Date: 01/03/2007
Source: The Presidency
Title: Mlambo-Ngcuka: Most Improved School Awards
Speech delivered by the Deputy President, Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at the Most Improved School Awards (MISA), Presidential Guesthouse, Tshwane
Minister of Education, Ms Naledi Pandor
Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Enver Surty
MECs of Education from the nine provinces,
Director-General of Education, Mr Duncan Hindle
Provincial heads of departments
Representatives of the private sector
Representatives of the different constituencies in the education sector
Representatives of the schools
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I am honoured to participate in the MISA 2007 ceremony where we recognise the achievements of our public schools for the year 2006.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate all the schools that have been selected to receive these awards. I also wish to pay tribute to all the teachers, principals, communities and parents whose schools are receiving these awards today. Through hard work and perseverance everything is possible. Hard work and perseverance was an important part of the late Oliver Reginald Tambo and is in some ways what made him one of the most outstanding leaders of our country and that his generation has produced.
Oliver Tambo and the struggle for a better education
Ladies and gentlemen, as you may know this year we shall be celebrating the 90th anniversary of Oliver Tambo's birth in the Eastern Cape. We shall recall many remarkable aspects of his life and his special and specific contribution to free our people from apartheid. We shall recall the friendship of Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu in the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). We shall recall how Tambo led the African National Congress (ANC) during the difficult days of exile. What is significant about Tambo's life is that he sought to educate himself at a time when few black people had access to education.
In November 1936, Tambo wrote his junior certificate (JC) examination (equivalent of today's grade 10) which was open to both black and white students in the old Transvaal. Tambo worked hard and was ecstatic about his results, he had this to say:
"The results showed that Joe Mokoena and I had made history. For the first time in the history of education in South Africa, two African students had passed JC with a first class degree regarded as a rare achievement for any student. For a society steeped in racist beliefs about European superiority, these "incredible news" rocked the whole country." (Callinicos, L, Oliver Tambo: Beyond the Engeli Mountains) page 89.
But unfortunately because of the realities and conditions that African people were subjected to at the time, Oliver Tambo and Joe Mokoena were not formally recognised by the government of their country. For this reason it is always a pleasure and a privilege to attend these MISA, to recognise the hard work, talent and excellence of all young people in our country.
The story of Oliver Tambo and his role in the development of quality education in our country is an important one, he went on to graduate at the University of Fort Hare and became an outstanding teacher of mathematics and science at Saint Peters, producing some outstanding students who would in future play a crucial role in the struggle to democratise South Africa.
He was one of the best teacher's of his time who used educational methods that were enjoyed by his students, his method of teaching was also transferred to his leadership style when he became ANC President in the struggle for freedom whilst based outside of South Africa. Our country continues to learn from him even today, long after he passed away.
So today, there is no better way to honour his legacy than to ensure that all South Africa's children acquire literacy and numeracy skills. The role that Oliver Tambo played in the development of education in this country has yet to be properly recorded and fully recognised, but perhaps the greatest legacy that OR Tambo left our country is that of ensuring that he instilled a culture in the liberation movement that education should be used for the benefit of society as a whole, a culture that education should be for the service of society rather than for the person who holds that education. It still remains a challenge for educators in our country to ensure that the role of OR Tambo is properly recognised.
Whilst Tambo was a distinguished scholar and teacher we must not forget some outstanding women who were also making their mark in education.
For instance, Charlotte Maxeke became the first South African woman to earn a doctorate in arts and humanities in 1903 at the Tuskegee University in the United States (US). On her return to South Africa she was to play a critical role in the provision of education of black people and girls and was the founder member of the ANC Women's League. These stalwarts did not have it easy!
The National Curriculum Statement (NCS)
The occasion we are celebrating today occurs at time when 11 of the 12 grades of South African schools follow, for the first time in our history, a national curriculum, the NCS.
Minister Pandor, I would like to applaud your Department, for the leadership that it has provided in this process despite the many challenges that we confront. I encourage you and your team to proceed with vigour and determination to consolidate the implementation of this important national curriculum and to ensure its success in line with the letter and spirit of our Constitution of 1996.
I am also proud that the curriculum has an increased focus on South Africa and Africa. It is the skills offered by the NCS that the country requires in order that we may be able to meet the developmental goals thereby breaking the cycle of poverty and unemployment.
As government we have identified education and skills development as central to reaching the level of shared and accelerated growth that we have set ourselves in our quest to eradicate poverty and improve the livelihoods of our people. For this reason, the Quality Improvement and Development Strategy (QIDS-UP) programme, the Dinaledi schools and the re-capitalisation of colleges are on the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) agenda and Programme of Action.
It is my firm view that the celebration of the MISA is an important occasion to celebrate those schools that are expanding opportunities for quality education.
Challenges and shortcomings of our education system:
While we must celebrate our achievements we need to acknowledge and deal with the shortcomings that still exist, but which we can overcome. For instance we understand that principals are not trained in human resource management and neither are they exposed to general management skills. Also principals do not have performance management contracts in place. It is for this reason that we have introduced the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) this year to ensure that teachers and principals are exposed to management courses.
There is general lack of co-operation and synchronisation between different stakeholders in a learner's life. Teachers, principals, parents, governing bodies and communities need to develop strategies on how to improve education. But most importantly is the fact that parents and communities need to play a much more critical role in the life of the schools that are in their communities, as members of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and to participate in shaping policies that affect the schools, e.g. language policies and so on.
Our vision is that our schools must produce quality learners who are well-rounded, critical and skilled in all aspects. Therefore, learners should take responsibility and initiative for their own learning. Our modern society offers many learning opportunities through the use of computers, the internet and television.
Key messages of the MISA
Public education, I have said over and over again is the most important intervention if South Africa is to eradicate poverty, create jobs and share economic growth.
The quality of leadership in schools that is, principals, the role of regional administrators, the role of subject advisors and the role of all teachers remains the single most important intervention. That is why it is critical for us to improve the conditions of service of teachers.
One would like to appeal to the teachers and unions to display much more commitment to improving the quality of education and to making the public education system a place for the generation of knowledge and passion and not sites of their own struggles. Especially in this era where the Department of Education and government are all committed to the rights and needs of teachers.
There are South African public schools that are simultaneously improving access to education and improving quality. Tonight we celebrate schools that increased the numbers passing the senior certificate, the numbers passing with endorsement and the numbers passing on Higher Grade (HG), a good proxy for quality; in many cases under very difficult conditions.
The message we need to convey to all schools is that it is not so much the percentage pass that is important as the year on year increase in numbers passing with endorsement and passing higher grade subjects.
As in all awards ceremonies there are many other deserving schools in our country that have increased the numbers passing and passing on HG subjects. This is confirmation of the quality that we must seek to encourage in our schools. I would like to urge all MECs to congratulate all of our schools that have contributed significantly to the increase in the pool of human resources that our country requires. MISA sends a strong message that our languages are important.
MISA and excellence in mathematics and science
MISA sends a strong message of the importance of HG mathematics and science. President Mbeki in his 2007 State of the Nation Address expressed disappointment at the slow growth in the numbers passing mathematics on the HG in recent years.
I am, therefore, delighted that you have established the 100 Club of schools that achieved 100 or more HG passes in mathematics in 2006. This is an outstanding achievement and I hope that we will see 20 schools achieving this next year. We still have too few schools that have this place of honour.
Our national and provincial departments must work even harder to support and increase access to quality education. This is one of our priority commitments as government as evidenced by our intervention through the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) and AsgiSA.
The inclusion of public education and teacher development in the work of JIPSA is probably one of the most important tasks and I will personally see to it that JIPSA does everything to walk side by side with the Department on this journey.
A final message to all of us from the MISA is that we must celebrate that which is good as we seek workable mechanisms and solutions to correct that, which may need further development with our system. We must ensure that our government offer for the well-being of children is delivered to our children including feeding schemes.
Your achievements, especially those that have shown year on year growth in numbers passing with endorsement and with HG in gateway subjects signal that the education system can improve quickly and decisively and parents who are not playing their role need to stand up and be counted. I want to thank those SGBs who play their part; often it enhances the quality of learning and teaching.
It is clear that the successful development of our schools is dependent on our collective efforts and work towards a common goal, education of our young people. Once again, congratulations to all the winning schools and best wishes for your work ahead.
Thank you!
Issued by: The Presidency 1 March 2007
Source: The Presidency
Title: Mlambo-Ngcuka: Most Improved School Awards
Speech delivered by the Deputy President, Mrs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at the Most Improved School Awards (MISA), Presidential Guesthouse, Tshwane
Minister of Education, Ms Naledi Pandor
Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Enver Surty
MECs of Education from the nine provinces,
Director-General of Education, Mr Duncan Hindle
Provincial heads of departments
Representatives of the private sector
Representatives of the different constituencies in the education sector
Representatives of the schools
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I am honoured to participate in the MISA 2007 ceremony where we recognise the achievements of our public schools for the year 2006.
Firstly, I would like to congratulate all the schools that have been selected to receive these awards. I also wish to pay tribute to all the teachers, principals, communities and parents whose schools are receiving these awards today. Through hard work and perseverance everything is possible. Hard work and perseverance was an important part of the late Oliver Reginald Tambo and is in some ways what made him one of the most outstanding leaders of our country and that his generation has produced.
Oliver Tambo and the struggle for a better education
Ladies and gentlemen, as you may know this year we shall be celebrating the 90th anniversary of Oliver Tambo's birth in the Eastern Cape. We shall recall many remarkable aspects of his life and his special and specific contribution to free our people from apartheid. We shall recall the friendship of Tambo, Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu in the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). We shall recall how Tambo led the African National Congress (ANC) during the difficult days of exile. What is significant about Tambo's life is that he sought to educate himself at a time when few black people had access to education.
In November 1936, Tambo wrote his junior certificate (JC) examination (equivalent of today's grade 10) which was open to both black and white students in the old Transvaal. Tambo worked hard and was ecstatic about his results, he had this to say:
"The results showed that Joe Mokoena and I had made history. For the first time in the history of education in South Africa, two African students had passed JC with a first class degree regarded as a rare achievement for any student. For a society steeped in racist beliefs about European superiority, these "incredible news" rocked the whole country." (Callinicos, L, Oliver Tambo: Beyond the Engeli Mountains) page 89.
But unfortunately because of the realities and conditions that African people were subjected to at the time, Oliver Tambo and Joe Mokoena were not formally recognised by the government of their country. For this reason it is always a pleasure and a privilege to attend these MISA, to recognise the hard work, talent and excellence of all young people in our country.
The story of Oliver Tambo and his role in the development of quality education in our country is an important one, he went on to graduate at the University of Fort Hare and became an outstanding teacher of mathematics and science at Saint Peters, producing some outstanding students who would in future play a crucial role in the struggle to democratise South Africa.
He was one of the best teacher's of his time who used educational methods that were enjoyed by his students, his method of teaching was also transferred to his leadership style when he became ANC President in the struggle for freedom whilst based outside of South Africa. Our country continues to learn from him even today, long after he passed away.
So today, there is no better way to honour his legacy than to ensure that all South Africa's children acquire literacy and numeracy skills. The role that Oliver Tambo played in the development of education in this country has yet to be properly recorded and fully recognised, but perhaps the greatest legacy that OR Tambo left our country is that of ensuring that he instilled a culture in the liberation movement that education should be used for the benefit of society as a whole, a culture that education should be for the service of society rather than for the person who holds that education. It still remains a challenge for educators in our country to ensure that the role of OR Tambo is properly recognised.
Whilst Tambo was a distinguished scholar and teacher we must not forget some outstanding women who were also making their mark in education.
For instance, Charlotte Maxeke became the first South African woman to earn a doctorate in arts and humanities in 1903 at the Tuskegee University in the United States (US). On her return to South Africa she was to play a critical role in the provision of education of black people and girls and was the founder member of the ANC Women's League. These stalwarts did not have it easy!
The National Curriculum Statement (NCS)
The occasion we are celebrating today occurs at time when 11 of the 12 grades of South African schools follow, for the first time in our history, a national curriculum, the NCS.
Minister Pandor, I would like to applaud your Department, for the leadership that it has provided in this process despite the many challenges that we confront. I encourage you and your team to proceed with vigour and determination to consolidate the implementation of this important national curriculum and to ensure its success in line with the letter and spirit of our Constitution of 1996.
I am also proud that the curriculum has an increased focus on South Africa and Africa. It is the skills offered by the NCS that the country requires in order that we may be able to meet the developmental goals thereby breaking the cycle of poverty and unemployment.
As government we have identified education and skills development as central to reaching the level of shared and accelerated growth that we have set ourselves in our quest to eradicate poverty and improve the livelihoods of our people. For this reason, the Quality Improvement and Development Strategy (QIDS-UP) programme, the Dinaledi schools and the re-capitalisation of colleges are on the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) agenda and Programme of Action.
It is my firm view that the celebration of the MISA is an important occasion to celebrate those schools that are expanding opportunities for quality education.
Challenges and shortcomings of our education system:
While we must celebrate our achievements we need to acknowledge and deal with the shortcomings that still exist, but which we can overcome. For instance we understand that principals are not trained in human resource management and neither are they exposed to general management skills. Also principals do not have performance management contracts in place. It is for this reason that we have introduced the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) this year to ensure that teachers and principals are exposed to management courses.
There is general lack of co-operation and synchronisation between different stakeholders in a learner's life. Teachers, principals, parents, governing bodies and communities need to develop strategies on how to improve education. But most importantly is the fact that parents and communities need to play a much more critical role in the life of the schools that are in their communities, as members of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and to participate in shaping policies that affect the schools, e.g. language policies and so on.
Our vision is that our schools must produce quality learners who are well-rounded, critical and skilled in all aspects. Therefore, learners should take responsibility and initiative for their own learning. Our modern society offers many learning opportunities through the use of computers, the internet and television.
Key messages of the MISA
Public education, I have said over and over again is the most important intervention if South Africa is to eradicate poverty, create jobs and share economic growth.
The quality of leadership in schools that is, principals, the role of regional administrators, the role of subject advisors and the role of all teachers remains the single most important intervention. That is why it is critical for us to improve the conditions of service of teachers.
One would like to appeal to the teachers and unions to display much more commitment to improving the quality of education and to making the public education system a place for the generation of knowledge and passion and not sites of their own struggles. Especially in this era where the Department of Education and government are all committed to the rights and needs of teachers.
There are South African public schools that are simultaneously improving access to education and improving quality. Tonight we celebrate schools that increased the numbers passing the senior certificate, the numbers passing with endorsement and the numbers passing on Higher Grade (HG), a good proxy for quality; in many cases under very difficult conditions.
The message we need to convey to all schools is that it is not so much the percentage pass that is important as the year on year increase in numbers passing with endorsement and passing higher grade subjects.
As in all awards ceremonies there are many other deserving schools in our country that have increased the numbers passing and passing on HG subjects. This is confirmation of the quality that we must seek to encourage in our schools. I would like to urge all MECs to congratulate all of our schools that have contributed significantly to the increase in the pool of human resources that our country requires. MISA sends a strong message that our languages are important.
MISA and excellence in mathematics and science
MISA sends a strong message of the importance of HG mathematics and science. President Mbeki in his 2007 State of the Nation Address expressed disappointment at the slow growth in the numbers passing mathematics on the HG in recent years.
I am, therefore, delighted that you have established the 100 Club of schools that achieved 100 or more HG passes in mathematics in 2006. This is an outstanding achievement and I hope that we will see 20 schools achieving this next year. We still have too few schools that have this place of honour.
Our national and provincial departments must work even harder to support and increase access to quality education. This is one of our priority commitments as government as evidenced by our intervention through the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) and AsgiSA.
The inclusion of public education and teacher development in the work of JIPSA is probably one of the most important tasks and I will personally see to it that JIPSA does everything to walk side by side with the Department on this journey.
A final message to all of us from the MISA is that we must celebrate that which is good as we seek workable mechanisms and solutions to correct that, which may need further development with our system. We must ensure that our government offer for the well-being of children is delivered to our children including feeding schemes.
Your achievements, especially those that have shown year on year growth in numbers passing with endorsement and with HG in gateway subjects signal that the education system can improve quickly and decisively and parents who are not playing their role need to stand up and be counted. I want to thank those SGBs who play their part; often it enhances the quality of learning and teaching.
It is clear that the successful development of our schools is dependent on our collective efforts and work towards a common goal, education of our young people. Once again, congratulations to all the winning schools and best wishes for your work ahead.
Thank you!
Issued by: The Presidency 1 March 2007
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