Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Ministers, hon members and guests, it is an honour to take part in this policy debate on basic education. The key priority of the Department of Basic Education is to educate our nation. With this in mind, and given our expectations of the forming of a quality nation, we have to bear in mind that we must have quality teachers; quality teaching materials; quality and high-integrity staff and educators; staff and educators with pride and a responsible character; quality training of educators, and one goal for all, which is quality delivery in outcome and performance of teachers and learners.
If these are our goals and achievements, then we can reach the goal of contributing towards improving quality of life and building a peaceful and prosperous democratic South Africa. We must provide people with quality skills to help them in their quest for employment and to grow the economy.
We are confronted with the question: How successful is our quality education of learners in the early childhood development, foundation, primary and intermediate phases of Basic Education? Can we say that we are satisfied with the achievements of the Department of Basic Education? They said it well and we appreciate that they have recognised that learning and teaching outcomes, particularly in the foundation phase and certain subjects, are not satisfactory; that we score low on international assessment benchmarks; that there is less than satisfactory performance across the grades and phases; that the quality of learning outcomes is among the lowest in the middle-income countries; and that a gap in leadership, competence and professionalism exists.
It is equally right that the department confesses the challenges and does not shy away from the problems. The challenge is to pinpoint exactly which and where the causes are that lead to these problems. Is it true that our educators cannot teach or don't have skills to perform their duty to educate our learners? I can say with pride that our educators do not lack skills and intelligence; the problems are somewhere else.
We must have the guts to ask the educators what the problems are that prevent them from delivering quality education. I am not referring to the unions. I am actually referring to the grass roots in the education sector. Enough money in Basic Education is not a problem. Poor control, monitoring, management, evaluation, discipline and integrity are to be blamed. That is why we are talking today about Triple T - teachers, textbooks and time. If we can address this fast, effectively and with vigour, then we will see progress in the quality of the numeracy and literacy skills of our learners.
The problems in the department of education in the Eastern Cape and the underspending of funds in other provinces are irresponsible and a crime against humanity. Discipline and accountability must be demanded of those responsible in management. No mercy must be shown or excuses accepted. If this is not done, then we have failed in our obligation to deliver quality deliverables. We are all then also guilty of failing the community. The question can be asked: Does the Department of Basic Education have the capacity and any plans to assist provinces which have these weaknesses? I would like the Minister to actually choose to say today what the situation is.
Addressing the backlogs in infrastructure delivery can create bigger problems if we do not plan responsibly and effectively. We appreciate the building of new schools where there are mud schools. There must be a plan with an outline for implementation, progress and completion. We must be sure that the country and the companies and businesses involved can deliver the required amount of cement, bricks, building materials and the rest on time. In our time of governing, I think 45 new hospitals will have to be built in South Africa. If this can't happen, chaos will be created. The completion time must be carefully planned and conducted to prevent overspending. Again, this boils down to discipline and effectiveness.
My time does not allow me to address the other issues, but the gain of achieving success is most definitely discipline, responsibility, accountability and performance. Thank you.