Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, hon Premier, I have neither the charm nor the eloquence of Kgoshi Mokoena, but I do agree with him that we have quite an incredible premier in the Northern Cape. I too, like the other members as well as the Deputy Minister, would like to thank you for the warm reception, not only on this particular visit, but on all other occasions when I visited your province. Indeed, you are a good example, a prototype of an efficient leader.
I have listened very attentively to Kgoshi Mokoena and I don't understand why women are so strong because the bulls are not performing! [Laughter.] If Kgoshi could please tell us how he has assisted. He said the district has done so but I think he knows how. We could perhaps get some guidance in terms of influencing the performance of our learners in terms of academic achievement and cognitive development. I think it is quite extraordinary.
I am quite privileged to be back home. This is indeed my home. Before I go on, may I also say to you, hon Premier, that you have a wonderful MEC for Education who, in my opinion, is doing a remarkable job there? He owes his development in great measure to this particular House where he also served. [Interjections.]
I think what makes this a privilege is that this House has chosen the most remote, arid and challenging area for its visits. It meant that the ANC and this House, in terms of making the appropriate determination, chose to go where the challenges are the greatest. Selecting a rural node which is arid, dry and poor says a lot about our democracy and our people.
But, for those of us who have listened attentively, what emerges from the debate is that we do not have any ideological discussions here. Whether we are from the IFP, the ANC or the DA, we seem to be all representing the collective will of our people. We are indeed the people's representatives. The MPs in the other House, and I can say that on behalf of all the members of the executive, see a distinction between what occurs in the National Assembly and what occurs here. So, congratulations. [Applause.]
I also obviously have to thank the NCOP for extending the invitation to us and conveying the best wishes of our Minister. I had the benefit of visiting Kgalagadi on more than one occasion. The occasion there was quite remarkable in that one could not believe that in an area as remote, which is unfriendly in terms of the elements, and as challenging as it is, the people went out to Parliament in their thousands. They went out to where the NCOP sat and held its hearings and participated in a very robust and engaging way.
The difference between this engagement and many others was not a platform for politicians - whether from the national departments, provincial or otherwise - but it was a platform for the people to raise their concerns. The opportunities that were given to the executive were merely to respond. It meant that we were there to listen to the problems of the people.
Indeed, we have a responsibility to ask whether we have listened, whether we heard, whether we were focused and what it is that we have done to make a difference in the quality of the lives of the people. The issues that were raised with regard to education - in fact the hon Premier alluded to that - was, firstly, the nature of schools in farming areas. The issue calls for a differentiated approach. In other words, you cannot have a prototype for an urban area and the same system for a rural area. That means that there should be a differentiation in terms of resourcing and in terms of the kind of model that you have to create to ensure that we provide quality education.
I am aware of the fact that the Northern Cape is indeed engaged with this particular exercise, where it intends establishing schools of excellence which would accommodate the older learners so that they could go there and have everything of the best in terms of resources and in terms of teacher provisioning. So, in fact, government has listened - not only the national Ministry, but the MEC from the province as well as the Premier.
The second issue that was raised, amongst many other issues, was that of mother-tongue language. The people conveyed, in the context of their living environment and their existential conditions, that they have difficulties with English as a language of learning and teaching. Our response in action, and indeed arising from a joint resolution, as it were, that was taken at a colloquium a month ago - where your province participated, Premier - was that we must recognise the value and benefit of mother-tongue education, particularly in the foundation phase of the learner, and that in fact three years is inadequate.
While immersion of another language, be it English or Afrikaans, takes place, it should take place at an earlier stage but over a sustained period so that when we look at development in terms of literacy and numeracy, we know that empirically it has been established that mother-tongue language contributes to the swift competency of a learner in terms of literacy and numeracy. So, we have listened to the people and we have indeed responded, and that is indeed the policy position.
The other issue that was raised in the context of poverty and abject poverty of the people there was the inability of the people to pay school fees. How did we respond as a government? We said that we have to recognise that there are huge pockets of poverty that exist countrywide, and that we cannot ignore the disparities in terms of opportunity and socioeconomic conditions.
We resolved then to implement the no-fee schools in terms of the decision of all the provinces. All first and second quintile learners would be exempt from paying fees. Effectively, that translates into 40% of the learner population in this country, 12 million learners, being exempt from paying fees. So, I think the Premier has indicated that you have announced it, but we could go proudly back to Kgalagadi and say we know that they are attending a school where fees have not been paid. This was not a very long time ago. It means that we are a caring and responsive government.
Another issue that was raised in this context by one of the speakers - I don't know if it was Kgoshi Mokoena or somebody else - is the contribution of communities in their development. The Premier also alluded to it where they are willing to set aside their resources to provide for infrastructure - whether it's for education or for health. We recognise that.
But linked to that is the fact that, given that these were resources that were mobilised a long time ago, many of the schools are unsafe. So, we had two challenges, which the President spoke about. One was children learning under trees and the second was children learning or being taught in unsafe structures. We can announce here today that in terms of the current reports, there are no children learning under trees countrywide. That's a moving target though. You might have a storm in the Eastern Cape, as we have had now, and a school which was previously suitable, as a result of the storm damage may compel those learners for a while to learn under trees. But, in terms of the identified schools countrywide, that has been eliminated and departments are being provided with resources.
Now, how do we deal with the infrastructure challenges? That has been raised in the context of your visits to various schools such as Wrenchville High School and Theodin Primary School. We must accept that, as a result of the distortions of apartheid, there were better-resourced schools and there were lesser-resourced schools. The former model C schools had libraries, laboratories, playing fields, and confident and competent experienced teachers, but if you go to the remote rural areas, you do not have those resources.
Have we listened to the people when they raised that? Yes, indeed we have. Government has set aside R12,5 billion over the next five years to provide, as an affirmative action, resources to those schools that are without libraries and laboratories, schools that do not have sufficient teachers, and schools that are grappling with water, sanitation and electricity problems. We have done that and in fact the money has been equitably distributed to the provinces. I am told by the MEC for Education that they have already earmarked those funds for the schools. Has he spoken the truth? Indeed he has.
Look at Wrenchville High school. They spoke about the downpipes - those have been fixed. They spoke about textbooks - those have been resourced. They spoke about temporary teachers - those have been dealt with systemically and are now permanent. They spoke about the provision of computers and a fence - those have been budgeted for in the new plan. They spoke about the maintenance of equipment - this has been addressed now locally.
In other words, all of the issues that were raised by the community of educators, learners and members of the governing body were responded to by an efficient government. And, what we have seen is that where the spheres of government - local, provincial and national - work well together, you are able to make a qualitative and quantitative difference in the lives of our people.
I think here is another example of close, good collaboration between the national department and the provincial department. The MEC for Education knows that if he has a particular challenge, I am accessible to him on the phone. He would phone me, and if he does not have resources, I would assist him in locating the resources to make a difference to the lives of the people because we do not represent a particular province but all citizens of our country.
So, I thought that what we did when we went there was to get a sense of what the concerns of the people are. We were able, in a very short space of time - six months - to respond to most of these issues. Take the issue of temporary teachers - that is a problem in the Northern Cape, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape. We have amended the legislation. Those temporary educators who are there for more than 12 months can now be permanently appointed without going through the process of an interview through governing bodies. That has made a difference in the lives of a few thousand teachers countrywide.
So, we do as a government listen to our people and I think the benefit and the value of this exercise is that one has not gone to an urban setting where there were no challenges in terms of accommodation and travel. You went to the most remote areas, the most difficult areas, and didn't go there alone but went there with the national executive, the provincial government - not only the Premier but her MECs, councillors, the mayor and members of the mayoral committee were present there. So it is a combined, consolidated and united effort to bring about a qualitative change in the lives of our people.
As I conclude, let me raise something. I heard one of the MPs, I think from the DA, saying that the next visit is going to take place in the Free State. Well, I was there yesterday and I had the benefit of launching the National Mathematics Week, a joint effort by the Department of Science and Technology in Kroonstad. Here again, we take pride in the kind of leadership, not because they are women and they are strong, but we have an MEC who is very committed and competent, Mme Ouma Tsopo. [Laughter.] She is very vibrant, young, short - very short - and I told them not to look at her height. I mean she is very dynamic.
It speaks to what was precisely raised in the Northern Cape to say that the curriculum has to be changed in some schools. Mathematics and Science are not being taught and we are saying we have to do something to promote it and indeed we are promoting it. Our Dinaledi schools have been expanded from 100 to 400 schools, many of which are in the Northern Cape. I think there is going to be a dramatic improvement in the quality of our passes in mathematics and science in those areas.
We have the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry here. She carries a huge burden, because she carries a legacy of the Deputy President in terms of SMMEs. I don't know why you did not convey it to them, but in the Kgalagadi District, you had the Energy Centre that has been established. That was one of the resources which government has set up that I believe has contributed largely to the development of the community.
In terms of nutrition, we provide nutrition to more than five million children. The Northern Cape was one of the exceptional provinces that provided nutrition to both high schools and primary schools because their reasoning was, and it is quite understandable, that you cannot have a brother and sister in primary school that are being fed and the sister or the sibling who is in high school is without food. It is an approach that we are moving towards. What we have done is that where we had nutrition on 156 days, now schools countrywide are being provided with nutrition every day. We are improving.
I can tell you that the system in the Northern Cape is one of the systems, in terms of empowerment, that you could emulate where communities take ownership of the responsibility of providing nutritious, healthy food to the children so that you don't have a delivery of bread on a Thursday which should have occurred on a Friday - and from a province very far from the Northern Cape. I think that this year is critical and it is being emulated in the North West. So, we have created opportunities for employment and empowerment of our women, particularly our rural women, in providing nutritious food to our people.
Chairperson, I would like to express my confidence in the commitment of all the members of the NCOP from all political parties and the leadership of the NCOP. It is always and shall always be a great pleasure to be part of the discussions and debates in this very august House. Thank you very much for your attention. [Applause.]