Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Chairperson, chairperson of the select committee, hon Minister B E Nzimande and hon members of the NCOP, I humbly greet you all and bring with me greetings from the Mpumalanga provincial legislature.
Mhlonitjhwa Sihlalo, kulithabo kimi kobana ngilotjhise godu ngibandakanywe ekulumenipikiswano le bonyana sibonelele bona singathuthikisa bunjani amathuba wefundo ephakemeko ebantwini abatlhagako enarheni yekhethu le. Yeke-ke, irherho leli litjho bonyana sitswenyeke kwamambala ngesitjhaba esinzima ngombana ngiso ebesisasalele emuva ngetuthuko kwezefundo ngaphasi kombuso wegandelelo. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[Hon Chairperson, it is an honour for me to express my greetings and be part of this debate that seeks to find solutions on how we can create opportunities at institutions of higher learning for the poor people in our country. This programme shows that we are seriously concerned about the black population because it is the one that was left behind under the apartheid government in terms of educational developments.]
Allow me to quote from our greatest statesman and our former President, Comrade Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, when he said:
A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.
It is indeed a great thing to give a proper and quality education to all our people, but it is indeed very good to provide higher quality education to the poor. The poorest of the poorest also need this education to take care of themselves in the future and their surroundings. Education is a powerful instrument to change the future of all societies and lay a firm foundation for the betterment of life for both the rich and the poor.
It is through an increase in access to higher education and training that the power of education's transformative effect on society and individual lives can be realised. The government's efforts at identifying the critical challenges facing our country in order to enhance the relevance and responsiveness of the country's education and training system are beginning to yield the desired results.
We are beginning to realise a remarkable increase in the number of post- school registrations. The national participation rate of 17% for tertiary study, for the head count enrolments of 18-to 24-year-olds, is an improvement, but is insufficient to achieve the desired objective as set out in the current ministerial statement.
In Mpumalanga province, FET college enrolments have seen this growth moving from 1 900 to 8 400 over the past 10 years. There is no doubt that an astronomical percentage of these new registrations derives from poor working backgrounds. This, and other credible independent institutions, adds impetus to the government's desire and effort to promote quality education across all levels of the education system; increase post-school opportunities, and expand access to the higher education and training system, particularly for poor and working-class citizens.
The government is steadfast in its acknowledgement of constitutional imperatives to ensure the provision of quality education to all and thereby free the potential of all citizens. In this context, fundamental mechanisms are put in place to guarantee access to post-school education.
This includes the strategic mandate and goals articulated in the creation of national institutions for higher education, which play a pivotal role in fostering coherent and well-co-ordinated higher education and training for parts of the country which do not have the formal, localised university infrastructures.
These fundamentals commence with a force to ensure that all school-going children attend school and learn every school day. This then creates an appropriate foundation for these future generations to develop and progress accordingly upon reaching Grade 12. This takes into account and is driven by the clarion call made by His Excellency President Dr J G Zuma that teachers must be in school teaching for at least seven hours a day.
We take pride in the fact that our children of today are no longer faced with what used to be almost insurmountable challenges in efforts to enrol and meaningfully participate at institutions of higher education. This is thanks to the visionary foresight of this government that continues to make provision for bursaries through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and other related awards.
Hon Minister, we really appreciate that upon the full completion of the course of study, the loan will become a full bursary to learners. This is empowerment of the poor and the working class at its best, and Cope must not claim victory over that.
As envisaged by former President Mandela, today it's the norm that a child of a farm worker can seamlessly become an engineer and that the financial status of families is no longer a hindrance for the children to acquire quality education. There is growing evidence in all our institutions that the commitment of government, business and society in investing in the future by empowering the youth of this country has begun to bear tangible fruits.
This government's categorisation of education as the number one priority for the current administration indicates the appreciation of its centrality in the socioeconomic transformation and development agenda.
Ukuthuthukisa amathuba wefundo ephakemeko ebantwini abatlhogako kulihlelo esiliyelelako eMpumalanga. Ihlelo leli lenze kobana i-RDP yenze kobana kuvuselelwe i-Agricultural College esele ithomileko ukunikela ilwazi ebafundini. Imifundaze ekhona ikwazile ukuthuthukisa nokulwa nezinga lobutlhagi ngombana abafundi bafundiswa nokuthi bangathuthukisa bunjani izinga lobulili nokulima iintoni nanyana iingadi ezingabasiza emakhaya.
Singathokoza nangabe iindawo zebanga lefundo ephakemeko, njengeNdebele College of Education neMapulaneng College of Education, okumaboda amahle kodwana angasizi ngalitho zingavulwa begodu zithuthukiswe. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraphs follows.)
[The programme to create educational opportunities is one area that we have prioritised for the poor people in Mpumalanga. This RDP programme has ensured a reopening of the agricultural college that has started to provide education to learners. The bursaries that are available are able to reduce the level of poverty because the learners are taught how they can develop their own food gardens that can help them in their homes.
We would be thankful if the buildings that were used as institutions of higher learning like the Ndebele College of Education and the Mapulaneng College of Education, which are buildings of high quality, could be opened for use, and they should be upgraded.]
Our higher learning institutions continue to offer world-class tuition to enable graduates to contribute meaningfully to the sustenance of livelihoods and mankind. This can only happen in a culture that takes pride in investing resources in its future, and this government will remain committed to these endeavours for as long as the educational development of our youth and the poor remains a challenge.
It remains prudent therefore that we should continue to call upon our youth to take advantage of all available opportunities to turn their situations around for the better. Our communities must equally be empowered to remain as ambassadors of our quest to liberate this country through access to education without hindrances. Thank you, Deputy Chairperson. [Applause.]