Hon Deputy Speaker, Deputy President, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members, the ANC and its government have incontrovertibly responded to our forebears call to swing wide open the doors of learning and lay a firm foundation for people's education, for people's power, by escalating education to the zenith of its priorities.
The ANC has always taken the view that the education question must be responded to holistically in an integrated posture to expedite socioeconomic transformation. We stand conscious of the fact that our people, in general, and the youth, in particular, require knowledge and skills for meaningful and gainful participation in the formal economy.
Our view, therefore, is that education should not only be emancipative but outcomes-based in the sense that it resonates with and responds to the demands of the New Growth Path, whose key traits is economic growth through job creation. We will, therefore, continue to endeavour for a seamless transition from one level of education to another, as well as for articulation between higher education institutions to build horizontal and vertical entry points and avert institutional red tape. We will continue to expose and combat all forms of constructive academic exclusions on the basis of class or race. In the same vein, we will continue to broaden the skills and knowledge sources through involving all education stakeholders in the empowerment of our people. In this regard, due to the recognition of skills acquired in the course of employment and the restructuring of skills training centres and Setas, we shall not escape our scrutiny and oversight. Hon Deputy Speaker, facing us is the mammoth task of achieving universal access to uniform quality education. We keenly look at the Bill to examine how, through the current allocation, we will take further steps towards ensuring that the culture of learning and teaching service is galvanised through ensuring developmental conditions of learning and teaching.
The questions that come to mind, among others, are: Will this Bill make conditions better for the economically marginalised? Through this Bill, will those who lack economic muscle access quality education? Through this Bill will those, but for unfavourable conditions, be high quality performers? Will we be able to unleash the potential without let or hindrance?
We have noted the observations of the National Planning Commission's diagnostic overview in relation to education. Without gainsaying the progress made in expanding access to education, ensuring a equitable schools funding and equitable supply of learning and teaching support material, the report is candid about systematic gaps along the path to high- quality education. The report concludes that the quality of education for poor black South Africans is substandard.
The conclusion of the report is based on the premise that the gross enrolment ration for the secondary phase shows that many learners drop out before completing Grade 12; that the quality of physical assets and infrastructure at school level remains highly unequal; that efforts to raise the quality of education for poor children have largely failed; and that the quality of early childhood education and care for poor black communities is inadequate and generally very poor.
The report asserts that low literacy levels among parents, poor nutrition, violence and social fragmentation are factors that explain why the performance of school children from poor communities remain low relative to their wealthier peers, of whom the majority attend the former model C schools.
In his state of the nation address, his Excellency, the President, said: "The focus in basic education this year is Triple T - teachers, textbooks and time. We will continue investing in teacher training, especially in mathematics and science." The R2 billion allocations for Funza Lushaka bursaries must ensure skills upscaling to equip teachers to be more effective and efficient. This amount is meant to increase the number of prospective teachers receiving bursaries in subjects such as mathematics and science and the foundation phase from 10 150 in 2010 to 15 217 by 2013.
The textbook leg must be strengthened by the roll-out of nearly developed learner workbooks and teacher lesson plans that have already been provided for Grade R to Grade 6. In total, it is envisaged that more than 6,6 million learners and 125 000 teachers are to receive high-quality teaching and learning materials for the 2011 academic year.
Evidence attests to the success of the Funza Lushaka Bursary scheme and its demonstrated ability to attract high-quality applicants to teaching. The textbook leg has also shown a fair amount of success. However, there have been challenges in the actual usage of the textbooks in the classrooms - a matter we commend to the capable hands of the Department of Basic Education. It is our view, therefore, that the Triple T tactic, as pronounced by the President, has to form the basis of basic education expenses for the current financial year.
We welcome the further continuation of the National Schools Nutrition Programme, the HIV/Aids Life Skills Programme and the Technical Secondary Schools Recapitalisation Grant. It is with genuine appreciation that we note the introduction in the current financial year of the new Dinaledi schools grant, Education Infrastructure Grant and the School Infrastructure Backlog Grant.
Barring the occurrence of the unexpected, the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative, Asidi, will be instrumental in ensuring that schools operate with the basic requirements of safety that include provision of water, sanitation and electricity. However, we must express our concern regarding the efficiency of the schools infrastructure programme, and wish to urge the Department of Basic Education to expedite the replacement of the 395 mud schools.
Evidence gives credence to the fact that in terms of Grade R, the access question is easier to deal with. What is elusive is quality. The department should therefore include quality inputs in Grade R and the early years of formal schooling. It is a truth that cannot be gainsaid that performance in early grades predicts later performance. If we do not get it right in the early phase, especially in numeracy, it is very difficult to play catch up at the later phases.
Let me take the House through the Department of Higher Education in the context of the Appropriation Bill. Between 2007-08 and 2009-10, additional funding for higher education was appropriated towards higher education subsidies to cater for increases in higher education costs and enrolments. In 2010-11 and 2011-12 spending is prioritised for FET colleges and skills development. An amount of R5 million is prioritised for teacher bursaries and R22 billion is added for the FET grant and skills development.
The FET grant caters for additional funding for the FET function, which is currently being shifted from the provincial to the national department. We should mention that challenges remain with regards to student equity, graduation rates and enrolment rates in scarce skills such as science, engineering and technology. One of the challenges remaining is improving the number of students who complete their studies, graduate and get employment.
The January 8th Statement of the ANC MECs states that in line with the vision of the Freedom Charter and the resolution of our 52nd national conference, we are committed to progressively introduce free education up to undergraduate level. With effect from this year, 2011, students who are registered at a public university in their final year of study and who qualify for funding from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme will receive a loan equivalent to the full cost of study, which is a full fee and necessary living expenses. If these students graduate at the end of the year, the loan for the final year will be converted to a full bursary.
It is therefore our view that the addition of R3,6 billion to NSFAS to enhance poor students' access to universities will enable the scheme to improve on its quality and the quantity of students it assists. Academically capable students are denied access solely on the basis of financial need. While welcoming additional funds for NSFAS, we do so with the full realisation that there are students who do not qualify for NSFAS but cannot afford to pay university fees. We need to ensure improved access to quality learning programmes, increased relevance of skills development interventions and building strong partnerships between stakeholders and social partners.
Our investment in education, training and skills development should be focused on achieving a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive economic growth path and social development. We need to interrogate workplace training with theoretical learning and improve the skills levels and address poor work readiness of many young people leaving formal education institutions and entering the labour market for the first time. There should be ardent promotion of the growth of the public FETC system that is responsive to sector, local, regional and national skills needs and priorities.
We should also support small enterprises, cooperatives and worker-initiated training initiatives. We need to intensify in a more concerted manner the fight against corruption and fly-by-night institutions and training initiatives and eliminate unnecessary middlemen in the provision of services in order to maximise the impact of the allocated resources.
We are the proud host of the 6th World Congress of Education International to be held on 24 July 2011, here in Cape Town, where the congress provides an opportunity for the representatives of all Education International affiliates to meet and strengthen the bonds of solidarity between teachers and education workers throughout the world. In conclusion, as we progress towards the centenary of the ANC, we want to, once more, commit ourselves to ensuring that universal access to quality education is realised by all. We are determined to reverse the ignominious legacy created by the apartheid when its apparatchiks attacked black children and forced them to paralysing mediocrity through feeding them inferior education. The ANC supports the Bill. I thank you.