Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, chairperson of our portfolio committee and members of our portfolio committee, members of the department and our distinguished guests in the gallery, I greet you all. Rome was never built in a day. The legacy of apartheid in education and in sport, in particular, can never be rectified in the timeframe that has been given.
Having said so, it is only 20 years, and quite a lot has been achieved in our sports arena. Imagine, for instance, that in these 20 years, we successfully hosted an international sporting event in 2010. It is well imaginable how much this department has done in these past 20 years. The particular area that I am going to touch on is sport in schools.
As an ANC-led government, we firmly believe in the holistic education of a child, both physically and mentally; therefore, sport in all schools is now prioritised. At the ANC's 53rd conference in Mangaung, it was proposed that sport must be made compulsory in all schools and, if possible, included in their curriculums.
Again, sport and recreation are tied because schools are not directly responsible for them. Sport has to be inclusive throughout basic education in order to work in all our provinces. Therefore, the achievements that the Department of Sport and Recreation have attained are admirable. [Applause.] Sport plays a major role in promoting self-discipline, social cohesion and the sharpening of children's minds.
It takes away our children from most of the social ills, such as substance abuse, alcohol abuse, fighting and gangsterism, and truancy. Instead, the children who participate in sport are much healthier and stronger. Furthermore, sport can have a wider benefit in the education sector. Not all children are good at academic subjects at school, and sport provides them with an opportunity to learn perseverance. Sport thus presents an incentive to these children, who remain at school, and eventually even go on to tertiary institutions to further their careers. Whilst education plays a key role in affecting levels of participation, evidence exists that sport and physical action can in fact benefit education. Research in other countries, such as the UK, has shown that specialist sport schools and specialist-funded schools do much better because of sport. It has also been proven that schools work efficiently if they are properly funded and have infrastructure for learning.
If we are to be a winning nation in sport, it should begin in our schools. During the state of the nation address, our hon President, Jacob Zuma, outlined the National Development Plan, and he had this to say:
Sport and recreation are an integral part of a child's development. Thus, sport should be made compulsory in all our schools and possibly included in our curriculum.
All schools must have qualified sports teachers, as the legacy of apartheid is that there were never any specialised lessons in the teaching of sport, or coaches for our schools.
All schools should have adequate facilities and good sports infrastructure to facilitate participation in organised tournaments, both locally and provincially, as well as nationally and internationally. I am glad that this department has started this good story about South Africa. As the portfolio committee, we acknowledged a number of challenges faced by our public schools. We spoke about the lack of sports facilities and infrastructure in our rural areas in particular. We also expressed concern about the lack of willingness by teachers to teach sport and run sports programmes.
We further recognised that whenever teachers engage in a go-slow strike, the first casualty is sport. Of course, there is also the lack of funding, which our Minister has talked about. Therefore, the budget will go a long way towards addressing most of these shortfalls in producing teachers who are trained in sport or providing money to get coaches, especially in rural areas. Here is a very good story to tell. [Applause.]
In 2012, the Department of Sport and Recreation established a ministerial bursary in partnership with the National Lotteries Board of South Africa. All our promising athletes in our schools are awarded R100 000 annually until they complete matric, which is Grade 12. [Applause.] That bursary helps them with accommodation, meals, medical services, specific scientific tests, if necessary, interventions whenever necessary, and travelling allowances. Of course, this bursary is reviewed every year so that it can be continued if they proceed with achieving.
This is a very good story to tell because, since 2012, we now have 40 students who have been awarded this bursary. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]