Date: 19/08/2003
Source: Department of Education
Title: Asmal: Teacher Education Colloquium


SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL, MP AT THE TEACHER EDUCATION COLLOQUIUM: "TEACHERS FOR A TRANSFORMING SOCIETY", Holiday Inn, Johannesburg International Airport, 19 August 2003

Deputy Minister, Mr Mosibudi Mangena
Dr Pamela Winsor, our guest from the University of Alberta in Canada
Representatives of education faculties
Representatives from teacher organisations, SACE, ELRC and the ETDP SETA
Members of the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education
Ladies and Gentleman

It is a pleasure to welcome all of you this evening. This colloquium is important and long overdue. Hopefully it will offer us an opportunity to engage with areas that are critical to teacher education and development. Teachers are central towards the advancement of the transformation agenda of our education system and therefore adequate preparation of teachers must be at the core of our discussions.

I understand that, by bringing together persons responsible in one way or another for teaching in our country from provincial education departments, higher education institutions, the national department and the Ministerial Committee, it is hoped that there will be sharing of ideas and a coming together of minds on teacher education.

I am told that the current relationship between the teacher educators at higher education institutions and the employers of teachers, the provincial departments, is not as good as it should be and, in some instances, is quite hostile. I find this difficult to believe and I hope that it is an exaggeration. Nevertheless, if nothing else we must ensure that we build and strengthen the relationship between education departments and higher education institutions. In most cases little or no formal network of communication exists between these two constituencies with higher education institutions arguing that they are seldom consulted about matters related to teacher professional development, teacher supply and demand, and forward planning for the system.

There clearly has to be a greater degree of cooperation in building a new partnership around teacher education. Therefore a great deal of responsibility lies on the shoulders of the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education. I appointed the Committee consisting of Professor Wally Morrow, Professor Yaliwe Jiya and Dr Michael Samuel, who have been seconded from their respective universities, to develop a coherent and implementable framework for Teacher Education.

Our country presents a unique set of challenges that we need to confront rigorously and collectively. We must endeavour to create our own standards of teaching, drawing on the universal values of human rights, democracy and compassion, and on the values of our Constitution, but inserting also the specific circumstances in which teaching and learning occurs. This colloquium is another step in the process geared towards building a truly South African and appropriate model of high quality teaching. If we can build a genuine teaching profession for our transforming society, the public will gain greater confidence in our schooling system, and our students will be taught by caring, committed and competent teachers.

What matters most is the setting of high and rigorous standards for all our teachers, improving teacher preparation and professional development, developing effective recruitment strategies for new entrants to the profession and putting qualified and competent teachers in every classroom.

The Norms and Standards for Educators, which we adopted as national policy in 2000 laid a foundation for defining competent teachers and appropriate teacher education programmes. However, a foundation cannot be a substitute for a house. We now have to find innovative ways of building on that foundation. I hope this colloquium will do just that.

In addition we must encourage and reward excellent performance and create schools that are organised for success. In April this year, we reached an agreement in the Education Labour Relations Council on an integrated quality management system that includes developmental appraisal, whole school evaluation, and performance management for salary progression and other rewards. This is significant when one considers where we were a few years ago.

Whilst good and relevant basic teacher education is a prerequisite it is also only beginning. Teachers also require a programme of professional growth to meet the ever-changing demands of a transforming society. Teachers are after all key agents for the transformation of our society. We must prepare teachers to keep pace with technology, curriculum, teaching methods and social realities, and to predict the future needs of their students and the education system. A programme of continuing professional development must be an integral part of a teacher's career. This is true for all other professions, and should be no different for the teaching profession.

We need to recognise the problems of the perceptions different role-players have of one another. Where there has been too little sectoral dialogue and poor communication partly because of changed governance arrangements after the incorporation of colleges of education into higher education institutions, we must seek to ensure greater clarity of roles, responsibilities and partnerships, which is, in part, the reason for this colloquium.

Whilst I recognise that many higher education institutions are undergoing fundamental restructuring as a result of the incorporations and mergers and therefore their focus is on governance, we should not lag behind with curriculum innovation to deal with the needs of the education system.

During a time of considerable policy development and change we need to prepare teachers for a whole new range of initiatives such as with the Early Childhood Development sector, preparing and training Grade R teachers. And, for instance, how much has the outcomes based education approach to teaching and learning percolated into the education faculties?

In this respect we need to anticipate the roles of the higher education institutions in preparing teachers for the new National Curriculum Statement for Grades R to 9 and for Grades 10 to 12. We do not want a situation where the education faculties are criticised for being under-prepared for fulfilling their role of developing competent teachers who will be able to face the challenges of the new curriculum.

I would like my own department to place greater emphasis on strengthening partnerships with all the agents that play a role in the development of the teachers. Without such partnerships the ideal of curriculum transformation is unlikely to be effectively carried through to where it matters most - the classroom.

Therefore, this is a call for the building of a social contract for educational transformation.

I am very aware that not everyone subscribes to the thinking behind the Government's education policies. I would like to hear from you how we could persuade those higher education lecturers who are fundamentally opposed, and therefore very unlikely to be committed to the rationale of our new policies to embrace our new innovative ways of teaching and learning.

It is far too idealistic to believe that we will be ever able to persuade every teacher, or every teacher educator towards new ways of teaching but we have to work towards continually striving towards the ideal whilst recognising the realities that sometimes obstruct the vision. In so doing we need to concentrate on renewing the image and status of the teacher, something that I have championed over the last four years since I became Minister. Initiatives like the National Teaching Awards and the integrated quality management system bear testimony to our efforts.

This is all part of the process of developing the teaching force, towards transforming not only schools, learning and teaching but also contributing towards rebuilding our nation.

I must emphasise that we really have to consider the teachers themselves during this period of change. Teachers have an often difficult and labour-intensive job, which is particularly intense if they are seriously committed to teaching. We must be mindful of the tendency to overload teachers with more and more responsibilities - which simply increases the guilt of the committed, and the general demoralising of the teaching profession.

The process of establishing the National Framework on Teacher Education has involved wide consultation with the relevant constituencies. The framework that will emerge is likely to have the imprint of all the discussions in which the Ministerial Committee has engaged with the various role-players. We have to pull together towards a common goal of realising the vision of a transforming teacher education system, and a transforming and evolving professional teacher in the interests of building a transformed society.

So the Ministerial Committee and my department cannot accomplish the tasks we face alone; they need your support, of both provincial departments and Higher education institutions, as critical friends. We must work together to build the education and training system for the 21st century in order to accomplish the vision of the Department of Education. I deliberately chose the Setswana word Tirisano, which means working together, to reflect the collective effort required to meet the challenges facing our education system.

I therefore urge all of you to apply your collective minds in order to achieve the purposes of this colloquium for the betterment of our education system. I wish you successful engagements for the rest of the colloquium, and hope that you will provide further well-considered inputs towards the development of a national framework for teacher education.

Finally I would like to extend my appreciation to the Canada - South Africa Teacher Development Project, funded by CIDA for making this colloquium possible. To Dr Pamela Winsor, I wish to extend my warm welcome and look forward to your contribution as we strive very hard in overcoming the barriers created by the apartheid education system.

I thank you all.

Source: Department of Education (http://education.pwv.gov.za)