Speech by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso Ndebele at the Masifundisane Graduation Ceremony held at the Royal Show Grounds in Pietermaritzburg

11 September 2007

Programme Director,
MEC for Education, Ina Cronje,
Western Cape MEC for Education, Dugmore,
Members of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Executive Council,
Chairperson of the Education Portfolio Committee,
Director General of the Province, K B Mbanjwa,
Senior Managers and Official,
Masifundisane Graduates,
Parents,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen

Protocol

Masifundisane is a response by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government to the high illiteracy rates which exist in our province. There are at least 1.2 million people who cannot read and write, and hence are functionally illiterate. They are not able to benefit fully from the democratic processes of our province and country because of this.

In this context, we announced during the State of the Province last year that we would roll out the Masifundisane Campaign, a three-year programme which seeks to eradicate illiteracy in our province. We are pleased to inform you today that the programme has been running for 12 months now, and we are on track to reach our target of eradicating illiteracy by 2009. Masifundisane is supported by all departments and the broader community, and is being ably implemented by the provincial Department of Education.

Challenges to literacy

Access to literacy for all is enshrined in the Constitution. There are however many barriers which stand in the way of this access to literacy. These include distance between home and a site of learning, the friendliness of the education and examination system, time at which classes are held, the ability to buy or access learning materials, eyesight problems, foreign language challenges, and unfriendly and incompetent tutors, among others. The other pressing challenge is relevance of the curriculum which does not appear to be relevant to the immediate daily needs of the learners.

As we take this giant step forward, we are thus keenly aware that we must address these challenges if we are to make a lasting impact in eradicating illiteracy.

Classes are held in private homes, churches, crèches and community halls. Learners determine the times on the provision that eight hours are taken every week. We also ensure that learners are provided with the best learning materials and stationery. Continuous assessment is conducted and examinations are only utilised to validate the results given by the facilitators.

Rolling out Masifundisane

In our effort to affirm the central role of our youth in education and the reconstruction of our society, we are using unemployed matriculants as facilitators. During their time the matriculants receive a stipend. They also benefit from the programme through receiving training on the provision of Adult Basic Education and Training (Abet) and the administration of learning sites.

Over the past 12 months, 76 000 learners have already been reached of which 8 000 have already completed their courses. The provision of learning is done in conjunction with various partners including Amakhosi, Councillors, the District and Local Municipalities, other provincial departments, sister education departments, religious communities, ordinary citizens, Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges and institutions of Higher Learning.

Learners are exposed to a pre-planned curriculum based on the national outcomes as set by the Department of Education nationally and a parallel local curriculum is set in conjunction with the learners.

Role of the private sector

We would like to invite the private sector to join us in this battle against illiteracy.

We believe that an illiterate population undermines the wonderful effort of private business in its quest, together with government, for job creation and the eradication of unemployment.

Skills shortage has been identified as one of the binding constraints which stand in the way of sustained economic growth in our country and province. The eradication of illiteracy draws more numbers of people away from the periphery of our economy and moves them closer to the centre. This is a small, yet very critical, step in the overall development of our society and the creation ultimately of a non-racial, non-sexist KwaZulu-Natal for all.

Effective co-ordination and monitoring

We are challenged in the monitoring of learning sites by the fact that many of the learners are in areas which are not easy to access. We currently have 3 000 learning sites in the province and as many facilitators. In order to ensure we are able to effectively monitor and maintain consistent standards across KwaZulu-Natal, we are indebted to the community based monitors who are doing a sterling job in this regard. We applaud these community volunteers for their role. It is this intervention that has ensured that the Masifundisane Campaign is owned by the communities in which it is implemented, and the monitoring skills can be transferred to other community projects at a later stage.

Addressing poverty and unemployment

Masifundisane is part of a broader plan to restore dignity to our people. As a province, we have developed the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) which is based on partnership with all stakeholders including business, government and labour.

The Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) have the following priorities:

* the eradication of poverty and inequality
* managing the impact of HIV and AIDS and reducing its spread
* re-engineering and enhancing service delivery in government
* investing in infrastructure
* strengthening of governance
* development of human capability

We cannot deal with the twin evils of unemployment and poverty without ensuring, first of all, that all our people are literate. In the 21st century there is no country or province that can hope to play an active role in the world if the majority of its people are illiterate. Through the Masifundisane Campaign we are sure to deal with this challenge in two years time.

At the next level we also need to constantly create a new skills base in our province which is geared towards addressing the needs of our economy in order to sustain its growth path. In particular, we have identified scarce skills such as tool making and those of artisans, among others, as necessary in our economy.

The role of FET Colleges

Beyond basic literacy, one of the questions we must answer is: how we can better utilise our Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges to bridge the skills gap and respond to the demands of industry? During the 2006/07 State of the Nation Address, the President of the Republic of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, identified Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges as a terrain where the battle to correct this shortage of skills could also be realised.

FET colleges have the necessary resources and facilities to train people for the 21st century. It is important that the programmes we offer, during skills and literacy training, are eventually properly aligned towards the skills requirements of our country and province. They must remain fully alive to our changing needs. Through the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy we aim to address the legacy of apartheid which gives a class and racial tone to the skills shortage debate. This calls for the effective alignment of the FET Colleges, the PGDS as well as the Sector Education Authorities in our province in order to respond to the training needs of KwaZulu-Natal.

Our FET Colleges provide the following categories of learning:

* targets of the national skills development strategy
* custom-designed skills training for the local industry
* training for the Expanded Public Works Programme
* training for food production and poverty alleviation
* small medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) and co-operatives job creation programmes
* integrated education and training for up-skilling and national qualifications framework and the Department of Education qualifications
* training for 2010 and beyond.

Building a united KwaZulu-Natal

Skills provide an individual with an opportunity to fully participate in the opportunities that are being created by our economy as it grows and develops. By giving our people skills we will provide them with jobs. In the end, we will return them to that place of dignified existence where every man, woman and youth is able to put food on the tables of their family.

As we address literacy and skills training, we must not forget the challenges faced by our young people in finding jobs and starting their own businesses, wherever they are, in the urban and rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. If we are to move forward, young people will need to contribute to our economy and our society. If KwaZulu-Natal is to have a solid and bright future, we must empower our young people and women.

We must work towards taking more and more people off a total dependence on the social grant system. In this way more and more of our people will take an active part in fashioning their own future, gaining self-worth and dignity through work, and being able to access other economic opportunities in our province.

Masikukume sakhe KwaZulu-Natal!

Issued by: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
11 September 2007
Source: SAPA