Chairperson, Ministers, hon members of the Council, hon guests, this debate is very important as we look at the percentage of unemployment, which is more than 20%.
Issues of concern which threaten the nation's continued development are the growing poverty levels and increasing gap between the rich and the poor, poor municipal service delivery, poor educational outcomes, the high crime rate, the constant rise of petrol and diesel prices, moral standards decreasing in communities, etc.
To bring substance to the greater understanding of the subject of poverty and opportunities, we must understand what poverty is. Poverty is not only the lack of financial resources, but is more than that. According to Amartya Sen's book, Inequality re-examined, poverty is the lack of capability to function effectively in society.
Absolute poverty and the absence of adequate resources hamper learning in developing countries through poor nutrition, health, home circumstances, the lack of books, lighting or places to do homework and the educational status of the parents.
I want to point out to the Minister that there is a huge lack of student housing and accommodation at universities and FET colleges. Hon Minister, I have written a letter to your department to request a report on this situation and I hope that I'll receive the answer as soon as possible and I thank you for now.
The percentage level of people with HIV/Aids is high and the lack of educational skills and qualifications can also hamper our capacity to provide more opportunities for our citizens as more money has to be spent on health and medicine to tackle this pandemic. This brings me immediately to this question: Must we expand opportunities to higher education to the poor or not?
In our education sector we have the problems of low standards in numeracy and literacy, especially in the basic education sector; low morale of teachers; inadequate libraries at schools; curriculum challenges; learners who walk long distances to school; mismanagement of funds and corruption, infrastructure needs and others.
It is very important that we concentrate on these things in order to better that situation in that sector so that we in higher education can then improve on those standard levels. I know that it's not your mandate, but that of other Ministers.
The government did make available nutrition programmes to poor learners and no-fee schools; exemption from school fees for learners in different quintiles; bursaries and loans to students in universities, FET colleges and other educational institutions, like the Funza Lushaka Bursary; funds to study social work; the National Skills Funds, and National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, loans, etc.
I'm not sure that learners at secondary schools have the whole benefit of the nutrition programmes, no-fee schools and exemption from school fees for learners. In that situation our learners in poorer communities, especially in the rural areas, are not benefiting from these government opportunities.
In rural areas we will then not be successful in lifting up the poor standard of the community so that they can get opportunities and access to higher education.
We experience a high drop-out rate before Grade 10 in our schools. Learners experience poverty at home and, when they reach puberty, they are very sensitive to material things like clothes, shoes, and being able to afford to pay for things while on school, university or colleges trips and other activities.
We must think out of the box on how we can provide more opportunities for the poor so that they make use of the opportunities in higher education. Education can lift you out of poverty and poor circumstances. A certificate in higher education gives you a better chance and transforms your circumstances and life expectations to higher levels.
We have to make more opportunities available for our youth and also for older persons to have much easier access to higher education opportunities. To make funds available for further study and to be used for personal needs is just one of the solutions.
The DA is a party which believes in opportunities and opportunities for different people with different possibilities in terms of intellect, skills and capabilities and so on - in short, the diversity of the capacity of people. Therefore, we must provide for this variety of people so that everyone can reach their potential.
Better educated people have a greater probability of being employed, are more economically productive and earn higher incomes. There is much evidence that investment in education at secondary and tertiary levels brings a higher return in some countries. We are better stocked with educated people than other states in Africa. Therefore, we are seen as "America in Africa".
Education also stimulates economic growth and if we succeed in producing a better quality education system and more educated people, we can increase our growth to 7% or 8%, which is just one of the factors to reach this goal in economical growth.
To expand opportunities of higher education will not only benefit the poor, but also the different communities, regions, provinces and South Africa as a whole. I thank you.