Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo, baPhathiswa kulawulo lwenqanaba eliphezulu eburhulumenteni, malungu ahloniphekileyo ale Ndlu yoWiso-Mthetho, egameni elihle le-ANC namahlakani ayo, mandibulise. [Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon members of this august House, I greet you in the great name of the ANC and its alliance.]
It is indeed a great honour...
... kuluvuyo ukuma apha kule Ndlu yoWiso-Mthetho yoMzantsi Afrika, ndimele iMpuma Koloni. Mandigqithise ilizwi lesingxengxezo elisuka kusihlalo wekomiti othe akakwazi ukubakho apha, endilapha ke ngokumela yena. [... for me to be standing here in this Assembly, representing the Eastern Cape. Let me relay an apology from the chairperson of the committee who cannot be present here today. I am representing her.]
On the topic of expanding opportunities to higher education and training for the poor, I am going to present the case of the Eastern Cape. It is also indeed an honour to be here with the hon Minister. In introducing my speech, I will start with the fact that the doors of learning and culture shall be open for all.
This requires that -
The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life;
All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by free exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands;
The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace.
The understanding is that, as is practised in Cuba, learners are taught the values of patriotism at an early age. We think it is mainly because of the lack of such values that we find that we are confronted with the challenge of corruption within the education system. I was raising in passing that -
Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children. Higher education and technical training shall be opened to all by means of state allowances and scholarships awarded on the basis of merit.
The ideals of the Freedom Charter are as relevant today as they were 56 years ago in Kliptown at the Congress of the People, when the Freedom Charter was adopted. We have come a long way and we have a lot of wrongs to correct. The introduction of the apartheid system by the National Party government and, subsequently, the implementation of Bantu education in 1956, was nothing but a tool to perpetuate subservience and inferiority with regard to the African child.
The question of expanding opportunities to access higher education and training is, inter alia, related to skills development as an integral part of our education system. It is prudent to introduce the essence of technical skills at the foundation phase of our education, instead of leaving this aspect until the tertiary level.
It is, therefore, paramount to identify the talent of all pupils at an early age, in order to make education a useful implement to boost the economy of the Eastern Cape and that of the country as a whole.
Our education system will not open the doors of learning and culture to all if it continues to confine pupils and students to only maths, science, history and geography, or the old ways of physics and social studies. Prof Saleem Badat has the following to say on the concept of skills:
Here, inasmuch as it is recognised that the lack of competent people with requisite technical capabilities is a brake on economic and social development, it should not be taken as self-evident that developing skills or technical capabilities alone are sufficient conditions to address our socioeconomic challenges and enhance economic and social development.
It is, however, important to note that education, training and development of people must, therefore, be approached from the perspective of the overall and particular configuration of knowledge, skills, attitudes and expertise that are needed by the economy and society.
The following are some of the condensed points to consider how higher education can empower and open opportunities for the poor, especially the poor disadvantaged youth in the vastly rural Eastern Cape. The four universities and eight further education and training, FET, colleges in the Eastern Cape could consider the following to expand opportunities to higher education and training for the poor.
Given the fact that chances are young people and the poor in South Africa in general, and in the Eastern Cape in particular, will be caught in a poverty trap, to avoid this development, higher education institutions in the province should have astute plans.
These plans should be aimed at recruiting and admitting students from poor backgrounds, in order to train them in management, administration and language skills that are imperative in the job market. The vicious cycle of poverty might just be broken by a quality higher education and training qualification in the said aspects.
We would recall that the high rate of unemployment in South Africa mostly affects young people and, as a result of that, they are unskilled and unemployable. In the Eastern Cape young people usually take short cuts. Due to the fact that they are unskilled, they jump at the opportunity to become tenderpreneurs and end up doing shoddy work.
The higher education and training sector of the Eastern Cape province, which includes universities and FETs, should partner with other governmental and private finance stakeholders to provide programmes that will provide jobs and life-skills training internships relevant to societal needs.
Disadvantaged youth should be specifically groomed from an early age and government must expand the mandate of technical schools and also equip them. Tertiary institutions of the province should have diversified curricula and programmes that cater for the various ranges of interests and academic abilities of the poor in the province.
As per the envisaged development of the Eastern Cape stakeholders, teacher colleges should be opened, especially in rural areas, in order to cater for local youth who could be absorbed by them, thereby eradicating the dire shortage of teachers in the rural, marginalised communities. [Interjections.]
Let me conclude, Chairperson. [Laughter.] In conclusion, all of the above will be realised through a people-driven approach involving civil society workers, learners and other society members. This calls for a regulation of the actual composition and constitution of the councils as we amend the FET Bill. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]