Speaker, the meeting with the principals was the first thing we thought we needed to do so that the principals were firstly clear on what we believe needs to be done in terms of education. I think we did that because we knew there were a lot of difficulties, which include, among others, vacant posts, a high percentage of teachers who are not trained as teachers and need to be trained and our attitude and that of the principals and teachers towards education.
This was an indication that if we wanted to correct things, we needed to deal with those who manage education at the lower or basic levels. I think this was very important. We have to deliver this message and also indicate the commitment of government to ensuring that we change the manner in which education has been conducted so far, as well as the environment.
I think government has something to do from now onwards. This discussion is being held with the department, which includes creating a good environment at school level. The environment in some schools is not good at all, especially in the rural areas. But we also need to train the other teachers who are currently teaching but are not qualified teachers so that we can make them teachers.
So, there are many things we need to do, which will involve the discussion. At this point, we are saying, we firstly need to agree on the things we need to do - all of us. We couldn't just force things before people understood what it is that we are trying to do.
As you know, the three provinces that you mentioned are the ones that are identified as the most poverty-stricken provinces. This means we need to focus more on those provinces, particularly the rural schools. So, this is what we will be doing together with the department. We are saying it should not just be the government only. The community, parents and everybody must participate. I don't think we can do anything differently from what I have just said when I was answering the question. [Applause.]