Hon Speaker, the achievement of quality education for all requires a renewed purpose and action from the Education department officials, school principals, teachers, learners, parents and communities. Government launched the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign in October 2008. Each of the role players - government, communities, civil society, business, media and other sectors - are called upon to make a commitment to a code for quality education, which describes the responsibilities required of them.
On 7 August, I met with the two Education Ministers, Premiers, MECs and more than 1 500 school principals from all provinces to share our vision and hear their views on how we can revitalise education and improve results. We agreed on certain non-negotiables.
Departmental officials are required to support schools and ensure that all teaching resources are provided on time. They should improve their own skills base to better assist schools and regularly monitor teacher and learner attendance and facilitate teacher development.
Teachers are required to be on time, be well prepared for all their lessons, teach for at least seven hours every school day and improve their own skills and knowledge. Learners are required to attend school regularly, work hard in school, respect their teachers and adhere to the rules of their school. Parents are required to support schools and educators and also create a conducive home environment for their children to study.
The community is required to ensure that every school-going child is in school and that schools are not vandalised. They are also supposed to report problems in schools to relevant authorities. They must also ensure that all role players carry out their responsibilities and that co- ordinating structures are being set up at national, provincial and regional levels.
We recognise that the improvement of learning and teaching has to be accompanied by strong support mechanisms and performance monitoring with clearly stipulated outcomes. The Ministry in the Presidency responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation, together with the Department of Basic Education, is developing a set of performance measures. These will form the basis of performance agreements between the President, the Minister of Basic Education and the respective MECs.
The performance agreement will ensure that non-negotiables relating to the department are catered for. For example, the department will develop an integrated plan to ensure that all schools have the necessary resources. Government will intensify efforts to ensure that all schools have safe and supportive environments for all children. We urge all hon members to support us in this campaign to make education an apex priority for our country. I thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you very much for your detailed reply, hon President. I think it is very apt that the first time you respond to questions in this House as President it is about education.
Much has been said about our schooling system, particularly in the last few weeks. People have used the word "failure". This country has some outstanding schools and some dismal schools; it has outstanding teachers who are very committed and those who are underperforming. We have serious backlogs in terms of infrastructure in our rural schools and in some of our township schools - there is overcrowding - and some provinces suffer from bureaucratic problems.
These are all issues that the principals raised with you in the imbizo a few Fridays ago. Do you therefore agree that our collective challenge is to rectify these fundamental inequalities, and that it is unhelpful to assert - as some do - that our schooling system is a failure, particularly because every year we churn out numbers of students who are very successful despite the dysfunctionalities in some of our schools?
Certainly. I agree. I think the issues I have raised do cover the areas I believe need to be addressed - the joint effort that we must put in. There are serious issues with regard to education and challenges that we need to deal with. I think all of us need to commit ourselves to addressing these issues. They are not hidden, they are there. They need us to commit ourselves. I think the question of education must be taken by us, collectively, as one of the national challenges that we should agree upon because it is about educating our nation.
When I spoke to the principals, I said that I would also be seeing and meeting with other sectors like the unions. One of the issues we raised, for example, was that research indicates that there are schools where teaching is 3,5 hours only on a daily basis while there are others where schooling is 6,5 hours on a daily basis. Just look at this gap. If we do not correct this, no matter who we are, we will actually be perpetuating inequalities on a daily basis without realising it.
So, this is a matter that all of us need to be serious about. So, certainly, as I talked about stakeholders, all of us ought to pull together. This is an essential challenge and task that all of us need to deal with. So, I totally agree. Thank you. [Applause.]
Speaker, agb President, by die onlangse imbizo met skoolhoofde het u baie mooi aan die onderwysers ges wat u van hulle verwag ten opsigte van ... [Tussenwerpsels.]
Wag 'n bietjie. Wag. [Gelag.]
Goed, baie dankie. Kan ek maar voortgaan?
Ja, jy kan maar aangaan.
Baie dankie vir die lekker Afrikaans ook, agb President.
By die onlangse imbizo met skoolhoofde het u baie mooi aan die onderwysers ges wat van hulle verwag word ten opsigte van die uitvoering van hulle pligte teenoor die leerders wat aan hulle toevertrou is. Agb President, u het ook baie mooi verduidelik en aan die skoolhoofde ges wat van hulle verwag word om goeie skoolbestuur uit te voer.
My vraag aan u is, agb President, wat s u vandag aan die leerders en onderwysers van 4 820 skole waar daardie skoolhoofposte vakant is? Van hierdie gevalle van skoolhoofposte wat vakant is, is 1 783 in die Oos-Kaap en die ander groot groep is in Limpopo en KwaZulu-Natal.
Ek wil dan vra, agb President, wat gaan u doen aangesien onderwys die nommer een prioriteit van die land is? Wat gaan u doen om hierdie totaal onaanvaarbare situasie reg te stel om sodoende die dissipline by skole reg te kry, maar ook om substansie te gee aan wat u ges het? Baie dankie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr D C SMILES: Speaker, hon President, at the recent imbizo with school principals you clearly told the teachers what you expect of them with regard to ... [Interjections.]
Wait a minute. Wait. [Laughter.]
Fine, thank you. May I continue now?
Yes, you may continue.
Thank you very much also for the lovely Afrikaans spoken, hon President.
At the recent imbizo with school principals you clearly told the teachers what is expected of them with regard to fulfilling their obligations towards the learners who are entrusted to them. Hon President, you also clearly explained and informed the school principals what is expected of them in order to implement proper school management. My question to you is, hon President, what do you tell the learners and teachers of 4 820 schools where those posts for school principals are vacant? These cases where posts for school principals are vacant include 1 783 in the Eastern Cape and other large groups in Limpopo and KwaZulu- Natal.
I would then like to ask, hon President, what action are you going to take in the light of the fact that education is the country's top priority? What are you going to do to rectify this completely unacceptable situation in order to improve the discipline in schools, and also to give substance to what you have said? Thank you very much. [Applause.]]
Speaker, the meeting with the principals was the first thing we thought we needed to do so that the principals were firstly clear on what we believe needs to be done in terms of education. I think we did that because we knew there were a lot of difficulties, which include, among others, vacant posts, a high percentage of teachers who are not trained as teachers and need to be trained and our attitude and that of the principals and teachers towards education.
This was an indication that if we wanted to correct things, we needed to deal with those who manage education at the lower or basic levels. I think this was very important. We have to deliver this message and also indicate the commitment of government to ensuring that we change the manner in which education has been conducted so far, as well as the environment.
I think government has something to do from now onwards. This discussion is being held with the department, which includes creating a good environment at school level. The environment in some schools is not good at all, especially in the rural areas. But we also need to train the other teachers who are currently teaching but are not qualified teachers so that we can make them teachers.
So, there are many things we need to do, which will involve the discussion. At this point, we are saying, we firstly need to agree on the things we need to do - all of us. We couldn't just force things before people understood what it is that we are trying to do.
As you know, the three provinces that you mentioned are the ones that are identified as the most poverty-stricken provinces. This means we need to focus more on those provinces, particularly the rural schools. So, this is what we will be doing together with the department. We are saying it should not just be the government only. The community, parents and everybody must participate. I don't think we can do anything differently from what I have just said when I was answering the question. [Applause.]
Mr President, section 29(2) of the Constitution states that everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public education institutions, where that education is practicable. Government has emphasised the importance of mother-tongue education in various statements. But, in practice, little so far has come of that.
To learn English and other languages is very important - that is why I am speaking the language at the moment. But does the President agree that mother-tongue education to the highest possible level is one of the measures that will help us to improve the quality of schooling?
That is absolutely correct. That is what the Constitution says. I don't think we are saying something different from what the Constitution says. I think the challenge we are faced with is how to develop the languages - the Constitution refers to all of them - so that they are able to develop up to the level that the hon member is talking about.
I think our concern should be: What do we do with our languages - all of them? I don't think we should pick and choose in terms of languages. I mean there is a debate, for example, that kids that start learning in their own languages understand better so that they can then be introduced to other languages at a certain level. So, this is correct. I think what all of us should be saying is what can be done to ensure that this happens.
The problem is that some languages are highly developed while others are not that developed. So, we need to state what can be done to develop all languages so that when you get to any school, you can have a child who can perform to the maximum. I think that is exactly what all of us need to do, particularly the House her, which does oversight. It should be stating what should be done with the languages that are not taught at all and those that are not even looked at as one goes up the ladder in terms of education. I think we will agree on this one. [Applause.]
Mr President, I am still here. It is good to see you again.
I can see you. [Laughter.]
What is your view with regard to helping teachers to restore discipline in our schools, which is a prerequisite for effective learning and teaching, particularly when one takes into account that there is an absence of corporal punishment in our schools? There is a serious situation in KwaZulu-Natal right now in Kenmont Junior Primary School, where a 13- year-old boy allegedly exhibiting violent and abusive behaviour has been put back in the school by the department against the wishes of the governing body and the parents. This has left the children in that school - right here today - extremely vulnerable. So, are we going to need to look at policy and legislation changes in this regard? This is because we cannot have our children being this vulnerable. Thank you.
Well, I think once again this issue does not differ from the other issues we have just talked about. We need the effort of everyone to work together to ensure that we bring about discipline. I think if all sectors can work together - with no sector lagging behind - we can bring back discipline in schools.
Children need to be brought up within an environment of discipline. I think parents in particular have to play a role in terms of ensuring that their children are disciplined. Once the teachers themselves - led by the principal of course - stick to discipline in schools in every respect, it is going to be very difficult for kids to misbehave all the time.
So, I think we have to work together to ensure that discipline becomes the rule of every school. We have to state what we should do collectively if kids do not adhere to discipline so that we can help the children themselves, as well as the teachers.
We need to create an environment that lives within the discipline in schools. I think there are times when it is difficult to do so. There are anecdotes that people would give, where there would be no collective effort to deal with a matter. I was once at a school where kids were misbehaving and fighting, and the parents were divided on the issue. Some wanted to side with their kids and others did not. When I asked the principal about this he said the fact that the parents were divided on the issue was basically the problem, and that he did not know what to do.
So, I am saying that we need a collective effort - all of us - to create the non-negotiable with the kids. Therefore, everybody should understand that we must do something about a child who does not behave at school. In the past, as you say, teachers would ask you to open your hand, and they would do something to the hand. That is no longer done. Then we need to state what needs to be done in order to ensure that discipline comes back. I think if children do not find any favours anywhere, they will be in a position to behave. [Applause.]
Hon members, may I remind you that if you wish to ask a supplementary question, please press the talk button in front of you, then your name will pop up on the screen in front of me.
Reasons for requesting advice regarding next Chief Justice
2. The Leader of the Opposition (DA) asked the President of the Republic:
With reference to his statement at the National Press Club on 6 August 2009 regarding the next Chief Justice (details furnished), what are the reasons for stating that he had requested advice from leaders of political parties of the National Assembly?