JOHANNESBURG OCTOBER 4 1999
Ms Annemarie Meijer, Vice Chairperson of the Foreign Correspondents Association,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I greet all. I thank you for inviting me to share with you my vision of education for the future.
It is always a great pleasure to address members of the Fourth Estate, that is, journalists like yourselves. The term Fourth Estate was coined by Lord Macauley in 1828 because of the importance the members of the press played as a political force. He descr ibed the gallery of the House of Commons in which reporters sit, as the fourth estate of the realm. The traditional three estates being the lords spiritual, the lords temporal and the commons. In the modern sense the three are Judiciary, Executive and Legi slature. The recognition of the importance of the media is reflected in our Constitution. Section 16 (1) of our Constitution enshrines in our Bill of Rights. The section states it categorically that this freedom of expression includes "…freedom of the pres s and other media…."
Indeed, there is recognition by government that the media has a role in consolidating democracy. This belief has motivated government to create the Government Communication and Information Services (GCIS), which among other functions, is charged with the t ask of fostering a partnership between the media and government.
As we know, the media in South Africa operates in a different political climate since April 1994. The media is as free as any in the world.
One of the hot issues brought into focus in the media recently has been the debate around government’s delivery on its promises prior to the general elections in June. This issue has tested the government’s tolerance and commitment to freedom of expression , association and assembly to the limit.
With the overwhelming mandate received in the general June elections, there has been a sense of pressing urgency on government to deliver. In response, government adopted a programme called "Nation at Work for a Better Life" which captures the spirit of pa rtnership among South Africans in action to improve their conditions of life. Government has now accepted the challenge. We should not fail this confidence of the country’s citizens.
Like all the other government departments, the Department of Education has over the last five years in office, developed policies and strategies to achieve that change desired by the majority of the citizens in this country. But the nation now expects more than policies, strategies and fancy legislative framework.
That was the reason why in his address to the National Assembly in June, President Thabo Mbeki called, among others, speedy action on the reconstruction and reform of our education system. The President went on to ask me whether South Africa was educationa lly ready for the 21 st century. I have already given that reply in public on numerous occasions. No, we do not have that education that will take us into the next millennium. I repeat myself that we are sitting with a dysfunctional education system for ye ars to come.
In order to confidently take the country into the 21st century, I came up with a Nine Point Strategy on 27 July under the rubric of "Tirisano" – which is a Sesotho work for "working together." This came after numerous consultative meetings with relevant st akeholders. This is a national campaign, where I am inviting the whole nation to stand behind when I tackle this Herculean task. I say again, this is no fight for a single person, however brilliant and strong that person may be. I am going to need the nati on to be behind me because the challenge we face affects the whole nation.
But with the dawn of the next millennium, how will South Africa be positioned for that? Will South Africa be part of that globilization? How will South Africa educationally make a contribution towards the spirit of African Rennaissance as espoused by Presi dent Mbeki? There is no doubt that education is going to be the pillar of that renaissance. Is South Africa ready to make its contribution?
The vision of my ministry is the promise of a South Africa in which all people have equal access to lifelong education and training opportunities, which will contribute towards improving the people’s quality of life and build a peaceful, prosperous and dem ocratic society. Although this vision has not been achieved, we know that education is a long-term business. I strive for that.
Within the Department of Education we have shifted our focus on providing the type of education that will prepare our learners for a future cybernetic world. This is the new educational approach namely Curriculum 2005, which revolves around the concept of Outcome Based Education (OBE). Its main objective is a culture of lifelong learning. This is a concept proved and accepted by some of the leading countries in the world. We are in line with the rest of the world. As you know old South African system did no t serve the country well and was out of step with world trends.
On 1 October I received a report from a special task of the Cambridge International Examinations Unit on the review of procedures relating to the Senior Certificate examinations and to identify the strengths and weakness of the system. The report also is t o advise me on ways to improve the national and provincial departments of education examination system and processes. From the preliminary report, I am assured that the quality control mechanisms and administrative procedures in place guarantee the integri ty of the examination to be written by more than 800 000 candidates from the middle of the month. I repeat: I am not prepared to see the repeat of the Mpumalanga examination debacle.
Although I have already said there is much to improve in our education system, South Africa can be proud of what we have achieved and what we have. The legislative framework we have in education is an envy of many country. We are left with the challenge to translate that legislative programme into an education for transformation.
But my ministry has made giant concrete strides in its contribution through the co-operation and co-ordination of international relations with governments, bilateral, multilateral agencies, overseas education and training stakeholders.
I have already said it on many occasions that we have a dysfunctional educational system, but there are many encouraging facets in this complex and complicated system. One has to look at the contribution we have made towards the education of the African co ntinent as a whole.
My department will be hosting two important educational conference held back to back in Johannesburg from 5th to 12th December. The first is the biennial meeting of the Association for the Development of education in Africa (ADEA), which in turn is affilia ted through its respective Ministers of Education to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). More than 40 ministers of education from the sub-Saharan countries are expected to attend the conference plus more than 140 international and continental delegate s.
The second is the Education For All (EFA) All Africa Conference coinciding with President Mbeki’s educational renaissance of Africa. This will be a landmark education conference for the continent.
This association with the rest of the continent was established last year when South Africa hosted the 7th Conference of Ministers of education of African member states known as MINEDAF VII organised under the auspices of the United States Educational, Sci entific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
In fact, South Africa took the initiative, through the Department of Education, in the formation of the South African National Commission for UNESCO after the re-admission of the country as a member state to UNESCO in 1995.
Regionally, South Africa has been the leading member of the SADC group through SADC Human Resource Development (HRD) Task Team, which has been set down to examine operational and institutional issues that are impeding operational effectiveness of the SADC HRD sector. The second is the SADC HRD Technical team, which is to develop mechanisms for assessing qualifications in the SADC member states.
Our higher education institutions have opened their doors of learning to our brothers and sisters north of us. You have to walk into most of university lecture halls to see so many post-graduate students from all parts of the continent. This is one of many our contribution to that renaissance. This also attests to the first class world class third levels institutions in the country.
I thank you all.