Thank you, Speaker. Hon President, I appreciate what you have been saying about agreements that have been reached. This is not the first time that agreements have been reached. In the past some agreements were not honoured.
Government has made commitments in that the ability of children to read and write is going to be improved. It is not happening. Today, according to the latest reports, the Eastern Cape has the highest absenteeism in the country. Teachers are spending an average of three and a half hours in class teaching, thereby undermining the seven-hour rule.
What I want to know from the President is: In spite of the agreements that have been made, does government have a plan or another plan, because the other plans did not work. Does government have a plan this time that will work in order to enforce the seven-hour rule so that teachers will be in class to teach our children?
The sad thing is to hear that parents are sacrificing money to send their children to the Western Cape to get better education because teachers in the Eastern Cape are failing the parents. Is there something new that government is going to do? [Applause.]