Western Cape Provincial Minister of Education at Edgemead
12 September 2006
In his State Of The Nation address this year President Thabo Mbeki has
called on all of us to be part of the national effort to grow the economy with
six percent, to create jobs and halve unemployment by 2014. The President has
called on all of us to "move faster to address challenges of poverty,
underdevelopment and marginalisation confronting those caught within the Second
Economy, to ensure that the poor in our country share in our growing
prosperity."
In order to achieve just that Government has announced its Accelerated and
Shared Growth Initiative, AsgiSA, which has two key components, namely a R370
billion drive to invest in public infrastructure and a concerted effort to
acquire the skills the economy needs. Under the leadership of our Deputy
President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka government has introduced a high-level task
team the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) which is
tasked with identifying urgent skills needs and advice on ways to respond to
these challenges.
Our Premier, Ebrahim Rasool said we must make the Western Cape a home for
all. We have an economic development blueprint to arrive at this vision Ikapa
Elihlumayo to grow and share the Cape. Ikapa Elihlumayo has eight lead
strategies namely to develop human capital, social capital, micro-economic
development, strategic infrastructure, communication, financial governance and
greater interdepartmental co-ordination. As Western Cape Education Department
we have been tasked as the lead department responsible for developing human
capital in the Western Cape.
Our mission with our Human Capital Development Strategy is to provide our
youth with relevant skills, knowledge, values and attitudes they need to
participate meaningfully in the mainstream economy and be internationally
competitive.
There are four key strands to this strategy, which are:
* improving the conditions of education
* improving the educational environment
* improving the quality of education
* creating opportunities for skills and qualifications acquisition
We have made great strides in the reconstruction of our education system
since 1994. We have achieved the United Nations millennium development goal of
universal enrolment for primary schooling; we have successfully united 19
different education departments; we have increased the number of successful
black and women graduates and the transformation process of our curriculum
development is reaching stability and maturity.
Whilst we are proud of our achievements, we are also the first to
acknowledge the continuing challenges, especially in respect of equity and
redress; the drop-out rates (50%); the levels of literacy and numeracy; the
performance of our learners in the subjects of maths and science; school safety
the list goes on.
As you know, our country has been awarded the rights to host the 2010 Soccer
World Cup. This has massive implications in terms of infrastructural investment
and job opportunities. Experts and economists predict that in the run-up to
2010, we are going to have to produce at least 13 000 engineers per annum to
cope with the expected economic development boom. However, our local
engineering council is registering just above 3 000 engineers per annum.
Earlier this year a major oil company Sasol, had to import about 2 000
engineers to refurbish their plants. At this moment there is about
half-a-million vacancies in the industries of information technology,
accountancy and communications. In a country with a huge unemployment figure,
it is clear that our education system has a fundamental role to play in
addressing the skills gap.
Our school principals both in South Africa and indeed all over the world
face a myriad of complex challenges. Not only do our principals have to ensure
the effective delivery of the curriculum in the classroom, but they also have
to look after the social well-being of children and at the same time ensures
that every teacher has his basic needs. In essence our principals are managing
large, complex and challenging institutions.
Last year, besides the fact that I was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the
Institute of Administrative Management in London, I have gotten a real sense of
the positive impact the concept of School Business Management (SBM) had on the
confidence of those who participated in the various courses and
programmes.
The concept of the school business manager as a dedicated individual who is
able to manage human resource, budget, infrastructure and provisioning issues
at school can add massive value to a school community and enhance
learning.
From the experiences of schools principals or head teachers as they are called
in the United Kingdom, it is clear that school business managers had been a
fantastic investment for education in that country.
It has transferred skills in a real way, giving new opportunities and
confidence to thousands of administrators and school secretaries, whose value
is not often recognised and appreciated. I am sure that kind of investment in
the human capital of a country will be felt for decades to come. Without
exception head teachers, which in our case are school principals, whom we met
and spoke to all agreed that the managers added considerable value and have
brought greater efficiency in the running of their schools.
The role of the school managers has allowed the principal to concentrate on
his core function, which is the delivery of the curriculum and enhancing
academic performance. The school business managers we met in the schools we
visited spoke of a new lease on life, a new confidence and a passion for making
a real difference in their schools. Many of the school business managers, who
were once receptionists, secretaries or administrators, are now integrated into
school management teams, which is a very positive development.
I think that what we are now doing is taking this process forward, which is
a necessary intervention aimed at up-skilling the administrative staff at
schools to enable them to progress at school level as well as at head office,
the Education Management Development Centre (EMDC), other departments and the
private sector. The need for this small business management (SBM) module is to
equip candidates with the framework that will enable them to efficiently and
effectively administer and manage the school operations and resources for a
safe learning environment.
There is definitely a need for the up-skilling of the staff to negate the
possibility of mismanagement of school funds by staff due to the lack of the
necessary skills. In this regard reference can be made to the fact that for the
period 2000/01 to date a total of 240 cases of forensic audits was conducted at
schools with regard to alleged mismanagement of school funds. The development
of the certificate course in School Business Management will take approximately
one year to finalise. The content will consist of: financial management, human
resource management, risk management; facilities management and general and
office administration.
The final course specifications or qualification will have to be registered
with SAQA and ratification by the appropriate Standards Generating Body (SGB).
Therefore the roll-out of the certificate course will probably be as from
January 2008. To enable all staff at schools to qualify for entry into the
certificate course, which has an entry level of grade 12, current employees
will be assessed according to their qualifications and prior learning
experience.
Those who do not possess the necessary qualifications and experience will
have to attend a bridging course to provide them entry into the certificate
course.
The bridging course is intended to up-skill targeted persons and/or re-skill
targeted persons. The course will consist of short courses and skills
programmes according to the outcomes of the screening process. It is the
intention of the Western Cape Education Department to start with the bridging
course in mid-2007 and a total of 200 staff members will be selected through a
screening process.
I would like, for every parent to be comfortable to send his or her child to
the nearest public school, within walking distance, confident in the knowledge
that his or her child will acquire sound values, attitudes, knowledge and
skills, in a safe environment and is able to compete with any learner in any
school anywhere in the province, in the country and indeed in the whole
world.
I have learnt from my visit to the United Kingdom that 80% of successful
schools have good leadership. It is these schools that are better placed to
deliver the curriculum and better placed to prepare our learners for life and
the world of work. It is of utmost importance that the necessary skills are
developed and mastered, in order to manage the funds and resources of our
public schools more effectively, efficiently and economically.
This initiative fits in perfectly with the aims and objectives identified by
the national strategy document A Nation at Work for a Better Life for All. This
is also exactly what our Human Capital Development Strategy envisages. Some
South Africans wonder if we have the capacity to host the World Cup 2010. If
only they realised that the world has enough confidence in our ability. The
world and Federation International Football Association in particular did not
take this decision in blind faith. They made this decision because they have
hope in South Africa, they have hope for Africa.
Through the types of partnerships that we are developing now, we celebrate
opportunity; we celebrate the spirit of international solidarity and sound
investment in human capital. I am convinced that this relationship will grow
stronger by the day, ultimately leading to greater equity, redress and access
to quality education for all our learners in the province.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
E-mail: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Education, Western Cape Provincial Government
12 September 2006
Source: Western Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za)
