Date: 18/11/2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Mangena: Launch of UNISA & Tshwane library literacy partnership
ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UNISA/SANLI AND TSHWANE COMMUNITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES, Sammy Marks Redelinghuijs Hall, Pretoria, 18 November 2003
Director of Ceremonies, Your Worship the Executive Mayor of Tshwane Metropolitan Council, Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, UNISA ABET Institute Director, Professor Veronica McKay, Award Recipient, Mrs Prisca Molotsi, Officials from Tshwane Metro, UNISA and the Department of Education, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen
Local government is the tier of government that is in contact with every household and community service centre in our country, through the provision of roads, water, electricity, waste removal, landscaping, etc. Thus far, of all the services provided by the municipalities, it is mainly the hard services that tend to receive prominence and better attention by the public.
However, soft services such as information, education and planning services seldom receive as much attention or publicity. But in those countries, such as Japan, where local governments have been specifically assigned the additional task of delivering services to the education department, the results have been impressive.
It is with these considerations in mind that we celebrate this event.
The Department of Education has had a long and highly successful relationship with the University of South Africa (UNISA) Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) Institute in the delivery of the South African National Literacy Initiative (SANLI) programmes.
We are truly delighted that UNISA has decided to extend the delivery of its services to its post literate students by involving the Tshwane Metropolitan Council. We have no doubt that this is the most sustainable way of ensuring that those who have newly acquired their literacy skills are provided with the necessary opportunities to continue to practise them, otherwise over time they run the risk of losing those valuable skills.
In order to strengthen our education delivery services, the Department of Education and South African Local Government Association (SALGA) have since formed a task team to look into all issues pertaining to the involvement of local governments in schools, including the question of public and community libraries. We are hoping that the lessons that would be learnt from the partnership between the Tshwane Community Library and Information Services and UNISA will form a good model to be followed by other local governments countrywide.
To ensure the development and sustenance of a highly literate and informed citizenry, we must maintain a concerted effort to promote reading in the following three major areas:
* Improvement of social and reading infrastructure
* The invigoration of the reading culture across the school curriculum
* The development of reading extension services such as financial support to relevant community-based organisations (CBOs), parent reading programmes and reading programmes in the workplace.
The department began formalising the old 'night school' approach to adult basic education in 1996. Since then, many projects aimed at reducing the levels of illiteracy in our country have been implemented, and some of these have included collaborations between the department and other sectors such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and CBOs.
Public Adult Learning Centres (PALCs) were established in the place of the night schools. Through the PALC ABET classes, the department targeted 800 000 learners for the period 1999 to 2002. Through our annual survey of the delivery of ABET in the PALCs, we have established that these interventions, have already reached more than 1,3 million learners around the country.
According to the 1996 statistics, illiteracy in South Africa was estimated at 3 to 4 million in the age group of 20 years upwards.
Although policy and legislation related to general schooling, including literacy education have been comprehensive, a specific focus on reading is generally still lacking. The absence of a national school library policy is a huge stumbling block with regards to the promotion of reading in schools.
Research has shown that reading for pleasure usually decreases when students reach junior and senior high school, which implies that we need to find innovative ways of hooking our learners to books that would compete favourably with popular communication media such as televisions and computers before these children leave primary school.
One way that hold definite promise is to use parents as reading role models to show the importance and value of reading, so that children can grow up in a culture of reading in the home. Therefore, the value of this post literacy reading partnership between UNISA and Tshwane Community Library and Information Services can hardly be overemphasised.
In June 2000, SANLI, which focuses specifically on addressing the needs of those who are totally illiterate, was launched. The UNISA ABET Institute has played a very important role in reaching out to a number of those who need such services.
In February 2002, SANLI launched its first project in partnership with the UNISA ABET Institute with funding provided by the British Department for International Development (DFID). This project targeted 75 000 learners for the 2002 to 2003 financial years. By December 2002, the project had reached 102 000 learners, resulting in DFID setting a target for a new 100 000 learners for the 2003 year. By June 2003, the project had reached 207 000 new learners, realising a total of 309 000 for the period February 2002 to June 2003.
Since 1996, the intervention by the department through the PALCs and SANLI has reached more than 1,6 million people, translating to a figure of nearly 22% of persons who have had little or no schooling being reached. Our survey of ABET delivery across all sectors between 2000 and 2002, reveals that another 785 000 learners have been reached through adult education interventions. This does not cover all the role players in the ABET sector. When all the figures are added up, the total contribution towards reducing illiteracy by all sectors that have submitted statistics shows that we have reached more than 2 million learners, translating to a reduction of illiteracy by 28% since the 1996 Census figures.
Our constitution guarantees every citizen the right to basic education, and the department would like to ensure that everyone is accorded this right. We would like to invite all possible role players to participate in the departmental initiatives aimed at realising this goal.
In closing, we would like to once again commend and congratulate the Tshwane Metropolitan Council and UNISA for this bold initiative in promoting literacy and reading among our people. We also wish to congratulate Mrs Prisca Molotsi, who is showing us all that age is no barrier if one is determined to make a difference in one's own and other people's lives. We salute you, and urge others to emulate your shining example.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Education
18 November 2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Mangena: Launch of UNISA & Tshwane library literacy partnership
ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UNISA/SANLI AND TSHWANE COMMUNITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES, Sammy Marks Redelinghuijs Hall, Pretoria, 18 November 2003
Director of Ceremonies, Your Worship the Executive Mayor of Tshwane Metropolitan Council, Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, UNISA ABET Institute Director, Professor Veronica McKay, Award Recipient, Mrs Prisca Molotsi, Officials from Tshwane Metro, UNISA and the Department of Education, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen
Local government is the tier of government that is in contact with every household and community service centre in our country, through the provision of roads, water, electricity, waste removal, landscaping, etc. Thus far, of all the services provided by the municipalities, it is mainly the hard services that tend to receive prominence and better attention by the public.
However, soft services such as information, education and planning services seldom receive as much attention or publicity. But in those countries, such as Japan, where local governments have been specifically assigned the additional task of delivering services to the education department, the results have been impressive.
It is with these considerations in mind that we celebrate this event.
The Department of Education has had a long and highly successful relationship with the University of South Africa (UNISA) Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) Institute in the delivery of the South African National Literacy Initiative (SANLI) programmes.
We are truly delighted that UNISA has decided to extend the delivery of its services to its post literate students by involving the Tshwane Metropolitan Council. We have no doubt that this is the most sustainable way of ensuring that those who have newly acquired their literacy skills are provided with the necessary opportunities to continue to practise them, otherwise over time they run the risk of losing those valuable skills.
In order to strengthen our education delivery services, the Department of Education and South African Local Government Association (SALGA) have since formed a task team to look into all issues pertaining to the involvement of local governments in schools, including the question of public and community libraries. We are hoping that the lessons that would be learnt from the partnership between the Tshwane Community Library and Information Services and UNISA will form a good model to be followed by other local governments countrywide.
To ensure the development and sustenance of a highly literate and informed citizenry, we must maintain a concerted effort to promote reading in the following three major areas:
* Improvement of social and reading infrastructure
* The invigoration of the reading culture across the school curriculum
* The development of reading extension services such as financial support to relevant community-based organisations (CBOs), parent reading programmes and reading programmes in the workplace.
The department began formalising the old 'night school' approach to adult basic education in 1996. Since then, many projects aimed at reducing the levels of illiteracy in our country have been implemented, and some of these have included collaborations between the department and other sectors such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and CBOs.
Public Adult Learning Centres (PALCs) were established in the place of the night schools. Through the PALC ABET classes, the department targeted 800 000 learners for the period 1999 to 2002. Through our annual survey of the delivery of ABET in the PALCs, we have established that these interventions, have already reached more than 1,3 million learners around the country.
According to the 1996 statistics, illiteracy in South Africa was estimated at 3 to 4 million in the age group of 20 years upwards.
Although policy and legislation related to general schooling, including literacy education have been comprehensive, a specific focus on reading is generally still lacking. The absence of a national school library policy is a huge stumbling block with regards to the promotion of reading in schools.
Research has shown that reading for pleasure usually decreases when students reach junior and senior high school, which implies that we need to find innovative ways of hooking our learners to books that would compete favourably with popular communication media such as televisions and computers before these children leave primary school.
One way that hold definite promise is to use parents as reading role models to show the importance and value of reading, so that children can grow up in a culture of reading in the home. Therefore, the value of this post literacy reading partnership between UNISA and Tshwane Community Library and Information Services can hardly be overemphasised.
In June 2000, SANLI, which focuses specifically on addressing the needs of those who are totally illiterate, was launched. The UNISA ABET Institute has played a very important role in reaching out to a number of those who need such services.
In February 2002, SANLI launched its first project in partnership with the UNISA ABET Institute with funding provided by the British Department for International Development (DFID). This project targeted 75 000 learners for the 2002 to 2003 financial years. By December 2002, the project had reached 102 000 learners, resulting in DFID setting a target for a new 100 000 learners for the 2003 year. By June 2003, the project had reached 207 000 new learners, realising a total of 309 000 for the period February 2002 to June 2003.
Since 1996, the intervention by the department through the PALCs and SANLI has reached more than 1,6 million people, translating to a figure of nearly 22% of persons who have had little or no schooling being reached. Our survey of ABET delivery across all sectors between 2000 and 2002, reveals that another 785 000 learners have been reached through adult education interventions. This does not cover all the role players in the ABET sector. When all the figures are added up, the total contribution towards reducing illiteracy by all sectors that have submitted statistics shows that we have reached more than 2 million learners, translating to a reduction of illiteracy by 28% since the 1996 Census figures.
Our constitution guarantees every citizen the right to basic education, and the department would like to ensure that everyone is accorded this right. We would like to invite all possible role players to participate in the departmental initiatives aimed at realising this goal.
In closing, we would like to once again commend and congratulate the Tshwane Metropolitan Council and UNISA for this bold initiative in promoting literacy and reading among our people. We also wish to congratulate Mrs Prisca Molotsi, who is showing us all that age is no barrier if one is determined to make a difference in one's own and other people's lives. We salute you, and urge others to emulate your shining example.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Education
18 November 2003
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