I would like to share, in the interests of quality education in South Africa, a word with the two Ministries. First of all, I think the rule that is tried and tested and has stood the test of time is that required learning achievements at appropriate age levels is the golden rule. And the hon Minister of Higher Education and Training said that recognition of prior learning is important. Yes, it is important but it should not be the rule, it should be an exception to the rule.
Then also, the hon Minister of Basic Education acknowledged the 70% achievement in the Millennium Development Goals. Yes, it is good, but hon Minister, I think what is more important is the quality of that 70%. If we do not look at the quality, then it will continue to chase numbers and it is not about chasing numbers, it's about quality education.
So, I honestly hope that the two Ministers will be the watchdogs of each other. I hope that the hon Blade Nzimande will say to the hon Motshekga: I want from you competent, well-disciplined learners coming to higher education. And on the other hand, the hon Motshekga will say to the hon Nzimande: I want well-disciplined, well-educated teachers and education specialists coming to my schools.
To come back to my speech, school education lies at the heart of the open opportunity society. Schools are the place where learners receive a foundation for further education, for their training needs and for preparation for the workplace. It is against this background, hon Chairperson, that the Democratic Alliance wish to point at the many opportunities that this Fourth Parliament has brought along. We can make it right this time. We failed for the last 15 years. We can make it right, especially the two Ministries. We must get it right especially for our Grade R learners. Let's start at the beginning. Let's start where it matters, at Grade R.
Hon Chairperson, we have more or less 700 000 Grade Rs and the Democratic Alliance is seriously concerned and may I say, also SAQA, all the quality councils in the Ministry or in South Africa, are worried about the quality of education. So, you need to be worried as well and if you do not worry, I think the time has come that you should be worried.
Now let's see what is the important thing that the Democratic Alliance would like to share today. On behalf of those 700 000 Grade R learners, we want you to guarantee a packet of core minimum resources to those Grade Rs. It must be guaranteed. It should not be compromised for anything. It must be guaranteed - a well-trained teacher or practitioner in front of those little ones! It is not negotiable. We want also to see that you have a well- equipped classroom and ...
... baie belangrik, baie belangrik, daardie klein kindertjies moet gereeld na gekyk word vir hul gesondheid. Afgesien van die voedselprogram wat in die skole daar bestaan, moet hulle oortjies en hulle mondjies en hulle ogies gereeld "gecheck" word. Dit is belangrik anders gaan hulle nie presteer nie. Dit is ook belangrik ... (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[... it is extremely important that the health of those little children should be taken care of regularly. Apart from the feeding scheme that exists in those schools, their little ears and their mouths and their eyes should be checked on a regular basis. It is important otherwise they will not be able to excel. It is also important ...]
... that there will be a clear, defined and accepted set of learning achievements. Why I am saying this, hon Blade Nzimande, is because the qualification councils are not certain what those learning achievements are for the Grade Rs and all of us should be worried about that.
I want to say that achieving the Millennium Development Goals is maybe one objective for the government and we should be doing that ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]