Speaker, the President, Deputy President and hon members, I would like to devote my time to the question of education and skills acquisition. I believe that we are in agreement that education is the key to uplifting the millions of disadvantaged people in this country.
We also need to say unequivocally that failure to address the shortcomings in education is tantamount to condemning the entire new generation to continued poverty. So when we speak about improving education, we are not merely talking about the benefits of action, but also about the terrible consequences of inaction. Right now, we have several million young people in this country who are unemployed and deeply frustrated by the failure of the education system to prepare them properly for further study or finding employment.
Whilst we welcome the measures you have announced with regard to improving basic literacy and assessing every school, these are ad hoc interventions. What the UDM has advocated and still advocates - and we would plead with you to urgently adopt it as government policy - is the reintroduction of school inspectors who on a regular basis will visit and assess performance in schools. That is the best way to ensure that teachers and pupils maintain discipline and focus on schooling.
Another major benefit of school inspectors would be to identify and continually track improvements at schools that are in desperate need of basic facilities, such as running water and weatherproof classrooms.
We get the distinct impression that currently the Department of Education is not completely aware of where the neediest schools are, neither is anybody in government tracking whether these schools are benefitting from the funding that is set aside to assist them.
The UDM is concerned that this government is failing to acknowledge that there is a serious disparity between what is being taught at our schools and FET institutions, and what is required for further study or employment.
The outcomes-based education policy has only exacerbated the problem. Universities and employers in general report that matriculants and college leavers simply do not possess the most basic skills.
This is the core of our unemployment crisis. This is why even in a growing economy more jobs are not created: because there are not enough people who have the skills to make such jobs viable. We are particularly concerned about the relegation of career guidance to a subtopic in the so-called Life Skills subject at school level. I think the Deputy Minister of Economic Development has said a lot about this and I want to thank her for that.
Is it any wonder that our children are ill-prepared for the rigours of further study or the workplace? If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.
As you can see, what we are suggesting are simple measures. This is because we fervently believe that a return to the basics is what will produce the best results. It is not necessary to complicate matters. Teachers must work, children must learn, inspectors must evaluate, assess and provide guidance. [Time expired.] I thank you.