16 MARCH 2001
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
DIGNITARIES
COLLEAGUES
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
ALLOW ME TO JOIN YOUR MASTER OF CEREMONIES IN WELCOMING ALL COLLEAGUES, UNIVERSITY PERSONNEL, INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS, FACULTY MEMBERS AND STAFF OF THE TRAC AND MTN SUNSTEP PROGRAMMES, WHO HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO MAKE THE ENGINEERING SCHOOL CENTRE A REALITY.
IT IS WIDELY ACCEPTED THAT A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR A COUNTRY IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM IS DEPENDENT ON A SOUND TECHNOLOGICAL BASE. THE PRIMARY BUILDING BLOCK IS A WORKFORCE PROFICIENT IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE. THE PROCESS FOR ACHIEVING THIS PRESENTS A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE FOR SOUTH AFRICA.
THE REPORT OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE STUDY CONDUCTED IN 38 DEVELOPING AND NEWLY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES WAS RELEASED AT THE END OF LAST YEAR. MORE THAN 8000 LEARNERS PARTICIPATED IN SOUTH AFRICA’S STUDY OF 200 SCHOOLS, CONDUCTED BY THE HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL. THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY RANKED SOUTH AFRICA BOTTOM OUT OF 38 COUNTRIES FOR BOTH MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE.
THIS POOR PERFORMANCE, I HAVE NO DOUBT, WEIGHS VERY HEAVILY ON PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN. THIS IS EQUALLY DAMAGING FOR TECHNOLOGY-BASED INDUSTRY, HEAVILY RELIANT ON THE SCIENTIFIC SKILLS AND EXPERTISE OF ITS WORKFORCE. AT A NATIONAL LEVEL, THE FIELDS OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN WEALTH AND JOB CREATION AND IMPROVING THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMY.
THIS PROBLEM EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE FORMAL EDUCATION SYSTEM AND IMPACTS DIRECTLY ON OUR DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES. LEADERS IN GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY SHARE MY DEEP CONCERN FOR THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS.
MANY GOVERNMENT AND NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS HAVE RESPONDED TO THIS CHALLENGE BY ESTABLISHING AND SUPPORTING SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES. THEIR COMBINED MISSION IS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF INDUSTRY RELEVANT PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION, PARTICULARLY IN DEVELOPING COMMUNITIES. THE OBJECTIVE IS TO INCREASE THE ENROLMENT OF QUALIFIED SCHOOL LEAVERS FOR FURTHER EDUCATION IN THE FIELDS OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY.
PROGRAMMES LIKE TRAC AND MTN SUNSTEP HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH’ S FACULTY OF ENGINEERING SET ABOUT DOING THIS BY INVOLVING LEARNERS IN PRACTICAL HANDS ON ACTIVITIES, THEREBY STIMULATING AN INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.
THESE PROGRAMMES ALSO APPLY TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE AND DEVELOP GENERIC SKILLS REQUIRED PARTICULARLY OF SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS AND TECHNOLOGISTS. THESE OBJECTIVES ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF THE OUTCOMES BASED EDUCATION MODEL BEING IMPLEMENTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
IT IS APPARENT FROM PROF. VAN DER WALT’S PRESENTATION, THAT IN ADDITION TO TRAC AND SUNSTEP, A NUMBER OF OTHER SCHOOL PROGRAMMES OPERATE WITHIN THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING. IT SEEMS THEREFORE A LOGICAL STEP TO CONSOLIDATE THESE WELL-ESTABLISHED ACTIONS UNDER ONE ROOF – THE ENGINEERING SCHOOL CENTRE. IN THIS WAY THE ACTIVITIES OF THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMMES CAN BE OFFERED AS ONE SERVICE TO THE GREATER SCHOOL GOING COMMUNITY, IN A STATE-OF-THE-ART EDUCATION FACILITY.
AN INVALUABLE CHARACTERISTIC OF THESE PROGRAMMES IS THEIR STRONG LINK WITH INDUSTRY, FROM WHICH THEY DERIVE SUPPORT AND DIRECTION. I UNDERSTAND THAT MTN SUNSTEP IS A VERY SUCCESSFUL JOINT VENTURE BY MTN AND THE UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH. THEIR NOMINATION FOR EDUCATION AFRICA’S PRESIDENTS AWARD IS A CLEAR RECOGNITION OF THEIR EXEMPLARY WORK IN INCREASING TECHNOLOGICAL AWARENESS AMONGST LEARNERS.
I AM PARTICULARLY PROUD THAT THE SA NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY AND WHEN THEY WERE THE CHIEF DIRECTORATE ROADS IN THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT HAVE FOR MANY YEARS SUPPORTED THE TRAC PROGRAMME. AS PART OF THIS COMMITMENT, THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION PROVIDED FUNDING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRAC LABORATORY SECTION OF THE SCHOOL CENTRE, UNDER THE NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (OR T-SQUARE) CENTRE.
THE FRAMEWORK FOR CO-OPERATIVE ACTIVITIES INCLUDES ROAD TECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT. INCLUDED IN THE WORK PLANS ARE ITEMS THAT FOCUS ON THE RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME AND OTHER ACTIVITIES SUCH AS THE SHARING OF INFORMATION ON CURRENT ROAD MANAGEMENT PRACTICE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH.
IT IS MY BELIEF THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ENGINEERING SCHOOL CENTRE IS A BENCHMARK ACHIEVEMENT FOR THE BI-LATERAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SOUTH AFRICA.
IN ADDITION TO DEVELOPMENT AT SCHOOL LEVEL, THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT’S CENTRES OF DEVELOPMENT AND THE SA NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY ACTIVELY SUPPORT ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT AT A TERTIARY LEVEL.
THE PARTICIPATING UNIVERSITIES AND TECHNIKONS PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN DEVELOPING A REPRESENTATIVE PROFESSIONAL WORKFORCE FOR THE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGINEERING SCHOOL CENTRE HAS COME AT AN OPPORTUNE TIME. THE NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION RECENTLY RECOMMENDED TO THE DIFFERENT PROVINCIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS THAT THEY INVESTIGATE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SCIENCE CENTERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF IMPROVING LEARNERS’ INTEREST AND PROFICIENCY IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. IT IS HOPED THEREFORE, WITH THE EXPERTISE GAINED FROM DEVELOPING AND OPERATING THE ENGINEERING SCHOOL CENTRE, THAT THE UNIVERSITY WILL TOGETHER WITH THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PLAY A CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE IN IMPLEMENTING THIS MODEL.
I BELIEVE THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ENGINEERING SCHOOL CENTRE IS PROOF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH’S COMMITMENT TO APPLY ITS CAPACITIES, EXPERTISE AND RESOURCES TO THE BENEFIT OF THE GREATER SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITY. THE REALIZATION OF THIS FACILITY IS A CLEAR DEMONSTRATION OF THEIR NEW VISION FOR THE FUTURE.
I COMMEND THE SA NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY, US FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, MTN, THE LOMBARDI TRUST, THE NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION, THE CIVIL ENGINEERING INDUSTRY TRAINING BOARD AND MY DEPARTMENT FOR THEIR FORESIGHT IN SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHOOL CENTRE. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE OTHER COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS TO SIMILARLY INVEST IN EDUCATION PROGRAMMES.
FINALLY I BELIEVE I WILL NOT BE MISUSING THIS OCCASION IF I WERE TO RECORD MY CONCERN ABOUT THE SHORT PACE OF TRANSFORMATION IN THE ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY FIELDS IN OUR COUNTRY. IT IS IMPERATIVE TO ENSURE THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF OUR NATION BUILDING AND RECONCILIATION PROCESS, THAT WE SPEEDILY REDUCE AND ULTIMATELY ELIMINATE INHERITED IMBALANCES, INEQUALITIES AND DISPARITIES IN ALL AREAS OF LIFE IN OUR COUNTRY. WE MUST INVOLVE GREATER NUMBERS OF PERSONS FROM THE HISTORICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS INCLUDING WOMEN IN ALL ENGINEERING SECTORS. I KNOW THAT NORMALITY CANNOT BE ACHIEVED OVER NIGHT BUT WE MUST IMPLEMENT DELIBERATE POLICIES TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM.
TO THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, TRAC AND MTN SUNSTEP I EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO SOLVING ONE OF OUR COUNTRY’S MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES.
I AM CONFIDENT THAT WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS FACILITY, YOU WILL BE IN A POSITION TO PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INDUSTRY RELEVANT EDUCATION MODULES.
IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO OFFICIALLY DECLARE THE UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH ENGINEERING SCHOOL CENTRE OPEN.
ISSUED BY:
Mike Mabasa
HEAD: Media Liaison and Corporate Communication
MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT
TEL: 083 680 7048
FAX: 083 676 8450
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