Chairperson and hon members, you will have to bear with me. My voice is very hoarse; I have flu. Let me start by appreciating the presentation done by the Minister and wishing her well in the task that lies ahead.
Cope applauds the Department of Basic Education for having been allocated a budget that, we believe, is sufficient for all its needs. As Cope, we view this as a sign of government's commitment to ensure that education, as a critical, life-determining factor for all, is subsequently attained by all.
This week marks National Library Week. It is a week that may be viewed as having no significance to many of our learners, who should be celebrating their right to learn. Although it may be 16 years since the democratic dispensation, the fruits of this freedom, one of which should be the enjoyment by learners across this country of an intensification of reading and learning as libraries are made available to them, remain no more than a wish to many.
Cope believes that if the Department of Basic Education has thus far not been able to achieve this basic requirement, then the departmental deadline of September 2010 for promoting libraries means they remain a privilege to be enjoyed by a few while the majority of our learners remain on the periphery.
Cope wishes to propose to the department that having mobile libraries, which visit schools each week, may be a view that the department wants to take. We believe strongly that this will ensure that, at least for one week, each school will have the opportunity of having its learners interfacing with libraries, as they are supposed to.
The latest statistics, which reveal that of the 25 000 schools in South Africa only about 5 000 have libraries, are a serious indictment of this government. If our education system is to produce results that attest to a learning, reading and progressing society, this paradigm will have to change.
Cope is, however, concerned that where less than 20% of our schools have these facilities, many of the schools that cater for disabled learners do not have this facility at all. Minister, Cope believes that able and disabled people differ only in a particular area of disability but that, beyond that, everything our people are entitled to should be enjoyed by all, irrespective of their physical, mental or visual ability.
We are calling on the department to move swiftly to address this matter. The government has given acknowledgement to disabled people, so it cannot be that the same group of vulnerable people has their needs regarded as secondary or peripheral at other times.
Cope calls on the department to conduct research into the drop-out rate of disabled people, many of whom drop out not from choice but because conditions make education a living misery for them. This is one of the problems that must be addressed at the level of basic education in order to inform change at the level of tertiary institutions, which are also hard hit by this reality.
As Cope, we believe firmly that the Department of Basic Education should not rejoice seeing any of its learners getting out of the education system as a result of the department not having met its constitutional obligations. Through your will, this can be addressed too.
Cope agrees with most South Africans on the critical importance of education and building a prosperous country, as well as training being essential to meeting the challenges our country faces. If this is what many of us seated in this House believe, including the department, the critical question that must be asked is whether or not the department is working towards addressing this current challenge. This question is relevant because if government is to overcome the current shortage of skills in the labour market, this must be addressed by the matric results, which contribute largely to the nature of skills our tertiary institutions are likely to produce.
Cope believes firmly that the department should be worried about the degenerating standard of results which we see annually when the matric results are announced. This must worry us because if our interest as a government is to see a big intake at Grade 12 for statistical reasons without taking serious cognisance of the required outcome, namely that of producing results that will be labour competitive beyond universities and technikons, then we ourselves will be contributing immensely to the current demise that faces our country on the skills front.
In this regard, Cope pleads with the department to give much-desired attention to early childhood development, ECD. It can only be through a solid foundation that our country will finally overcome an unstable education system, as indicated by high drop-out levels, as well as the increasing levels of illiteracy that is overwhelming our society at the moment.
It is the view of Cope that as long as the needs of our education system's foundation phase are not adequately addressed with regards to being resourced, equipped and staffed, we will just continue awaiting better results, firing teachers and closing down schools, while the challenge will continue remaining as well.
With the budget of the department for curriculum policy, support and monitoring being R1,3 billion for the current financial year, Cope calls on the department to be mindful of the fact that there are kids in the villages of Ga-Maja and Ga-Chuene in Polokwane, Limpopo, who sit on the grass in an open space while being taught.
Hon Minister, in your own words and the President's state of the nation address, the department and the government are committed to dealing with this matter. Our belief as Cope is that, again, Minister, through your will and the available budget, this matter may and can be addressed.
Our determination as a people to leave a lasting legacy on the education front cannot be characterised by the above circumstances. The department must allocate sufficient funds to deal with these matters. We believe that the gap that exists between ECD centres in urban and rural areas has to be closed, and it must be closed now.
Cope says this fully conscious of the fact that, to realise this goal, a lot will need to be done and a lot will need to be taken into consideration.
In conclusion, I want to quote from James M Berry, and I quote ... [Time expired.]