the national Government to make money and resources available and to ensure uniform educational norms and standards across provincial boundaries, it is the responsibility of provinces to ensure that the money and resources are equitably applied in a way that adheres to the national norms and standards.
The provision of adult basic education in particular is central to the economic and social development of our provinces. This is because of the direct link between the levels of unemployment and poverty in the provinces and the level of education of our people living in those provinces. Since adult basic education is so important to our continued development both as individuals living in the provinces and as a nation, it is essential that the provinces and national Government work together to extend the provision of adult basic education and training to all those who need it, and this has just been affirmed by the Minister.
In fact our Constitution enjoins us to work together by fostering friendly relations and assisting and supporting one another and to consult one another on matters of common interest, especially in critical areas such as education. The passage of the Education Laws Amendment Bill and the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill through Parliament is a practical demonstration of the implementation of the principles of working together on a matter of common interest. As a different level of government we are able to co-operate in a manner which enables us to pass a final product which carries the blessing of the overwhelming majority of our provinces.
Through the NCOP processes provinces have been able to make input in the Education Laws Amendment Bill and the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill which addresses some of the difficulties they had with this Bill.
The national Government has already taken far-reaching policy and legislative measures which lay the foundation for addressing adult education, illiteracy and training. These include the establishment of a national qualifications framework and the SA Qualifications Authority as well as the enactment of the Skills Development Act and the Employment Equity Act.
It is the responsibility of the provinces to ensure that we build on this foundation and discharge the constitutional obligation of ensuring that the right to education no longer remains in the domain of the abstract, but becomes a concrete reality. With these few words I would like to end off here and wish all members a merry Christmas. [Applause.]
Mnr die Voorsitter, agb Minister en agb lede van die Huis, ongeletterdheid kan beskou word as 'n erge vorm van gestremdheid. Dit vernietig nie alleen 'n mens se menswaardigheid nie, dit ontneem jou ook die genot van alledaagse lewensgenietinge. 'n Ongeletterde ouer sal nooit die pragtige woorde in 'n verjaardagkaartjie kan lees nie. So 'n ouer sal ook nooit self die uitdrukking van verlange in 'n brief van 'n kind wat ver van die huis af is, kan lees nie. 'n Huisvrou wat nie kan lees of skryf nie, sal dit moeilik vind om inkopies te doen, want behalwe dat sy nie pryse sal kan vergelyk nie, sal sy nooit met sekerheid kan weet wat haar kruideniersware regtig gekos het nie. Vir menige jong man sal die begeerte om 'n rybewys te bekom net 'n ydele droom bly, en eenvoudige dinge soos om 'n telefoon te gebruik kan in 'n nagmerrie ontaard vir diegene wat nooit skoolopleiding gehad het nie.
Hierdie tipe gestremdheid waaraan miljoene Suid-Afrikaners ly, veroorsaak ook ander maatskaplike probleme. Vrees vir die onbekende raak later vrees vir die alledaagse in die gemoedere van die ongeletterdes, veral in die tegnologiese eeu waarin ons vandag leef. Die onvermo, as gevolg van hierdie tipe gestremdheid, om uitdagings aan te pak laat hulle soms heeltemal wegraak langs die lewenspad. Hierdie wetsontwerp is 'n meganisme wat geskep word waardeur hulle 'n kans op basiese onderwys kry. Dit sal die erns van elke provinsie moet wees om gestalte te gee aan die wetsontwerp.
Dit gaan hier oor die mees basiese behoeftes van elke mens om te lees, te skryf en te reken. Sonder hierdie drie lewensbelangrike vaardighede is elke mens net 'n halwe wese. Suid-Afrika as 'n geheel kan net baat as ons ons geletterdheidspeil verhoog, en daarmee saam ons mense se moraal verbeter.
Die Nuwe NP steun die wetsontwerp oor basiese onderwys en opleiding vir volwassenes, en daarmee saam ook die wysigingswetsontwerp met betrekking tot die onderwyswette. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mrs J WITBOOI: Mr Chairperson, hon Minister and hon members of the House, illiteracy can be viewed as an extreme form of disability. Not only does it destroy one's human dignity, but it also deprives one of the pleasure of everyday enjoyment.
An illiterate parent will never be able to read the beautiful words in a birthday card. Neither will such a parent ever be able to read the expression of longing in a letter from a child far from home. A housewife who cannot read or write will find it very difficult to do shopping because, apart from the fact that she cannot compare prices, she will never be able to know with certainty what her groceries really cost. To many a young man the desire to have a driver's licence will remain an idle dream, and simple things such as using a telephone can become a nightmare for those who have never had school education.
This type of disability, from which millions of South Africans suffer, also creates other social problems. Fear of the unknown later becomes fear of the everyday in the minds of the illiterate, especially in the technological era in which we live today. The inability, because of this type of disability, to address challenges sometimes causes them to be left completely stranded along the road of life. This Bill is a mechanism which is being created to give these people the chance to acquire a basic education. Each province will have to make a serious effort to give effect to this Bill.
This relates to the most basic needs of every person to read, to write and to calculate. Without these three essential skills one is only half a person. South Africa as a whole can only benefit if we increase our literacy level, and at the same time improve the morality of our people.
The New NP supports the Bill on basic education and training for adults, and with it the amending Bill as regards the education laws. [Applause.]]
Mnr A J WILLIAMS (Wes-Kaap): Mnr die Voorsitter, agb Minister, kollegas, dit is vir my aangenaam om bekend te maak dat die provinsie Wes-Kaap beide hierdie twee wette, soos gewysig, steun. Die Wes-Kaapse regering bly verbind tot doeltreffende onderrig, insluitende volwasseneonderrig. Dit geld vir al die inwoners van hierdie provinsie.
Ons is diep bewus dat ongeletterdheid een van die grootste vyande van ons demokrasie is, en daarom is dit een van die prioriteite van premier Gerald Morkel en die Wes-Kaapse regering om met die middele tot hulle beskikking alles in die stryd te werp om seker te maak dat hierdie vyand vernietig word. Wat volwasseneonderrig betref, is daar 'n geneigdheid by sommige individue om die Wes-Kaap in die beskuldigdebank te plaas met beskuldigings dat ons nie voorkeur sal gee aan volwasseneonderrig nie.
Niks is verder van die waarheid verwyder as hierdie beskuldigings nie. Diegene wat sulke beskuldigings maak, gaan beslis nie goed om met die waarheid nie. Om die waarheid te s, volgens inligting tot my beskikking is die Wes-Kaapse onderwysdepartement se program vir volwasseneonderrig een van die mees funksionele in die land.
Die volgende projekte is alreeds aan die gang in die provinsie: daar is tans 133 sentrums vir volwassene-onderrig. 'n Begroting van R15 miljoen word tans gebruik vir volwasseneonderrig. In die Wes-Kaap is daar tans 26 000 volwasse leerders wat hulle geregistreer het, en dan het die Wes-Kaapse onderwysdepartement 'n bestuurstruktuur bestaande uit agt beplanners en nege heeltydse kurrikulumadviseurs in beheer van volwasseneonderwys in die Wes-Kaap.
Volgens inligting wat ek ontvang het, het 8 000 leerders hulle vanjaar vir matriekvakke ingeskryf in die Wes-Kaap, en vanjaar sal 731 van die Wes-Kaap se volwasse leerders vir die eerste keer die openbare Abet vlak 4-eksamen afl. Daar word vir my ges dat daar net twee provinsies in die land is wat tans hierdie program volg, waarvan die Wes-Kaap een is.
As ons kyk na waarmee die Wes-Kaapse onderwysdepartement onder die uiters bekwame leiding van mnr Brian O'Connel, die onderwyshoof, reeds besig is, dan is dit mos geen verrassing nie dat, deur die bekwame amptenare en die gedissiplineerde opvoeders van hierdie provinsie, volwasseneonderrig ook in hierdie provinsie net so 'n sukses kan word soos wat gewone onderrig is.
Dit is dan mos ook geen wonder nie dat premier Gerald Morkel, en sy kabinet, weer eens aangewys is as die administrateurs wat hulle provinsie die beste bestuur. [Applous.] Dit is ook geen verrassing nie dat hulle nie net die provinsie die doeltreffendste en die beste bestuur van al die provinsies in Suid-Afrika nie, maar dat hul dienslewering ook van die beste is in die land. [Applous.] Dit geld nie net op onderwysgebied nie, maar ook op die gebiede van die lewering van behuising, die lewering van gesondheidsdienste en die lewering van maatskaplike dienste.
Gepraat van maatskaplike dienste, die departement belas met maatskaplike dienste en armoedebestryding het juis daardie bekwame LUR, mnr Peter Marais, wat ons binnekort wil inhuldig as die burgemeester van die unistad Kaapstad. [Tussenwerpsels.] [Applous.] Daarom wil ek nie baie van ons kollegas se tyd in beslag neem nie, want daar buitekant l nog 'n paar weke se werk voor wat ons moet gaan afhandel. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Ek wil verder gaan: Dit is mos geen verrassing nie dat gebeur het wat gebeur het met die aanwysing van premier Morkel en sy kabinet, en die Wes- Kaap as die beste provinsie. [Tussenwerpsels.] Binnekort sal ons dit ook kan s van die unistad, naamlik dat die unistad ook die unistad is wat die beste regeer word in Suid-Afrika. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Volwasseneonderrig l die Wes-Kaap baie na aan die hart. Juis omdat ons weet wat armoede beteken, en juis omdat ons weet watter rol ongeletterdheid speel, is dit ons doelwit om ons mense op te hef deur aan hulle daardie onderrig te gee wat hulle nie gehad het nie.
Die laaste paar jaar is ons onderwys byna lamgel deur dispute, en daarom steun ons ook die wysigingswetsontwerp met betrekking tot die onderwyswette. Vir feitlik elke ontevredenheid in die onderwys is daar 'n dispuut aangeteken deur opvoeders. Hierdie aksies het veroorsaak dat kringbestuurders, areabestuurders en onderwysunies feitlik die grootste deel van hulle tyd daaraan bestee het om dispute op te los. Ek glo dat opvoeders die reg moet h om hulle ontevredenheid te lug, maar wel op 'n verantwoordelike wyse wat die opvoeding van ons kinders nie sal bedreig nie.
Ek wil minister Asmal en sy departement gelukwens met alle pogings wat hy in die stryd werp om toe te sien dat ons kinders die onderrig ontvang wat hulle moet kry. Ek het dit al by 'n vorige geleentheid ges, en ek wil weer vir die agb Minister s dat hy soos 'n vars briesie is wat deur die onderwys trek vandat hy die portefeulje oorgeneem het.
Namens die Wes-Kaapse regering wil ek hom en sy departement sterkte toewens met die taak om dissipline in ons onderwys weer te hervestig, want dissipline vorm die grondslag van sukses in die onderwys.
As daar nie dissipline is nie, dan kan daar nie doeltreffende onderwys plaasvind nie, en kan daar nie sukses in die onderwys wees nie. Daarom is dit vir ons in die Wes-Kaap 'n besonder aangename voorreg om hierdie wetsontwerpe ter wille van doeltreffendheid in ons onderwys te steun. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr A J WILLIAMS (Western Cape): Mr Chairman, hon Minister, colleagues, I take pleasure in announcing that the Western Cape province supports both these Bills, as amended. The Western Cape government remains committed to efficient education, including adult education. This goes for all the inhabitants of this province.
We are deeply aware that illiteracy is one of the greatest enemies of our democracy, and that is why it is one of the priorities of Premier Gerald Morkel and the Western Cape government with the means at their disposal to put everything into the effort to ensure that this enemy is annihilated. As far as adult education is concerned, some individuals tend to put the Western Cape in the dock by means of accusations that we do not accord priority to adult education.
Nothing is further from the truth. Those who level such accusations definitely do not go about well with the truth. In fact, according to information at my disposal, the Western Cape education department for adult education is one of the most functional in the country.
The following projects are already in progress in the province: There are at present 133 centres for adult education. A budget of R15 million is at present being used for adult education. In the Western Cape there are at present 26 000 adult learners who are registered, and then the Western Cape education department has a management structure composed of eight planners and nine full-time curriculum advisers who are in control of adult education in the Western Cape.
According to information that I have received, 8 000 learners registered for matric subjects in the Western Cape this year, and this year 731 of the Western Cape's adult learners will take the public Abet level 4 examination. I have been told that there are only two provinces in the country that are at present following this programme, of which the Western Cape is one.
When we look at what the Western Cape education department is already engaged in, under the extremely capable leadership of Mr Brian O'Connel, the chief of education, then it is surely no surprise that adult education in this province, by means of the competent officials and disciplined educators, can become as great a success as ordinary education.
Surely then it is also no wonder that Premier Gerald Morkel and his cabinet have once again been identified as the administrators who run their province best. [Applause.] Nor is it any surprise that they not only manage the most efficient and best of all the provinces of South Africa, but also have service delivery that is of the best in the country. [Applause.] This is relevant not only to the area of education, but also to the areas of the delivery of housing, the delivery of health services and the delivery of social services.
Talking about social services, the department entrusted with social services and poverty alleviation specifically has that competent MEC, Mr Peter Marais, whom we would soon like to inaugurate as the mayor of the Cape Town unicity. [Interjections.] [Applause.] I would therefore not like to take up too much of our colleagues' time, because out there we have a few weeks' worth of work that we have to go and complete. [Interjections.] I would like to proceed. What happened with the selection of Premier Morkel and his cabinet, and the Western Cape province as the best province, is surely no surprise. [Interjections.] We will shortly be able to say the same about the unicity, namely that the unicity is also the unicity that is being governed the best in South Africa. [Interjections.]
Adult education is close to the heart of the Western Cape. Precisely because we know what poverty means, and precisely because we know what role is played by illiteracy, it is our objective to uplift people by providing them with the education that they have not had.
The past few years our education has almost been paralysed by disputes, and that is also why we support the amending Bill relating to education legislation. For virtually each dissatisfaction in education a dispute was declared by educators. These actions caused circuit managers, area managers and teacher unions to spend virtually the majority of their time resolving disputes. I believe that educators have the right to air their grievances, but in fact in a responsible manner, one that would not pose a threat to the education of our children. I want to congratulate Minister Asmal and his department on every effort that he is making to ensure that our children receive the education that they should. I have said on a previous occasion, and I would like to tell the Minister again, he is like a fresh wind blowing through education since he has taken over the portfolio.
On behalf of the Western Cape government I want to wish him and his department every strength with the task of re-establishing discipline in our education, because discipline forms the basis of success in education. If there is no discipline, effective education cannot take place and there can be no success in education. That is why it is an exceptional privilege for us in the Western Cape to support these Bills for the sake of efficiency in our education. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, hon Minister and hon members, I would like to confine my debate to the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill. The concept ``adult basic education'' emanated at the time when Fidel Castro took over Cuba from the Cuban leader Batista. Immediately his rule had begun, Fidel Castro made it a point to stop education in schools for a period of two full years. During that time when schooling was stopped - not education, but schools - the Cubans embarked on a campaign of the education and training of adults. After two years a 92-year old woman was able to read and write, and she was able to read the Bible. So the notion that it is never too late to learn comes a very long way.
Section 29 of the Constitution of South Africa provides that everyone has the right to basic education, including adult basic education. We are here today to give effect to this constitutional right so as to provide optimal opportunities for adult learning and literacy.
The main objects of the Bill are to ensure the viability of adult learning centres at educational institutions and to eradicate illiteracy by restoring the dignity and privacy of individuals. This Bill is going to assist especially women in the Northern Province to be able to enter into correspondence on their own, without involving a third person. When a woman in the Northern Province has to write a letter to her husband who is working in Gauteng, she has to ask a small boy to come and write the letter for her. So how does one express oneself when writing to one's beloved when one has to do it through a third person? We hope that this Bill is really going to assist us in that regard.
The second object is that of empowering millions of women who are victims of colonial oppression, affording them the opportunity to embark on economic development in a changing situation. The third object of this Bill is to ensure that there is equality between the oppressed and the oppressors.
When I talk about this, I am reminded of the situation during the era of Jan van Riebeeck, when most people were illiterate. A labourer would be sent to a farm over the mountain bearing a note. The note would not be sealed and would be carried on a wooden stick. The note would say: ``Beat him very hard''. The poor labourer would run to Piet Hoender's farm on the other side of the mountain to deliver the note and he would be beaten, after which he would run back to where he had come from. If he went somewhere else, he had a stamp on his back, and then whoever saw him would check the stamp and say, this is Piet Hoender's labourer and then he would be beaten again. So illiteracy has contributed negatively to the wellbeing of our people. [Interjections.]
There has been an intensive process of research and consultation which proved that an enormous number of adult people do not have basic education. This resulted in the initiation of policies by the Minister, including the Interim Guidelines for Adult Basic Education and Training Provisioning, 1995, in order to establish public learning centres and for the registration of private adult learning centres.
This Bill before us places an obligation on the heads of provincial departments of education to provide facilities for the use of public centres to perform their functions. If no facilities are available, the head of department, in terms of section 20(1)(k) of the South African Schools Act, Act 84 of 1996, should request the governing body of a public school to allow the reasonable use of facilities of the school by the public centre.
Kutani a ku na ku vula leswaku lavakulu a va nga dyondzi hikuva a ku na ndhawu leyi sweswi yi nga riki na xikolo. Ndhawu yin'wana ni yin'wana yi na xikolo. (Translation of Tsonga paragraph follows.)
[Now no one can say that adults cannot learn, because there is no place without a school at present. Each and every place has a school.]
In a case such as mentioned above, where the public centre uses school facilities to perform its functions, a representative of the school governing body and a member of the staff in question may be co-opted by the governing body of the public centre, but without voting rights.
The governing body holds a fiduciary duty towards the public centre and the management of a public centre must be undertaken by the centre manager, under the authority of the head of department.
In order to ensure access to adult basic education and training in the workplace by persons who have been marginalised in the past, such as women, the disabled and the disadvantaged, a joint effort by the skills development strategy and the Department of Labour will be put in place. The women in the Northern Province, though most of them illiterate, are able to vote. They are able to identify the ANC emblem and make their mark next to it. I hope most members would really like to go home. Let me not expand a lot. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, colleagues, members and comrades, we in the Gauteng province did consider both Bills adequately and submit our views on them. Regarding the Education Laws Amendment Bill, it was the province's view that this was a very crucial Bill which would enable Government to streamline existing Acts and give them a stronger hand in governing our education. We are of the view that with regard to the different Acts that the Bill seeks to amend, all the amendments were quite necessary and, as such, strengthen the Government's and the educational institutions' arms in regulating schools.
We highly appreciated especially the section on disciplinary actions which began to separate or clarify the difference between minor and serious offences of educators. We also appreciated the amendment of the counselling and rehabilitation of educators that is also provided for in the Bill.
We also felt that through this Bill the current uncertainty over the employment of educators in the absence of the governing council will be clarified. This we experienced in the province during the transition, where old governing bodies were being replaced by new governing bodies and there was a vacuum in the process in terms of the appointment of teachers. We are quite appreciative that this Act will avoid such situations as we had in the past.
In the event of the founding of new schools, the Act will enable principals to employ teachers in the absence of a governing council. We thought this was a very useful and innovative amendment which would, as I said, further strengthen our education system.
I want to come back to the Education Laws Amendment Bill. The amendment of the Further Education and Training Act to provide for public education centres is also necessary and timely. All the amendments are welcomed by the province. We feel that they are important in streamlining and regulating our education system, but also in empowering Government and Government institutions to undertake their duties more ably.
The province greatly appreciates the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill. We feel that this Bill enables Government in particular to fulfil its constitutional obligation to provide education for all, and in that respect we welcome and appreciate it.
The province is of the view that this Bill will lay a good foundation and prepare a framework leading to a process that will establish a thoroughly regulated Abet sector and system. As other speakers have indicated before me, the Abet sector is one of the ugly legacies inherited from our old system in which our people were denied education. This will bring about a very good process of redress to address all the problems which we inherited from the previous system.
The province regards the Bill as very useful in that it will provide a framework for the building of an Abet sector and, more importantly, will begin to locate the Abet sector within the National Qualifications Framework, so that the skills and knowledge acquired in this sector are portable and recognised, and can be used quite widely.
Currently we have a very disparate system in which everybody teaches what they want to. It is very difficult to give recognition to the qualifications that currently come from the system. In our province we thought this Bill would help in regulating the system and especially give currency and value to the qualifications obtained in this sector.
We also appreciate the amendments relating to curricula and governance, and, more importantly, the fact that this Bill starts the process of a whole new approach to the Abet sector.
We think the Bill will go a long way towards improving the governance of education and, as I have said before, towards fulfilling the obligation to provide education for all. Now even adults will have that opportunity.
Before I sit down, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the chairperson of the education committee, Mr Kgware, for enabling the provinces to participate in the discussion of these Bills. However, looking at the whole process, the length of time given to the provinces to hold their own public hearings before having to make their submissions was quite short. We have indicated this in writing, but I feel I should nevertheless mention that we needed more time, especially on the Abet Bill, which, in our view, was crucial. We needed more time to have more participation in the provinces. We would appeal, as provinces, for more time to be set aside for that process in future.
We would also like to express our appreciation to Adv Boshoff of the national department, who came to assist the province. He went through the Bills with us and quite ably clarified all the questions we put to him.
Most of all, I think the hon the Minister deserves our appreciation and gratitude for tabling both these Bills. We think they were very necessary and timely and that they will go a long way in strengthening our education system. In my view our education system is safely on track, no matter what lobbying or electioneering is going on. I think under the able stewardship of the hon the Minister, and with the types of education Bills that are being tabled, our education is on a safe footing. [Applause.]
Mr S L GABELA (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members and comrades present, it is a great privilege for me to begin by saying that KwaZulu-Natal supports both these Bills.
It is estimated that South Africa has nearly 24 million adults between the ages of 16 and 65, of whom 3,3 million have not had any schooling and 9,4 million have not completed Grade 9. Therefore 12 million, which is about 51,5 % of the adult population, have not completed a general level of education. The main priority for us all has, of course, to be the 3,3 million who have not had access to schooling and basic education. I wish to state that these are in the main the rural poor, and women in particular.
Let me echo the hon Nkuna's words by saying that the adult basic education programmes are going to empower women by putting them in a position to read and write. We also need to remember that at a particular point in the development of South African society, we had sectors of our people who did not even believe that it was necessary for women to go to school, because there was no need, as long as they were in a position to write letters to the mines and read the responses.
The provinces are already involved in an approach to Abet developed at national level. It goes beyond literacy and targets learning outcomes that empower rather than lead to dead ends.
In a bid to bring about redress for past discrimination through equal access to basic education and training, this kind of legislation is one means of realising our dreams. It is a timely response to the challenge to provide optimal opportunities for adult learning and literacy.
The future of our country and its social and economic development are dependent on the combined efforts of us all. All stakeholders should appreciate the putting into effect of such a Bill. This requires us all to contribute our maximum to ensure that adult basic education is successful.
The amendments to the South African Qualifications Authority Act have been uniformly welcomed and supported. The importance of ensuring the safety of educators and learners at schools cannot be overemphasised. Our schools have now turned into centres of criminal activity. This has to come to an end as a matter of urgency.
Had time allowed, I would have shared with hon members a story told to me by my three-year-old daughter, Thulisile, about how she helped effect the arrest of somebody who tried to steal her teacher's purse and some school T- shirts that were on sale.
It was possible only because of something children in Grade R call ``umgo out''. It was only because she was allowed that ``umgo out'' that she saw a person she suspected was not part of the school management but was too old to be a learner at that school. She shouted, and later, when the police arrived, she told them that she was a comrade and that she understood that offenders had to be arrested.
New disciplinary measures for educators who fail to meet expected standards of professional behaviour need to be accompanied by regulations which serve as further strict control measures. We need to indicate that, while we note that the measures may be new, these standards apply to all civil servants. Educators have had so much freedom that these measures might seem too stringent for them, but they are within the acceptable norms of discipline.
There are unacceptable forms of behaviour at schools that need to be brought to an end, such as the abuse of alcohol and drugs, assaults or other forms of victimisation because of party-political or union affiliation, engaging in business activities during school hours, sexual assaults on learners and educators, sexual relationships between learners and teachers, and bribery related to examinations, which also includes theft and fraud.
Mr Chairman, hon Minister Prof Asmal, hon special delegates and hon colleagues, I would like to recall an experience that I had during a short spell of teaching in Zambia some 30 years ago, when I used to do some adult teaching on a voluntary basis at the local mine school. I still recall vividly an old mineworker by the name of Mr Phiri who was taught the alphabet and how to write his name. It was the most wonderful moment when he discovered that he could write his name. His eyes filled with tears of joy and wonderment that he was able to do that. In fact, that moment of discovery is no different from the moment of discovery that people such as Jan Van Riebeeck, Columbus, Marco Polo, or even Neil Armstrong experienced.
One of the most pernicious pieces of legislation on the Statute Book during the Verwoerdian era was the Bantu Education Act of 1953, which not only set about to demean the value of education for the majority of South African children, but also sought to totally ignore adult literacy. Can anything be more criminal than denying fellow South Africans access to basic education and literacy? The Adult Basic Education and Training Bill seeks to bring the curtain down on that kind of denial and denigration.
The hon the Minister, in his usual eloquent manner, has already alluded to the poverty, stagnation and hopelessness that such denial spawned. The right to basic education for all - men, women and children is - enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, Act 108 of 1996, in terms of section 29(1)(a).
The DP welcomes the proposals for a new Adult Basic Education and Training system, namely to provide for the establishment, governance and funding of public adult learning centres; to provide for registration of private adult learning centres; and the proposal for a new Adult Basic Education and Training qualification within the National Qualifications Framework, a new curriculum, a new quality assurance framework and mechanism, and the monitoring and evaluation of the adult education and training system.
The great French philosopher Voltaire said, and I quote: ``To know what is right and fear to do it is cowardice.'' The provision of optimal opportunity for adult learning and literacy, especially for those marginalised in the past, the disabled and disadvantaged, is most welcome. It is absolutely right and proper to ensure that no one among our fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters who was denied access to learning and literacy before, is denied it any more. The opportunities strengthen the sinews of democracy and the cause of fundamental human rights is enhanced. The DP wholeheartedly supports this Bill.
The Education Laws Amendment Bill seeks to amend the South African Qualifications Authority Act of 1995, the South African Schools Act of 1996, the Employment of Educators Act of 1998 and the Further Education and Training Act of 1998. The effect of these amendments will be, firstly, to increase representation of trade union members in the South African Qualification Authority Act of 1995 from two to three members, and the Minister has already mentioned how important it is to work closely with the trade union sector; secondly, to make provision for public schools on private property by enabling the MEC to expropriate property in order to expedite such provisions; thirdly, to make room for interim governance of a new public school until a properly constituted school governing body is formed, and, fourthly, to empower the head of department to employ educators in cases in which a student governing body is not yet in place.
The DP welcomes these measures, especially the counselling and rehabilitation programmes for the educator. Among the disciplinary codes envisaged, an employer may suspend an educator immediately without any hearing for a period of seven days with full pay. I welcome the Minister's assurance that the long delays that have characterised previous hearings will not be part of the scenario any more. A tribunal is no longer necessary to conduct a disciplinary hearing.
The DP also supports the proposed amendment to the Further Education and Training Act so as to allow public further education and training institutions to promote public adult learning centres. I take great pleasure, on behalf of the DP, in supporting the Bill. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr K PANDAY (KwaZulu-Natal): Mr Chairman, greetings to your good self, the hon the Minister and all hon members. We must place on record the excellent role of the chairman, Mr Kgware, and the manner in which he conducted the various briefings on the two Bills that are being debated here today. As my colleague Mr Gabela has stated, our province of KwaZulu-Natal supports the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill. Some other points that I wish to make here today have already been made, hence I will not repeat those.
However, there have been two concerns which I will refer to as I proceed. One of the concerns was in clause 8(1) of the Abet Bill. Although Adv Boshoff gave us an explanation, we were not fully satisfied. Reference to section 21(1)(d) of the South African Schools Act of 1996 is not applicable to this clause. The motivation was that section 21(1)(d) of the South African Schools Act of 1996 reads: ``to pay for services to the school.'' Members of the education portfolio committee of my province contend that this subsection does not contemplate a public centre.
Clause 8(1) of this Bill reads as follows, and I quote: ``Every public centre must establish a governing body, except a public centre contemplated in section 21((1)(d) of the South African Schools Act, 1996.'' The committee therefore felt that there was no link between these two provisions. We do hope that the hon the Minister will be able to assist us in clearing up the confusion. Does the error lie with us, or is it otherwise?
KwaZulu-Natal is very unhappy with clause 34(b) of chapter 6. I am not too certain whether the chairperson alluded to this particular clause in his speech a little earlier on. However, in terms of the clause an annual report on the quality of basic education and training must be made to the Minister by the head of the department in respect of the relevant province. Protocol is not being followed. Regarding the Ministers of education of the respective provinces or MECs, as they are called, their role is diminished and, to a large extent, bypassed. The correct procedure should have been communication between the national Minister of Education and the MECs, and no one should be allowed to report to the hon the national Minister of Education other than the MEC of the respective province.
The KwaZulu-Natal province has great pleasure in supporting also the Education Laws Amendment Bill as tabled. Our members have had no problems with the suggested amendment of the increase of trade union representatives from two to three. Unions play an important role in ensuring that employees' interests are fully taken care of, hence the increase from two to three is welcome.
Section 6 of the Employment of Educators Act of 1998 is an obvious inclusion. During the interim period between the new public schools commencement and the inauguration of a governing body, much chaos will reign if there is no body that will ensure the smooth running of the school. This Act allows for the head of department to take charge. The amendment empowers the head of department to employ educators where there is no governing body or a council constituted in terms of the relevant Acts.
Without educators, no learning will take place, and without learning, schools become irrelevant or redundant. KwaZulu-Natal supports the spirit of the new section 17 of the Employment of Educators Act of 1998.
The intended amendment proposes the dismissal of educators for serious misconduct. If an educator is found guilty of, amongst other offences, seriously assaulting, with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm, a learner or a student, he or she must be removed from his or her office. Corporal punishment is a thing of the past. It is now history. This form of punishment must never be used again.
What we have to do is to find other ways and means of punishing insolent and badly behaved children. Some of the suggestions made, especially by the hon the Minister of Education, must form the basis upon which we can build a code of conduct, which our children will have to respect and follow. [Applause.]
Where is Mr Ackermann? [Interjections.] Oh!
Chairperson, Minister of Education, Comrade Kader Asmal, special delegates present here today, colleagues, this Adult Basic Education and Training Bill is significant for most of us who grew up during the period when we fought against gutter education or were deprived of the opportunity of going to school because of socioeconomic circumstances.
Some of us chose the option of boycotting the unequal education system, geared to churning out obedient blacks who would not question the draconian laws operating at that time. Many others were unable to finish school because their parents could not afford to send them to school, or there were no schools within walking distance.
For all of these people and many others, this new Bill affords them a second chance to put the knowledge that they acquired while attending the university of wisdom or the university of life into a more structured environment governed by trained professionals, which would translate, at the end of the training period, into a certificate.
More significantly, this Bill, while giving effect to the provisions of section 29(1)(a) of our Constitution, paves the way for redressing the educational inequities of the past. It will give back dignity to the forgotten people, our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, who sacrificed their education to ensure that others would get ahead and prosper. I am sure that today this room is filled with delegates whose parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters are semiliterate, with few or no marketable skills.
It is, of course, our responsibility - that of all of us - to ensure that the provisions of this Bill are implemented in all nine provinces. Indeed, we must be vigilant in ensuring that the obligation that this Bill places on the heads of provincial departments of Education, to provide facilities for use as public centres, is met without any exception.
This Bill also calls for all of us to be vigilant in making sure that our governing bodies in schools allow reasonable use of these facilities as public centres. We need to guard against selfish officials of governing bodies who jealously guard their turf.
The public centres brought into being by this Bill will provide an alternative for those who cannot afford the fees of private institutions offering all kinds of training programmes. The Bill places a financial obligation on the national Government, but more especially on provincial governments, to take up the challenge of educating our adult population, with the emphasis on quality and adherence to agreed norms and standards.
This Bill should be regarded as a very important milestone and will change the face of adult education in our country. The North West, without any reservations, supports the Bill.
We also welcome the Education Laws Amendment Bill, since it will further ensure that we continue to strive for equity, redress and functionality in our schools, in a democratic environment.
The amendment dealing with further provision for public schools on private property is of particular relevance to our province, which encounters serious problems relating to access to these schools.
This Bill is also welcomed for the particular focus it places on capacity, as well as disciplinary procedures. We need more control in our schools to ensure a safe haven of learning for our children who are continually brutalised by elements of society that oppose progress towards quality education for the nation. The North West supports this Bill. [Applause.]
Mr Chairperson, hon Minister, hon special delegates and the honourable House, the right to adult basic education is provided for in our Constitution. It is in response to intensive research, which found that large numbers of our adult population lack basic education.
The Bill before this honourable House seeks to clarify how adult basic education centres would be established, controlled and maintained, but as separate institutions from other institutions such as schools. However, in instances where no such public centres are available, the head of department would approach and request the governing body of a public school to allow reasonable use of the facilities of the school by the public centre.
The Bill is most welcome as a means of empowering our people and combating the illiteracy prevalent among our people, as the hon the Minister has already indicated. However, unless there is mutual co-operation among educators, governing bodies and learners of public schools and of adult education centres, accessing literacy will remain a dream.
Another practical problem usually encountered is that in the rural and the farming areas the learners in the adult education centres very often, as a matter of routine, leave the centres to join harvesting teams during the winter seasons. They then return to the centres after the harvest and this has a retarding effect on their academic performance. Notwithstanding this, the UCDP is in full support of the Bill.
The proposed amendments in the Education Laws Amendment Bill are intended to take education to its basics and to create an atmosphere which is conducive to teaching and learning.
The section on serious misconduct, together with the incapacity codes included in this Bill, are welcome. Educators who expose themselves to serious cases of misconduct during the performance of their professional duties will be dealt with accordingly. On the other hand, it is gratifying to note that in respect of incapacity codes proper procedures will be followed and the accused educator will be afforded the opportunity to state his case. The UCDP supports the Bill. [Applause.]
Chairperson, the Free State supports the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill. It is our view that this Bill lays a firm foundation for dealing with a problem that has been worrying us in the province in relation to adult basic education, and that is the problem of the status of educators at adult centres and their conditions of service.
It is no secret that educators at adult centres do not enjoy a full-time employment status like other educators at the same post levels as prescribed in section 1 of the Employment of Educators Act of 1998. This also ties in with a need to have conditions of service at adult education centres regulated by special regulations issued by the head of education in the province. Such conditions of service shall make it possible for educators to address the specific needs of the country economically and socially, more so when they include stipulated hours of work.
South Africa needs citizens who feel that life is worthwhile, citizens who are in control of their own lives and who can make informed choices for themselves, and who value democracy. Citizens who regain their self-esteem because education has freed them from the shackles of apartheid are the people who will carry the country forward. People who carry the task of ridding the country of illiteracy and creating a citizenry of independent literate people are adult educators. Adult educators work with adults who have a wealth of prior learning and experience of life. These educators need a support system to carry them through the times of self-doubt when their learners lose heart as a result of a normal slow process of gaining self-empowerment.
Adult educators need to be masters of all the learning areas. They are people who work with two generations of South Africans upon whom transformation lies. An adult learner is also a parent. The level of parental education directly impacts upon the level of released potential of the child learner. If one wishes to improve learning amongst our youth, we have to equip their parents in order for them to take charge of their future.
The Free State also supports the amendments proposed in the Education Laws Amendment Bill. These will also help our province to deal with a problem that is rife in the Free State, and that is that property owners, especially farmers, refuse to sign agreements with the department of education. We also hope that implementation of the Act will provide a tool with which to deal with such situations. The amendment dealing with school governing bodies is also welcomed because it will do away with the problem of school governing bodies who refuse to allow the reasonable use of schools by the department for activities not related to the school or any activities which are deemed necessary by the government, under reasonable circumstances. For example, usage of schools as marking centres without payment and the utilisation of schools for election purposes, are some of these activities.
The Free State town of Bethlehem has recently witnessed an upsurge in school gangsterism, and schooling was disrupted to a certain extent. Regulations regarding safety in public schools are also very important. That is why our province believes that it is very important that guns and other weapons must under no circumstances be brought onto school premises. In conclusion, it is the sincere hope of our province that provisions in the the two Bills will help our country deal with the situations we have already talked about and others which other speakers referred to, and many more other challenges facing our country in relation to education. [Applause.]
Order! We are not going to have speaker no 13, therefore we will move on to hon Mr Suka.
Chairperson, hon Minister, ladies and gentlemen, comrades and friends. [Laughter.] It is a great pleasure for me this morning to talk about the two important Bills that we have managed to pass and will implement very soon. The reason I am so happy is because we are dealing with and trying to address the legacy that we inherited from the past. We are also trying to address the two-stream policy that was imposed on us as disadvantaged communities. These two Bills are very important, especially the Adult Basic Education and Training Bill.
Many of the learners who protested against Bantu education in the mid-70s and the 80s never had an opportunity to return to school. So they missed attaining any educational level. Naturally, many of them have reverted to either semiliteracy or complete illiteracy. These people were in the trenches fighting the system, thus adding to the already high statistics and unacceptable levels of illiteracy in our country.
I think the Eastern Cape is not immune to this, and by virtue of the society we inherited from the apartheid era, mostly black people are affected. Being committed to redressing the negative effects of apartheid in all spheres of life, the ANC-led Government cannot sit and despair. It is determined to transform our society by providing, amongst other things, life-long learning and the attainment of life-long skills.
The legislation under discussion today is only a beginning in ensuring that this dream does, in fact, come true. This legislation regulates and reorganises the provision of quality adult basic education and training in our society. I think we are advancing in this transformation, because in the past we used to have night schools, but today we are talking about public adult learning centres. So transformation will continue as long as the ANC-led Government is in power. To achieve this, heavy responsibility is placed on the MEC - member of the executive council - for education, the head of department in the province and the governing body of an adult basic education and training public centre. This ensures close monitoring, effective management and efficient skills governance.
Built into the various clauses of the Bill are empowerment mechanisms enabling the MEC, the head of department and the governing body to perform this important task and ensure that the enormous numbers of our people who do not have an education are not denied their right to basic education, because the apartheid regime made education a privilege and not a responsibility.
The responsibility to establish a public centre for an adult basic education in a province rests with the MEC. The MEC is correctly responsible for this because he or she is familiar with and aware of the needs of the province and is therefore in a better position to determine where such a centre may be located. Provision is made for a public centre occupying immovable state-owned property to have the right to use such property for educational purposes and to guard against improper use of such property. The HOD has the power to restrict that right.
At the same time, the Bill allows for flexibility and public participation in decision-making regarding public centres. For example, before restricting the right I have just referred to above, the head of department must inform the governing body of his or her intention, give the governing body a reasonable opportunity to make representations and duly consider such representations before acting.
It is one thing for an MEC to provide accommodation, but if there are not facilities for learning, adult basic education centres would be ineffective. Thus the HOD has the responsibility to provide facilities for use by public centres. In some cases, such facilities may be the same as those used by a public school. In that case, the Bill clearly sets out conditions for the head of department to enter into agreement with a school governing body concerning time schedules, sharing of resources, maintenance and improvement of facilities, access, security, and so on.
Should a need to merge two or more centres arise, this must be done in a transparent and democratic way by the MEC. Amongst the things that should be done is giving notice in the provincial gazette and sending written notices to the centres affected, and so on. Under certain circumstances it may be necessary to close a public centre. In that case, too, the MEC is required, in clause 6, to exercise transparency and accountability, and to allow the affected public to exercise its democratic right to be heard.
The assets and liabilities of such a centre must be dealt with in accordance with the law. The Bill provides for the management of centres by a centre manager appointed by the responsible head of department. Each centre is governed by a governing body composed of elected representatives elected from educators, learners and members of the staff. The elected members must co-opt members from the community. Such co-opted members have the right to deliberate. This is necessary to ensure full participation of the local community in the governance of the public centre.
If the public centre is accommodated in a public school, either the school principal or a member of the school governing body must be co-opted onto the centre's governing body. This ensures a strong link between the two governing bodies and augurs well for good working relations. However, such a co-opted member has no voting rights. The term of office of members of the governing body, the representivity of members, the disqualification and the removal of members, the filling of vacancies - all these and other related matters are determined by the MEC.
Should it be necessary to establish one governing body for two or more centres, the Bill provides for the MEC to do so. The Bill also details the function of the governing bodies. So this Bill is a milestone in our country. As such, the ANC does not have a problem in supporting the Bill.
The second Bill that we were looking at, the Education Laws Amendment Bill, focuses on a very critical aspect of education, namely the expectation of the process of discipline for educators.
Discipline is a critical aspect of professionalism. I am pleased that the Minister and his department continue to address the matter of raising the status of the teaching profession. Programmes such as the national teacher awards, the programmes on professional development, the developmental appraisal system, the review of salary structures for educators and the establishment of the SA Council for Educators are a clear indication of the Minister's commitment in this regard.
We applaud him. This Bill, therefore, must be seen as complementing this initiative. It seeks to deal with those individuals who bring the profession into dispute, who abuse children physically and sexually, who cause our children to be involved in substance abuse, who neglect their responsibilities as educators and who commit a variety of acts of misconduct. I am, therefore, very pleased to see the teaching profession, which is very dear to my heart as I am a teacher myself, slowly regaining the status it deserves in our country. [Applause.]
Mr Chairperson, this is a section 76 Bill, so the consent of the appropriate number of provinces is necessary. I am thus very pleased that there has been unanimous agreement in support of the Bill. I want to thank the standing committee for their co-operation. I take Gauteng's point about the longer period for consultation, but the Bill has been in the public domain for a long time now as it was issued at the end of June.
I particularly want to compliment Gauteng, because, quite clearly, they have gone through the Bill item by item, clause by clause. I am pleased that the department was able to co-operate with many of the provinces who called upon the departmental officials. Ours is a very small department. There effectively was not a national department of education until 1994, because it was not necessary to have a national department of education as there were 18 departments of education. Nogal! [At that!] Neither the House of Delegates, nor the House of Representatives, nor the Houses of the National Assembly, nor the homelands of one kind or another ever considered the necessity of looking at adults, the 6 million adults. It was not considered necessary.
I would like to say that education is not vrot [rotten], as has been said. It is not vrot and paralysed by disputes. There are enormous changes taking place. There is an enormous amount of goodwill on the ground, and these two Bills are part of that way of refashioning and renewing our educational system. Let me give you a word of warning: Passing these Bills is only one step. The implementation, as has been rightly said by Comrade Maloyi, places an enormous demand on the provinces to carry out what is a national aim and a national desire.
I thus want to thank the standing committee, this House, the National Assembly and the very hard-working officials for this. There were two or three points raised which I must reply to. I regret it very much that the representative from KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Panday, who raised points, is no longer in the House. I frankly think this is unacceptable in a democracy, because I think important issues are raised, and there must be a reply to that. I would say for the benefit, not of Mr Panday, but of other members, that the point he raised about clause 8(1) was a typographical error. It should refer to section 21(1)(dA). It was a typographical error and the President will be informed. These things happen, because our administrative staff have to work overnight.
There is another defect in this which nobody has mentioned, namely we should never legislate by reference to other legislation. It is not fair to members of Parliament to have legislation by reference. In other words, members will have to go to the library and look up the provisions of the earlier Acts.
We committed ourselves in 1994 that Acts should be complete in themselves so that no teacher or trade union has a problem with going to the public library to look up what, for instance, section 21(1)(dA) of the South African Schools Act says. That should apply to all legislation, because we are very proud in the Education Department that all our legislation is easy to understand. It will put the lawyers out of business, because one can read the wretched legislation before one. It should be normal legislation by reference. It must be quite clear in that all the provisions must be complete in the legislation. That is the answer to Mr Panday. It is an error.
The other one about protocols I do not understand, I say to Mr Panday. We work in co-operative governance. We work very closely with the provincial MECs. We write three-monthly reports on the performance of the provincial administration to the President. It is the public domain, and I hope the present copy is in the library.
I want to inform Mr Williams that, of course, if there is an error the error must be corrected. This is not being deceitful, or lying or being party-political. We worked on the basis that we were told by the province that of the nine priorities we established in Tirisano, the province would not subscribe to the one on illiteracy, because no money had been allocated. So we worked on that basis. If Brian Figaji has worked out a programme, then we will receive the programme and correct the three-monthly report. However, the Western Cape was the only province to say that they were not going to participate in the literacy programme, because no money has been allocated.
I do not want to make any judgments about this. I will rely on the very moving, eloquent expression by Mrs Witbooi. However, I regret to say that the province speaks in two voices. There was this very moving eloquent statement by Mrs Witbooi when she said each illiterate person is half a person. I am grateful for Mr Williams' statement with regard to the department and the Minister and what they are doing, but I regret very much that he speaks as if he is speaking at a Nuremberg rally, or at a circus, frankly. [Laughter.]
While the last part of his speech was promotive, about us working together, he combined the role of the circus clown with the Nuremberg rally. [Laughter.] This is not, in fact, the way we should do this.
I have a statement here, which says that the Western Cape has the most efficient administration. As Minister, I am not in the business of handing out Hollywood awards. What award do I give to the candidate for mayor here, who subverts for young people the extraordinary integrity of our Constitution? He said that our Constitution was drafted by communists and fellow travellers. I am surprised he forgot to mention homosexuals, gays, one-legged people, liberals, because these are all the swearwords that were used before 1994. It is really a question of the so-called ``swart gevaar'' dressed up as the ``rooi gevaar''.
The DA should really withdraw him from the mayoral stakes. There can be no confidence in one of the most important cities in South Africa if, in fact, the candidate says that one must choose between the Bible and the Constitution. What an enormously harmful and offensive thing to say!
May I remind Mr Williams that the Constitutional Court found, in the Grootboom case, that the Western Cape, which is under the DA, unlike other provinces, fell short of its constitutional responsibility to build houses for the poor. The court ruled that there were good plans in place but that there was no proof that they were given effect. The Constitutional Court is the highest court of the land. Mr Marais, of course, says that it is a creation of the communists, no doubt, but it is the highest court. It ruled that the Western Cape was defective in its obligations. I know this because at Wallacedene an order was also made to provide minimum water. I can tell the House that the Western Cape is very good, looking at it as Minister of Water Affairs, except at looking after the interests of the poor and the impoverished. [Interjections.]
Order! I beg your pardon, hon Minister. Hon member, on what point are you rising?
Chairperson, I am raising a point in connection with the statement of Mr Marais. I just want to find out if the Minister is actually quoting him incorrectly, because Mr Marais said that the Constitution was ``also'' drafted by communists. Is he imputing that it was not ``also'' drafted by communists? He just left out one little word.
Chairperson, I will not make a distinction as if communists were beyond the pale. First of all, I do not know who the communists are, unless we are going to have a witch-hunt, at which the NP is very great. I do not know who the Communists are who were there. All I know is that people who made enormous sacrifices, unlike Mr Marais, and whose lives were in jeopardy and whose families were killed, took part in what is a great glory of South Africa, namely our own constitutional arrangements to make South Africa fit for all of us.
If that is the view of the DA, then we will have to fight them on their terms. This was a great compromise, a great compromise that gave us the freedom, the liberty, the protection of property - which they wanted very much. All these things were achieved. If there are communists who protect property, then, of course, it is a remarkable agreement that we have reached in South Africa. We will not allow anyone, particularly circus clowns, to diminish the extraordinary role of our Constitution. We cannot rant and rave about this. It is a serious matter, when someone is ranting and raving in election mode. Therefore, we are not paralysing the educational system.
If Mr Williams had travelled through the whole of South Africa he would know that the Hottentots Holland Mountain Range is not the end of South Africa; he should remember that. There is an enormous South Africa beyond that. He may think that the Hottentots Holland Mountains are the end of South Africa. The post-apartheid generation in primary schools are working with their teachers and there is an enormous resolution of issues. I am very proud to relate to them, as I am very proud to go to Bonteheuwel to open an extraordinary computer centre where young people, stunted in their growth because of poverty, are now finding enormous pressure and enormous pleasure in doing things. That was a private-public sector arrangement.
Great things are happening in our country. It is not a question of being paralysed. What we are doing with these Bills is changing the nature of the debate about education. The more we do so together, the more we will be able to break the so-called ``half a person'' syndrome that Mrs Witbooi referred to, which I refer to as disempowerment. All the members referred to this in their wonderfully evocative way. But there is one thing I would like to share with the House, and that is that the electorate are not stupid.
It is the stupid who elected the NP from 1948 onwards. It is the stupid who voted for the House of Delegates with 5% of the votes. It is the stupid who voted for the House of Representatives with 3,5% of the votes. They were graduates. They were all people with a high school education. But hon members must remember! There is no connection between illiteracy and stupidity. After all, Hitler was supported by the big army generals, the industrialists and the social elite who were born with silver spoons in their mouths, let alone in their saucers. Stupidity and illiteracy must never be coupled. There is enormous good sense in people who are not able to read and write because of the folly and infamy of the governments prior to 1994. We must join hands with them, with the churches, with the unions and with the places where there are buildings and offices.
I say this very carefully: We will not break the back of illiteracy unless we do have a national mobilisation. The Adult Basic Education and Training Bill does not only cover illiteracy, but also covers training. Our training in South Africa is going to be unique, because the training that is provided for will allow the Abet certificate holders to go on to higher education. That is the important thing. No country in the world has succeeded in this. As a former academic, I know that universities and higher education institutions look down on certificates obtained elsewhere. We will make sure that life-long learning is not, in fact, a clich, ie something we say every now and then when we are drinking whisky or port and feeling very good about things.
Life-long learning must be there. I am trying to get the universities to admit people over the age of 25 who were never able to go to a university or higher education institution. They are not yet moving in that direction. We have been trying, like other countries in the world, to change things for women here, both black and white, who took part in the banquet of life, as one pope called it, that is by having children - and could not go to the universities or technikons. It seems irrational to me when people are penalised for taking part in the banquet of life. Let us get continual education.
I commend this Bill, and I thank members very much for their support for these two measures. Let us work together to ensure that they are implemented. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Adult Basic Education and Training Bill agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
Education Laws Amendment Bill agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.