Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, while we rise to this podium to dissect what is wrong and to commend what is right within the budget of this department, the reality of violence at our schools outside of this chamber is frightening. Our school children are being killed, our teachers are threatened and intimidated and both our teachers and learners face the harshest conditions that no educator, professional and learner should ever face.
Not only are some of our schools unable to meet the required norms and standards set out by this department, the conditions in these schools are wholly inadequate for teaching and learning
to take place. On the scourge of violence, I decide not go through a list of the victims in the name of the learners and teachers.
It is tragic, it is worrying and it must be swiftly addressed. These elements cannot reside within our classrooms, it must be rooted out and this department should act now before it is too late. One death in our schools is one too many. Hon Minister, through you chair; the quality of our education has over the years deteriorated significantly not because we do not know how to teach and learn, but because the administration has tried to please themselves and their own statistics.
It is hard to believe when we read external reports on the shocking levels of numeracy and literacy in our classrooms. What is even harder to believe is that we lower the bar to pass these learners who cannot read nor write. It is not good enough to do this - to pass learners who cannot do the basics, we cannot pass over what we do not want to address, the buck stops with you hon Minister We are letting down the generations that come after us. Chairperson, yes, we are all aware of the unfortunate socio-
economic factors which are at play in our country and which affect our schools too, but it is the role of this department to ensure that policy and practice meets despite some of the realities at home, around the classroom and in communities
Things such as asbestos classrooms, pit-toilets or latrines, dilapidated classrooms with non-functioning laboratory equipment in some places there aren't even labs available and just the basics to function. These things should be things of the past. We can't roll-out coding if we don't have the technology in most classes to do so. This would simply mean that the playing field will remain unequal for the black child living in a rural community but has an above average mathematics and technology ability when tech classrooms don't exist in most places.
Let us work together to ensure that we prioritise those who have been left out for far too long. We must deal with inequality and it starts within our educational system. Minister, the IFP pleads with you to fix what is broken within the ECD system. Unpaid and exploited teachers and poor faculties for learners are not the way to go if we want to go forward.
Furthermore, the department must ensure for instance that scholar transport is reliable, is safe, and is available in particular in rural communities. Learners cannot be expected to wake up at 4 am in the morning to start walking to reach the classroom.
National policies and programmes which are able to be adapted by provincial Department of Education must be monitored. We cannot have policies in provincial administration which are against that of the department and in some instances the Constitution.
We are aware that the task at hand is not easy, but your time in office has been long enough that we cannot say there has been no continuity and no leadership. All we want Minister, is better for our children and better for our country. Therefore, the IFP will support this Budget. I thank you.