E Peters: launch of School Governing Bodies elections

09 May 2006

Honourable Mayors and Councillors
Mecs and Members of our Provincial Legislature
Hods and Senior Managers of our various Departments
Chairpersons and members of School Governing Bodies
Parents and officials
Media representatives
Distinguished guests
Learners

Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today, to officially launch the
SGB elections and to prepare for the fourth cycle of school governing body
elections. It is of utmost importance that our local communities participate in
the governance of our schools in keeping with what was conceptualised in 1955
in Kliptown when the people declared through the Freedom Charter that the "
People Shall Govern".

School Governing Bodies in our province, as in all other provinces in the
country, are approaching the expiry of the third term of office, and the
election of school governing bodies every three years is one of the most
important activities of the Department of Education. The first SGB elections
took place in May 1997 and this promotion of the devolution of authority from
the central state to local structures has been a critical element in the new
government's transformation agenda, and its quest for building and sustaining
democracy in the whole country.

The second cycle of school governance started in the year 2000 and ended in
2002. One of the goals of South African Statistics Association (SASA) is to
improve community ownership of schools and this goal was again achieved in 2002
as parents once more voted for their children's future.

Die derde siklus van skoolbeheer het in 2003 begin en in 2005 geëindig en
tans staan ons op die drumpel van die vierde siklus. In die nege jaar van
skoolbeheer wat nou agter die rug is moet die beklemtoon dat `n hele paar
suksesse behaal is.

School governing bodies have made contributions within areas such as:
* the procurement of Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM) for learners in
all grades.
* the National School Nutrition Programme (Feeding Scheme), the vegetable
gardens and the formation of co-operatives such as Ikageng project in Douglas,
as part of the economic empowerment programme for the Department of
Education.
* recommending the appointment of educators to the Head of Department.
* the development of governance policies such as a code of conduct for
learners, the admission policy, the language policy, school fees policy and
other policies.
* contributing towards the improvement of Grade 12 results and supporting
school managers and thus enhancing the delivery of quality education.

Onder die vele uitdagings wat sowel die regering as die Onderwysdepartment
in
die gesig staar, is die ongelukkige werklikheid dat ons steeds ouers het wat
koud staan teenoor die onderrig en opleiding van ons kinders, en verder, dat
dit gewoonlik hulle is wat skepties is oor ons programme en bedoelings. Maar
ons moet dit sê: terselfdertyd is daar hoogs toegewyde ouers, en ons loof hulle
daarvoor.

It then follows that we will as a result, have different categories of
school governing bodies those that are there for their own agendas and those
that are committed to education. The second category is committed towards the
improvement of teaching and learning, committed towards the proper handling of
supplementary state funding and committed towards community involvement in the
schools.
I want to take this opportunity and thank each and everyone of you for
supporting education. I am sure the MEC will look into the possibility of
presenting our outgoing SGB members with certificates of appreciation.

There is no secret that we will both as government and the Department
appreciate the re-election and co-option of dedicated members of society who
have displayed an unwavering commitment to the transformation of our schools as
institutions of high performance and excellence, without self-interest. We
shall not spare any effort or expense in ensuring that we develop all our
schools into centres of excellence rather than sites of conflict and struggle.
We therefore call for effective management and effective governance in all our
schools. We call for harmony between the management and governing bodies of the
schools so that there will be effective teaching and learning and consequently
good results.
As government, we are taking the education of our children quite seriously!
Therefore none of our schools can regard themselves as exempt from good
performance and good governance.

Ladies and gentlemen: A lot has been done by the Department of Education to
level the ground for the coming 2006 SGB elections. We have forged a
partnership with the Provincial Independent Electoral Commission so that the
SGB elections are accorded the status and dignity given to the recent local
municipality elections. The MEC has promulgated rules and regulations that deal
with the election procedure for the parent component and other components, and
these rules are in line with the National Guidelines for the SGB elections.

‘n Bestuursplan vir die skoolbeheerliggaamverkiesing is saamgestel en aan
alle skole uitgestuur. Die Department het onder andere die volgende
bewusmakingsmateriaal voorberei: baniere, plakkate, en pamflette in Engels,
SeTswana, IsiXhosa en Afrikaans, om ons mense te leer oor die belangrikheid van
deelname in hierdie sort verkiesings, sodat hulle kan SAAM HELP bepaal watter
soort toekoms ons kinders gaan hê en sodoende ook bou aan die toekoms van ons
almal, die land en sy mense.

The slogan for this year's SGB Elections is 'Vote For Your Child's Future'
and I am pleading with all officials and principals to make sure that the
coming SGB elections are underpinned by principles, such as transparency,
gender equity, democracy, accountability and responsibility, non racism and
community involvement. The SGB elections in our province will be conducted as
from 29 May and 30 June 2006 and we pray for free and fair elections. Remember
that when you vote, you will be voting for your child's future.

I wish you the best of luck as you prepare for SGB elections in 2006.

Ke a leboga
Baie dankie
Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Education Northern Cape Provincial Government
09 May 2006