The funds can be found by a major cutting exercise in the overheads and nonpriority programmes of the national department.
Finally, the buy-in of trade unions and professional associations for this bold plan has to be secured to focus on the educational rights of the child rather than the labour rights of adults. This will require a considerable push, not only from the Minister, but from President Jacob Zuma and the senior leadership in Cabinet.
In closing, it was former President Nelson Mandela who said about teachers, in a book I co-edited with Professor Kader Asmal and Professor David Chidester entitled Nelson Mandela: From Freedom to the Future, a book we gave him on his 85th birthday in 2003, where, in speaking about overcoming the legacy of apartheid and education through proper policies, and I quote:
Teachers cannot evade individual responsibility for achieving excellence. Transformation ...
And it still had great meaning then -
... includes making the most of the limited opportunities available. It can never mean suspending the striving for quality and excellence until ideal conditions are achieved.
I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]