Chairperson, hon Minister, hon special delegates and hon members, the existing Council of South African Educators was established in 1995 through an agreement in the Labour Relations Council. This collective effort by the state as employer of educators on the one hand, and the trade unions on the other hand, sought to establish a professional council to register educators and discipline them if they should be in breach of their code of conduct. The council was therefore perceived to be more an extension of the Education Labour Relations Council, rather than a professional body which would inspire and strive for more noble ideals in the promotion of the profession. The passing and the subsequent amendment of the Employment of Educators Act of 1998 attempted to correct the situation, but could not overcome the inherent impediments, such as addressing the image of the council and the legal restrictions embodied in the Act.
Currently the council consists of members representing public institutions. In this Bill before us, the majority of members, that is 18, will be institution-based educators, employed in various educational institutions which were not accommodated before. One can then boldly say that the composition of the council proposed in this Bill is inclusive of all facets of the education spectrum and the community at large, through the National Association of Governing Bodies. There are therefore no more doubts or hassles as far as the composition of the council is concerned, since the structure of the new council, including the all-important position of the chairperson, were decided upon through elaborate deliberation processes involving all stakeholders. The Bill itself also underwent several amendments before presentation to this Chamber. In this regard, one can say that the principle of participatory democracy was exercised extensively when this Bill was negotiated.
Any law becomes obsolete when not practised or exercised. As public representatives we have to publicise the contents of this Bill when it becomes law, with the same vigour and consistency that was displayed during the negotiation stage. The newly elected governing bodies should continue to be our active and reliable partners in the transformation of the educational sector. The functioning of the council, as well as of its statutory committees, presents us with immense challenges which cannot be overcome in a passive way. I am referring here in particular to the challenge posed by the charting of the future of thousands of underqualified and unqualified educators in Mpumalanga and elsewhere, not to mention the so-called unemployed teachers. I believe that we should never, ever think that they are not our responsibility, and the same goes for the situation of illiteracy in our communities.
An average employee in any institution is usually preoccupied with working conditions and other things concerning himself or herself, but in the education field we find educators and other stakeholders being concerned about the ethical standards of this noble profession. Yes, it happened in other professions, but through interaction with the educators and other stakeholders, I am inclined to believe that the educators and these stakeholders unwittingly espouse a higher degree of patriotism. To these dedicated men, including our hon Minister and his formidable team up there, I would like to say ``keep up the good work''. [Applause.]