Chairperson, 35 years ago, on 16 June, the youth of our country took to the streets, protesting for better education. Our young lions and lionesses put up a gallant fight against an evil apartheid regime that maimed and killed many of their comrades during the 16 June 1976 uprisings.
Their only sin was the colour of their skin. They refused to be recipients of a Bantu education that only sought to keep black people as drawers of water and hewers of wood. The Bantu education system was designed to teach us Africans how to be submissive servants to the diabolic apartheid system.
We must acknowledge that a lot has been done since those dark days of apartheid to create an education system that uses education as a tool for the development of a responsible and thoughtful society. I doff my hat to the ANC government for the sterling job done thus far. [Applause.]
However, much more still has to be done to address overcrowded classrooms across the country. In many peri-urban and rural schools, in particular, this is the single biggest menace to the quality of education for the poor.
Most public schools around the country suffer from a severe lack of facilities and resources. This creates a dichotomous education system with quality being the prerogative of the haves but not the have-nots. By continuing on this path, we are undoing everything that the youth of 1976 fought for.
Chairperson, youth unemployment is unacceptably high and is estimated at more than 50%. Drug and alcohol abuse destroys the lives of many young people across the country.
We therefore need to redouble our efforts to create a caring Parliament that is understood by the youth and one that understands its role in helping to bring about quality education, economic freedom and empowerment for the youth of South Africa. I thank you.