Chairperson, we must not look at the pass rate and say that we are training our matriculants in large numbers. How many of these matriculants can become part of the professional middle class in South Africa? We must also ensure that many colleges, technical colleges and skills development centres are being built.
The former Minister who was in charge of the Public Service made the statement that there are hundreds of thousands of vacancies in the Public Service and that South Africans are not qualified to fill these vacancies. This is an indictment of our education system. It shows that our education system is not doing what is needed to satisfy South Africa's manpower needs.
The fault with education is that we have governing bodies, mostly unqualified, that determine staff appointments, promotions and the future of educators. It should be a number-one priority to amend the SA Schools Act, so that the future of professionals is handled by professionals.
Secondly, tell the trade unions that they can't jointly run the government. However, we agree that their task is to look after the welfare of the teaching profession.
Thirdly, all appointments should be made on merit and South Africans must abandon doing things according to race.
Fourthly, schools are left to fund security with their own resources. This means that in some instances they are left with no resources.
Lastly, discipline at schools is chaotic. No form of punishment has replaced corporal punishment. This issue is left to each individual school. Schools don't know what's happening and may land up in trouble. The government needs to provide some concrete policy directives.
Outstanding educators are leaving the country and getting excellent jobs in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, just on the production of their CVs. We must start something new, called the knowledge industry, which is very important. It knows no race, no barrier, no colour and no nationality. The MF is extremely concerned that the world is grabbing people with knowledge while South Africa is chasing away people with knowledge. I find it hurtful, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, when outstanding matriculants are paraded, only to be told a few weeks later, by the medical schools and universities, "Sorry, we can't take you because you are not black".
It is high time that South Africa realises it is going to pay a heavy price for this. It is very important that education determines this direction and education must have a proper focus. The MF will support the Budget Vote.