I am so intimidated, Chair, by the important people who are here today that I am going to use the old school habit and say, "Good afternoon, madams and sirs".
In 1855, the Governor of the Cape, Sir George Grey, said the following:
If we leave the natives beyond our border ignorant barbarians, they will remain a race of troublesome marauders. We should try to make them a part of ourselves with a common faith and common interests, useful servants, consumers of our goods, contributors to our revenue ... The native races beyond our boundary, influenced by our missionaries, instructed in our schools, benefiting by our trade, would not make war on our frontiers.
If we consider that slavery had been abolished in the British Empire a mere 23 years earlier, we can see that from its inception formal education in this country was used as a tool to orchestrate better societal outcomes for the ruling elite and was primarily aimed at the subjugation of the indigenous people.
History records that education in South Africa existed well before the advent of some Dutch ships in 1652. The Khoi hunters and San herders lived around the Cape. Their young people were groomed and educated in a holistic sense, without formal classrooms. Their classrooms were the panoramic vistas of the Cape and the Kalahari. Their teachers would be the elders in their communities, and the knowledge that was passed from generation to generation was so rich that today those small remnants that have survived the virtual genocide of those earliest inhabitants form the subject of patents in the multibillion pharmaceutical industry. Similar sources of knowledge pertained in the Nguni-speaking tribes to the east of the Cape, as well as in the Sotho tribes of the interior.
Education was part of daily life in these communities. Children learnt by doing, and they continued to learn well into their young adult lives. Oral history stretching back hundreds of years was taught and carried forward into everyday life. The art of storytelling was rich, and cultural activities such as dance and other rituals held meaning in everyday societal practice. In this way, young people were able to find their individual place in society. Some who were good at remembering became the repositories of historical events and were often consulted to draw from the lessons of the past in matters of conflict and dispute resolution. They were, in effect, the lawyers and judges of their communities. Those who understood how to use the bounty of nature were the doctors and veterinarians who treated illnesses. Those who inclined towards the ethereal became spiritual guides. Those who were good with their hands became craftsmen who made weapons for hunting and tools. Those who were good storytellers were the entertainers, prized for their wonderful, dramatic renditions around the communal fires under the starry skies. Those who were good athletes were the best of warriors or hunters. In other words, everyone had the opportunity to excel in worthwhile pursuits of importance to society as a whole.
I don't mean to suggest that we should return to the hunter-gatherer lifestyles of the past, but I do want us to sit here today and use these thoughts to consider the meaning of education. I will allude to these images I have raised a little later in my speech. Let us now return to the formal schooling system of present-day South Africa. It is a historical imperative to reverse the legacy of a flawed schooling system. This is a colossal task. The layers of challenge in the schooling system are so many and so varied that they can fill the pages of many chapters in a book. Therefore, it is important to prioritise what, in the next five years, we as the governing party will do to maximise reform, and you have done so very ably this afternoon, Madam Minister.
In this regard, the ANC opted for a Ten Point Plan, which I will proceed to re-examine today. Point number one, which the hon Minister also began with, is that teachers should be in class, teaching. That this point is made first is no accident. It does not matter how qualified teachers are or how well equipped classrooms are, if teachers and principals allow ill discipline to set in, the enormous resources we have put into education will deliver a paucity of outcomes. The plan means for students to ensure that they arrive at school on time, and may I commend the organisation Equal Education for campaigning among the youth on this very important practice.
For teachers it means time on task, no late-coming and no unnecessary absences from the classroom. We have repeatedly seen the phenomenon of teachers absenting themselves during the school day, whether on wildcat strikes or to attend memorial services, etc. The message from us in the portfolio committee is that we will not tolerate this behaviour, and we will not let the Department of Basic Education tolerate it either. In this regard, it is heartening that all teacher unions have bound themselves to a social compact to enhance the adherences by their membership to these non- negotiables, and we commend each and every one involved in this initiative.
The second aspect of the plan is aimed at implementing the Foundations for Learning Programme and improved early childhood development, ECD. We are aware that many learners exit the foundation phase without the basic literacy and numeracy skills required to succeed later on. The focus on numeracy and literacy through the Foundations for Learning Programme is, therefore, timely and will no doubt yield positive results in the future.
In Parliament, our focus will be on implementation and ensuring that lesson plans are in all schools and that the workbooks that are planned for roll- out next year actually materialise. ECD will be addressed in greater detail by the hon Agnes Mashishi in her speech today, so I will proceed to the next point, which is external tests in Grades 3,6 and 9, something you also alluded to, Madam Minister.
This will essentially be a monitoring mechanism for the department's interventions aimed at improving literacy and numeracy. As the acting director-general said in the portfolio committee last week, these tests must not raise the stress levels of our learners the way the matric examinations do. We agree, and I would strongly urge that the results should not be allowed to determine in any way the eligibility or otherwise of young learners' entrance into institutions of higher education.
The development of teachers comes in at number four on the Ten Point Plan and reads as follows: "Teachers should be evaluated based on the extent to which learner performances improve, with results influencing occupationally specific dispensation pay for teachers." The plan also requires the department to put systems in place that will enhance the recruitment of quality teachers and strengthen teacher development.
There is some merit in the department's contention that one can't separate learner outcomes from adequate infrastructure, social problems, managerial issues, etc. Therefore, to evaluate teacher performance on learner outcomes is overly simplistic. The department has, therefore, decided to move away from linking teacher performance and pay progression, and I am very glad about the prospect of the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit, Needu, coming to fruition in this regard. We keenly await its implementation.
I wish to make a few observations regarding teacher development. Firstly, we should differentiate between the issue of basic teacher performance and competence and further teacher development. We need teachers in our schools who have the required subject knowledge and the necessary ability to impart the curriculum to learners. We must admit that mistakes have been made in the recent past and that there is a big disparity between what student teachers are being taught at universities and the skills actually required in the classroom. This must mean that we need to get a massive, coherent and specific training programme under way, and soon.
The department should drive this process centrally, swiftly and decisively. There is no debate about what this entails. There is no confusion, because the department knows very well what it needs its employees to deliver as a core function in the classroom. I, therefore, strongly disagree that the issue of what teachers need as core competence (or basic teacher development) should be the subject of endless debate and consultation. Perhaps such discussion should focus on the manner in which such training is provided, and on the timelines we need to install.
In this regard, institutions of higher education must relook their outputs, which fail to address the needs of the classroom situation. I am of the view that it lies with the Department of Basic Education to design a practice-based teacher training framework against which universities and other teacher education institutions need to benchmark their teacher- training content. This sounds like a daunting task, but I believe firmly that we have the expertise to achieve much in a relatively short time. The department should focus its efforts on this area, and we are going to need the support of all stakeholders, including teacher unions and the Department of Higher Education and Training.
This also pertains to the issue of the development of basic managerial competencies in schools and in our districts.
I recently took the initiative to congratulate some schools that achieved a 100% pass rate in matric and invited those principals to share good practices with the rest of South Africa, as part of the public hearings the portfolio committee has embarked on. I wish to read one of those responses today. It was received from Horskool Goudrif, located in Germiston. It reads, in part, "Thank you for your letter dated 21 January, congratulating the school on our 100% pass rate. It was very special to receive a letter all the way from Cape Town. Aspects that affect quality outcomes in our case are the following: a general environment of learning and teaching, in which we try our best to ensure that our learners attend school, as far as possible, on a daily basis. We do this by phoning parents regularly and by sending letters of concern. We have extra classes during the year for all Grade 12 learners, from 14:00 to 16:00 on Fridays. We follow up on every case of nonattendance and put some pressure on parents as well. The educators are well prepared for every lesson. They have to be on time and on top of their work. The management team of the school spends hours checking up on the educators in their departments. Continuous assessment is of great importance. The pressure is on from day one, and we try not to interrupt the school programme. I hope that our contribution will be of some use. Yours sincerely, M Mills, principal."
The theme of discipline and dedication on the part of teachers and principals comes up again and again in successful schools, one of which is Sol Plaatje Secondary School in Mmabatho. Principal Sanassiee writes, "I have copied your letter to all members of my staff, who agree that your notice of their efforts and commitment to education has been appreciated. Your letter, now framed, occupies a place of prestige in the school foyer for all who visit us to read. We now venture into 2010 with the expectation of producing more quality results from our learners through our intensive Grade 12 revision programme for the year." Principal Sanassiee promises: "We will not cease in our quest for excellence."
I don't think, Minister, that I need to say more on the issue of good administrators. I have heard you before on this matter, and I know that you regard this as a major priority.
The Ten-Point Plan refers to delivering on infrastructure as an incentive for schools that deliver improved teaching and learning. Madam Minister, we promised a while back that we would be rid of mud schools and schools under trees, particularly in our rural areas. We are pleased that you and the President, as you've said, have discussed the unlocking of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup capacity and the momentum created in the building of stadiums and that you are committed to finding extra money to deliver on these infrastructural promises.
However, we must acknowledge that provinces are meant to provide for infrastructural needs in the first place. Alignment of provincial budgets and the budgeting process itself needs attention. We cannot say education is an apex priority and continue to work in the same manner we always have. This issue is also addressed in the Ten-Point Plan. It speaks about introducing efficiencies of education expenditure and improving national and provincial alignments.
We, therefore, need a countrywide audit of infrastructure backlogs, and we should ensure that the budget which the Minister of Finance says is available to education does actually go to education in the provinces. We have to monitor closely this aspect of the budget, and we will begin, Minister, by asking for this audit, which you have already spoken about today, as well as costing. We will do so, hopefully, with the support of the Speaker of this Parliament, in conjunction with the provincial legislatures and those committees of education. The rest of the Ten-Point Plan I will not speak about, as my colleagues in the ANC will be doing so in their speeches this afternoon.
In closing, let me return to the form of education that existed in the communities that the early Dutch settlers found when they landed at the Cape. As I said, young people were primed to become useful members of their community as the most fundamental priority. No one learning method or single academic mould was forced onto them. In this regard, we must look at the way in which we treat individual differences in our country and let it reflect total acceptance within our schooling system.
Internationally, there has been a rejection in advanced economies of a single academic stream in education. Germany, I am told, has only 20% of its schools in the academic mould, which is similar to the mould that South Africa is using, and 80% of their schools are vocational. This has long been identified as part of government's thinking on the broader issue of transforming our education system in line with constitutional values, particularly with the principle of equality. We are not all the same, so why should we all learn the same? The report of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, which was tabled today, refers to 2,7 million young people in this country who are unemployed.
Put simply, Minister, we need more options for our school-going children. We need a vocational stream of schooling that is more in line with the needs of learners, of society as a whole and with global trends. The portfolio committee will, therefore, be going to skills-based schools very soon, and hopefully we will be able to persuade the department to bring this sadly neglected issue back into central focus within the next few months.
To conclude, let me read from the very first White Paper on Education, which states the following:
An integrated approach implies a view of learning which rejects a rigid division between academic and applied, theory and practice, knowledge and skills, head and hand. Such divisions have characterised the organisation of curricula and the distribution of educational opportunities in many countries of the world, including South Africa. They have grown out of, and helped to reproduce, very old occupational and social class distinctions. In South Africa, such distinctions in curriculum and career choice have also been closely associated in the past with the ethnic structure of economic opportunity and power.
Successful modern economies and societies require the elimination of these artificial hierarchies, and I certainly, Madam Minister, want to echo these words today, because I do think it poses a particular challenge for us in the schooling system going forward.
Finally, let me take this opportunity, Madam Minister, to thank you and the Deputy Minister for a very good and heartening working relationship. To the acting director-general and the officials and leaders of the various institutions, the SA Council for Educators, SACE, the Education Labour Relations Council, ELRC, Umalusi - if I have forgotten anybody else, please excuse me: I would like to thank you for the professionalism you all displayed whenever we have engaged with you. I thank you all for your attention. [Applause.]