Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, guests, there is a contract, explicit and implicit, overt and covert, silent and loud, between government and the nation, between government and teachers, between teachers and parents - that of producing the best out of every learner at all times and in all schools. The budget, in my understanding, is presented today with this objective in mind.
Chairperson, education in South Africa is like fixing a locomotive whose parts comprise the old and the new, which come in different models, are not in sync with one another and therefore do not manage to steer the train forward. You fix here, it leaks there; you fix here, it staggers there. Not only is maintenance of this asset very expensive; its ability to move forward is marred by frequent breakdowns, resulting in passengers hardly ever reaching their destinations.
Consequently, the passengers are offloaded at the wrong station at the wrong time, unable to go on with their journey. Those that survive the journey are confused and ill prepared to withstand the demands of their destination and are not able to negotiate a journey forward. Some do not qualify to board the next trains, while for others the trains may be travelling at higher and faster speeds for them to get on. What you then find are desperate people alongside the rail, hiking, desperate and willing to board anything that comes by. [Interjections.]