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Date : 04/02/2004
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: K Asmal: Symantec Internet Security & Anti-Virus Software Donation


SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL, MP, AT THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SYMANTEC INTERNET SECURITY AND ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE DONATION, CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE, 4 February 2004

Symantec Vice President Sales, Marketing and Services for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mr Giuseppe Verrini
Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa Manager, Mr Francesca Giudice
Regional Director: Africa, Mr Kevin Isaac
Regional Manager: Africa, Mr Patrick Evans
Senior Manager: Public Relations for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ms Elena Bersani
Members of the media
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good afternoon.

Just over an hour ago, we concluded the All-Africa Ministers' Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education, attended by 36 Ministers of Education and their officials from the majority of African countries. Among other issues discussed at the conference, the critical role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in advancing our worldwide goal of providing education for all by 2015 became a central feature of our discussion.

We know that millions of children throughout the world are out of school. Millions more do not have access to higher education. Scores of adults were denied their right to education by oppression, poverty and neglect. If the goal of education for all as set out by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is to be achieved, this situation has to be turned around.

In our own country, South Africa, we have gone a long way in addressing this challenge. Among other things, we have sought to use ICTs to bridge the knowledge divide between rich and poor. However, the digital divide threatens to thwart our attempts at addressing the knowledge divide through ICTs.

While ICTs affect almost every aspect of our lives, they are still inaccessible to many sections of our population, especially the poor. Many schools serving poor communities have largely remained on the margins of the information revolution. Computers and information technologies have not become part of the way most learners learn and the way teachers teach. There have been many reasons for this, including lack of access to appropriate computer hardware, software and connectivity, and lack of electrification in a large number of our schools.

In this regard, the government has been working to put in place policies and systems that would rapidly open greater access to ICTs for all our people. To this end, my department adopted a White Paper on e-Education, which was approved by the Cabinet in August 2003.

The White Paper outlines a vision in which every student in general and further education and training will be able to use ICTs confidently, creatively and responsibly by 2013. We also aim to use ICTs to improve the quality of learning and teaching for our children and to enrich their education experiences by giving them access to a wide range of learning materials. The White Paper also advocates the use of ICTs to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of management and administration in schools and other education institutions.

The government has on many occasions invited the private sector and non-governmental organisations to establish partnerships to better the lives of our people. We have been encouraged by the positive response from the private sector, and have for some time now been reaping the fruits of the many public-private partnerships we have established.

The government has always emphasised the need for partnerships. My department upholds the virtue of Tirisano, working together. To realise the dream of improving the quality of education for all, we are determined to work collaboratively in partnerships to turn our schools into twenty-first century centres of excellence.

Therefore, I am very pleased to announce our agreement with Symantec. Symantec, like many international and national organisations, has heeded the call of government to participate in finding ways of bridging the digital divide.

Symantec is making a donation worth R100 million worth of security software to schools throughout our country. The software includes a personal firewall, intrusion detection, anti-virus and content-filtering technology. The software will assist our schools to operate ICTs in a secure environment from the harmful effects that could be encountered when utilising the Internet and web-based applications technology.

We are all aware of the destructive effects of the recent virus attacks on the major computer network operators. Just a week ago, a computer worm, called 'My Doom', shut down major networks, leading to a loss of billions of rands worth of productivity as companies, institutions and organisations throughout the world came to a standstill.

We also know that not all information found on the Internet is appropriate for viewing by our students. The content-filtering software donated by Symantec will allow us to block access to the many distasteful sites on the World Wide Web. I am sure that parents will welcome this development with open arms, as they can rest assured that their children are protected from viewing inappropriate material.

This donation from Symantec is a timely follow-up to the software donation made by Microsoft in 2002. The Microsoft donation allowed us to widen access to useful word processing, spreadsheet, and Internet software. The two sets of software we have now received from these two major companies will indeed go a long way in assisting us to reach the goals articulated in our White Paper on e-Education.

I remain hopeful that other technology-related companies will follow the example set by Symantec by donating computer hardware to the most deprived schools to ensure that the software donation is accessible to students in the most remote corners of South Africa.

I wish to thank Symantec for the donation they so kindly gave to my department and the nine provincial departments of education, with whom they are still to separate agreements.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Education
4 February 2004

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