Hon Chairperson, education is the strongest means of social empowerment and should be used to drive out the inequalities that hamper our society. Those who have always gone to Model C schools must not be hypocritical, and when the conditions of the poor are systematically improved, they should not shout to protect the privileged on the one hand and suppress the poor on the other. [Interjections.] If one looks objectively at where education was in 1994 and where it is today, one will take particular note of the fact that our matriculants have almost doubled.
We have come a long way, but that does not mean that there is not a lot of work to be done. We applaud the Minister for her stance in concluding a truce in regard to the protest action. Having said that, a programme of action must be implemented to deal with the one month's work that was lost. The MF is concerned about overcrowding in schools. We have not decreased the learner and educator ratio for the past three to four years. We as government are absolutely responsible. I understand that we are going through an economic recession, but something must be done.
The hon President made a statement with regard to the improvement of the salaries of educators. How was that catered for in the budget? Has the budget catered sufficiently for the roll-out of the nutrition programme to all schools? We must ensure that the rural incentive is paid to educators in terms of the performance management development system.
The issue of the improvement of quality teacher training is divided in many areas. Do we have sufficient training institutions for educators? It is clear that we don't, especially when the unions are establishing their own. We need to take this matter forward. The MF suggests that we refer this matter to a task team, to come up with proposals identifying institutions in all of the provinces.
We have a great number of qualified and underqualified educators. We need to train more teachers and more funding must be directed towards these concerns as the MF views this as a neglected area. The MF further calls for an urgent audit and a programme to fast-track the eradication of backlogs, particularly in the building of schools and classrooms.
Although the Minister has taken the issue of the insults to the equality courts, it is not enough. The media is using pictures to identify people who were demonstrating with those unethical slogans. The provincial department must deal with it as cases of misconduct because it's definitely a breach of the demonstrators' contractual obligations. [Interjections.] [Applause.] One cannot raise issues on the street and blame the Minister, instead of raising them in the bargaining council. [Applause.] [Interjections.] Without antagonising the Minister, I believe that if there are any people who have misrepresented us and signed agreements without her authorisation, she needs to get rid of them.
The Minister must take heed of the growing spectra of the population, and be reminded of and guided by the National Development Plan, NDP. The MF further proposes a strong maintenance budget which should be maintained by a huge amount. Each year the fiscus must provide, so that on the one hand we maintain that which we have, upgrade that which is in a poor condition and, in certain instances, rebuild.
We have a collective responsibility to ensure the dignity and safety of women. As more women enter public spaces for education or work, there are more reports of violence against them. The MF stands in solidarity with our girl-children and women. We further emphasise ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]