Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, officials from the Department of Basic Education and guests, I greet you all.
Some of the ANC's overall priorities are to reduce poverty and to address social challenges within our communities. The educational enrichment programme of the department has the purpose of developing policies and programmes to improve and enhance the quality of learning in our schools through multi-stakeholder programmes that also address issues that are socially challenging. This is one of the very important programmes, which takes away the notion that when we talk education we only look at the teacher, the learner and what takes place inside the classroom. This programme acknowledges that education can only be possible when the environment is conducive.
The programme gives support services especially to learners from poor communities. Most of these learners come from the townships and rural areas, and most of them are black learners. This programme adequately responds to the call made by the President of the country that education is a societal issue and has a variety of role-players other than the Department of Basic Education that have to make sure that effective and quality learning is rendered.
With issues such as poverty, drug abuse, security at schools and health issues of learners and teachers presenting serious challenges in our schools and communities, the department had to bring this programme to mitigate the effects of these challenges. Indeed, these challenges are critical obstacles to effective teaching and learning.
Hon Minister, we hope and believe that the programmes that you have put in place will ensure that the Department of Education makes great strides to strengthen our education system inside the classroom. Once we lay this solid groundwork in terms of the environment outside the classroom, it will ensure that education and teaching become effective. We would like to applaud you for these programmes and we hope they are going to make a huge improvement in our education system.
Again, I think I should applaud the Minister for taking into consideration such obstacles within our department. There are a number of collaborative programmes that the department has with other departments. I will mention the agreement that the Minister of Basic Education has signed with the Minister of Police to make sure that schools become places of safety, school-based crime prevention services are being offered, and that necessary interventions take place when needed. This agreement will be implemented in three phases. We are proud to announce that, last year alone, 1000 schools were linked to their local police stations. This year, 2011, in terms of the programme about 9000 schools will be linked to their police stations, and safe school committees will be trained to make sure that our schools become places of safety. Minister, we hope these programmes are going to make an effective change.
Another important programme that everybody who has spoken has mentioned is the quality teaching and learning campaign. In terms of this programme the department has a collaborative agreement between teacher unions, governing body associations and learner representative bodies. We hope that everybody will buy into this programme, that we are going to get buy-in from all stakeholders, so that civil society will make sure that education is a priority and takes an interest in what is happening in schools.
Ngqongqoshe okubuhlungu kakhulu ezinhlelweni ezinjengalezi uma sibuka umkhankaso wesimo sokufundisa nokufunda lapho sifuna ukubona abazali, imiphakathi, kanye nawo wonke amalungu omphakathi ezinikela ekutheni athuthukise imfundo yezikole zethu.
Kuba buhlungu kakhulu enhliziyweni uma sicabanga ukuthi abanye balaba bantu esifuna ukuthi bazoyithuthukisa imfundo yethu, abakwazanga ukuba balithole ithuba lokuthi baze mathupha esikoleni. Abakwazanga ukuba bakuthole ukuthi izikole kube yizindawo ezihlelekile ngendlela ofisayo ukuthi kwenzeke ngayo ngenxa yokuthi baphile kulesiya sikhathi esinzima abantu abakhule kusona.
Kodwa sithemba kunjalo kulezo zingqinamba ezinkulu ezinjalo ukuthi umkhankaso onjengalona sizokwazi ukusondeza wonke umuntu ukuze abone ngempela ngempela ukuthi imfundo iyona ngqikithi yempilo. Yilapho sizothola khona ukukhululeka kwezempilo, kwezepolitiki nakwezomnotho ngayo yonke indlela. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Minister, what is more painful in respect of programmes like these is when we look at the campaign of quality teaching and learning where we want to see parents, communities and all the members of the public committing themselves to improving our education.
It pains us a lot when we think that some of the people who want to help us improve our education have never been to school. They did not have an opportunity to attend school. They did not have a chance to make schools the organised places you would have loved them to be, because they lived during those hard times.
Nevertheless, we believe that with campaigns like this one we will be able to bring everybody on board so that they can realise that education is the key in life. That is where we will get freedom with regard to health, politics and in all aspects of the economy.]
We hope everybody will come on board with this quality teaching and learning campaign, so that we make sure that our education does deliver what we intend it to deliver. [Applause.]
Ngiyathanda futhi Ngqongqoshe ukuncoma ezinye zezinhlelo onazo zokubambisana kakhulu neminye iMinyango. Lezo ziyabonisa ngempela ukuthi uyabhekelela ukuthi imfundo akuyona into eyenzeka ekilasini kuphela. Ngizobalula nje izinhlelo ezimbalwa onazo lapho uMnyango ubambisene kakhulu nabezempilo. La esabona abantwana abayi-50 000 abafunda ezikoleni zamabanga aphansi ngonyaka odlule, bekwazile ukuthi bahlolwe, bacutshungulwe baxilongwe ukuthi yiziphi izinto ezingaba yizingqinamba ekufundeni kwabo besemazingeni aphansi.
Sithole abantwana behlolwa kuzifundazwe eziyisikhombisa ngonyaka odlule, ngenxa yokuthi kulezi ezimbili kube nezingqinamba ezibe khona, kodwa lokho kuyasibonisa ukuthi ngempela ngempela ezemfundo zethu ziyabonisa ukuthi uma sikwazi ukunakekela abantwana bethu ebuncaneni babo sizama ukususa izingqinamba abangaba nazo emfundweni. Labo bantwana sinesiqiniseko sokuthi ... (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Minister, I would like to commend some of the programmes that you have collaborated on with the other departments. These programmes indicate that you are aware that education is not something that only takes place in the classroom. I'll mention only a few programmes that you have where the department is collaborating with the Department of Health, where last year we saw and examined 50 000 primary school learners in order to find the barriers to learning while they are still in the lower grades.
Last year learners were examined in only seven provinces, because there were some problems in the other two. This is an indication that our education system will be able to cater for the needs of the children whilst they are in the lower grades. We are confident that those learners ...]
... the cohort that got in and was screened last year, won't have barriers in education; they won't have barriers in their learning when they go out. Minister, we hope and believe those programmes will continue because they really enhance our education system.
Ukuhlangana kwakho Ngqongqoshe noMnyango Wezempilo ikakhulukazi, siyathemba ukuthi uzokwazi ukwehlisa isibalo sabantwana esibathola betheleleka ngezifo ezinjengongculazi nothisha abaningi esithola ukuthi sebeyagula ngaleyo ndlela kube nezingqinamba ekutheni kuqhubeke kahle ukufundisa kwethu. Ngaleyo ndlela-ke izinhlelo ezinjenga lezi sithemba ukuthi zizoqhubeka zisisize kakhulu njengoba uziqalile. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[We believe that your meeting, especially with the Department of Health, will reduce the number of learners who are infected with diseases such as HIV, and the fact that many teachers are ill disturbs the culture of learning and teaching. We believe that programmes like these launched by you will continue to help us a lot.]
The collaborative programme that the department has with the Department of Sport and Recreation is also very important, and is going to make sure that our learners are engaged in a number of activities outside the classroom. These help with the enforcement of discipline and also have a great impact in reducing the dropout rate and absenteeism from school. We know the role that sport can play in terms of instilling discipline, and teaching team spirit, timekeeping and whatever. We know that once learners are involved in such programmes they will gain that discipline, which can be transferred to the classroom, and we will see great change in the education system. So we really applaud the department for coming up with such programmes that will enhance our education system.
Minister, I would be failing in my duty if I didn't mention our great programme of school enrichment, namely the school nutrition programme. This programme, Programme 5, has a budget of R4,8 billion. Of that budget, R4,5 billion is specifically used for the National School Nutrition Programme. This shows that the school nutrition programme is one of our priorities as government. People have been talking about teachers who are not excellent, people have been thinking that we can go back. They have been comparing grapes with apples, saying it was better in the past during the time of apartheid because education was still education. I would say that programmes such as the school nutrition programme are there to enhance and make sure that the endeavours of the department and the Minister to get quality education, are successful, because we have made the ground fertile. It is very difficult for a teacher to teach a sleepy learner who is hungry. That is why we see government wasting such a huge amount ... not wasting, using such a huge amount ... [Interjections.] OK, I agree. Thank you very much. Chairperson, I think even the comments I am getting from the opposite side ... [Interjections.]