Keynote Address by Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga, MP, at the 3rd Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Conference held at Southern Sun OR Tambo Hotel,
Programme Director, Ms Palesa Tyobeka;
Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr Reginah Mhaule, in absentia;
Country Representative of UNICEF South Africa, Ms Christine Muhigana;
Board Chairperson of the NECT, Dr Sizwe Nxasana, and CEO, Dr Godwin Khosa;
Board Trustee of MIET Africa, Prof John Volmink; Senior Government Officials at all levels;
Members of Organised Labour; Academics and Researchers;
Key partners, donors, and esteemed guests;
Ladies, Gentlemen, and Friends of the Basic Education Department; Good Morning.
It's a distinct honour to welcome you to the official opening of the Department of Basic Education Conference on Care and Support for Teaching and Learning.
I sincerely thank each of you for your presence today.
In 2021, due to the constraints of COVID-19, we had to move to a virtual platform. This conference consistently attracts a broad spectrum of delegates. This year, out of over 500 registered attendees, we could only accommodate 210 due to budgetary constraints.
If you're here, listening to me now, you're amongst those elite 210, chosen for the significant role you may play in shaping the future of Care and Support for Teaching and Learning in our education sector.
This event represents a collaborative effort between the Department of Basic Education, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT), and Media in Education Trust Africa (MIET) Africa,
It seeks to highlight the pivotal role of care and support, tailored to the ever-evolving needs of both learners and educators.
For newcomers to the conference or those unfamiliar with Care and Support for Teaching and Learning, it's an operational framework initiated by Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Its aim? To enhance educational outcomes – from accessibility and retention to performance – by offering solutions tailored to the unique challenges of teaching and learning.
Care and Support for Teaching and Learning provides a comprehensive support system to overcome these barriers.
Our youth grapple with numerous socio-economic challenges – poverty, violence, homelessness, bullying, gender-based violence, substance abuse, and many more.
Health issues, such as unhealthy lifestyles, mental health concerns, early pregnancies, and HIV & AIDS, also pose significant hurdles. These challenges directly affect their educational journey – from enrolment to reaching their full potential.
At the Department of Basic Education, our mission has consistently been to equip school practitioners with the skills to identify these barriers early, offering guidance on effective support strategies and establishing networks for care and support in every school.
Recently, we've emphasised the ‘Teaching’ aspect of Care and Support for Teaching and Learning, underlining the need for interventions that benefit both educators and learners.
Our first Care and Support for Teaching and Learning conference in 2018, themed 'Consolidating Our Efforts', celebrated initiatives enabling children to enrol in, remain at, and excel in schools.
The inaugural 2018 conference kick-started a national dialogue, spotlighting the importance of learner wellbeing to educational success.
This gathering was envisaged as a biennial event, fostering collaboration and ensuring an integrated approach to delivering care and support in schools.
Although the pandemic disrupted our 2020 plans, the 2021 virtual conference was a reflective platform, allowing us to assess our national care and support framework, learn from the challenges of the pandemic, and strategise for the future.
In 2021, the conference was held under the theme 'Reimagining Care and Support', we delved into the implications of COVID-19, preparing our educational system for any future disruptions and promoting recovery and continuity post-pandemic.
Today, the 2023 Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Conference commences with the theme: "Transforming Education for Inclusive Safer Schools through Teaching, Learning, Care and Support Innovations."
This conference aims to build on the foundations set by the previous national Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Conference in 2018 and 2021.
It serves to stimulate an essential national dialogue among educational stakeholders, supporting the Government in fulfilling the national care and support mandate within the education sector.
This year, we've extended our platform to a broader range of partners and stakeholders, inviting them to share best practices through presentations and external exhibitions.
Ladies and gentlemen, last year, I had the honour of attending the United Nations Transforming Education Summit. This summit was prompted by a global education crisis, centring around equity, inclusion, quality, and relevance.
This silent and slow-moving crisis profoundly affects the futures of children and youth across the globe.
The summit aimed to galvanise leadership and commitment to widen the scope and depth of education, ensure safe, healthy, and inclusive schools, and promote gender equality in educational access.
Additionally, it sought to value and empower teachers, prepare every learner for climate challenges, utilise the digital revolution for every teacher and learner, and secure more significant financial commitments towards education.
The Summit presented a call to action for United Nations Member States and partners, highlighting six pivotal issues:
- Education in Crisis Situations: promoting transformative partnerships.
- Addressing the Learning Crisis: ensuring and enhancing the quality of education for everyone.
- Transforming the World: linking to Education for Sustainable Development, Climate Action, and fostering Green Education Partnerships.
- Digital Learning: ensuring quality public digital education for all.
- Advancing Gender Equality: emphasising gender empowerment within and through education.
- Financing Education: encouraging global education systems to invest more, both equitably and efficiently.
Programme director, since the Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Conference’s inception in 2008, SADC Education Ministers have collectively aimed for a harmonised and mainstreamed provision of care and support across the region.
This aspiration is backed by the SADC FutureLife-Now! coordination mechanisms and multilateral engagements that share knowledge about the challenges and approaches of member states regarding care and support.
The goal of these discussions is to consistently provide care and support to every vulnerable learner, ensuring equal opportunities regardless of their location.
While the SADC and East African (ESA) region are distinguished by borders, we share challenges like restricted access to quality basic education, inequality, unemployment, poverty, uneven economic growth, and diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
Many stakeholders and partners are making tremendous efforts on the ground to better the lives of children and teachers.
Often, these entities might not even recognise their actions as the embodiment of Care and Support for Teaching and Learning.
Thus, this assembly is of paramount importance, creating a platform for sharing best practices in Care and Support for Teaching and Learning and learning from one another.
Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting coincides with a significant time, as today the United Nations commemorates the International Day of the Girl Child.
Moreover, next month (November), we will initiate the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.
Evidence consistently shows that women and girls are profoundly more vulnerable to diseases, violence and various forms of abuse.
More so, within the Southern African Development Community region, women and girls disproportionately suffer from the HIV pandemic, with infection rates between 1.8 and 5.5 times higher than their male peers.
Furthermore, the region confronts the disturbing realities of child marriages and a surge in teenage pregnancies, exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Therefore, Care and Support for Teaching and Learning and Sexual and Reproductive Health provisions for the youth are strategies that can bolster our united efforts in the SADC Region to ensure the protection of vulnerable children and teenagers.
Over the next two days, our programme will present discussions on these pressing matters.
The Care and Support for Teaching and Learning programme has enabled the Department to forge partnerships with other departments like Social Development, Health, and Women. Additionally, it has collaborated with NGOs, development partners, and businesses.
Consequently, knowledge sharing will emanate from various government departments, civil society, and the business sector.
We've strategically chosen this Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Conference as a preliminary platform for engagement, laying the groundwork for the Department of Basic Education Sector Lekgotla.
This annual gathering at the start of each academic year sets the tone for the upcoming educational year.
At the Lekgotla, a standing Commission on Care and Support for Teaching and Learning has been established because topics surrounding vulnerability, health, and well-being are more vital to our basic education agenda than ever before.
Given the rising challenges of mental health issues, psychosocial needs, bullying, and youth suicides, our sector must enhance the support provided to children, collaborating closely with parents and caregivers.
There's a pressing need to intensify engagement with young men and boys within broader gender equity and empowerment initiatives.
However, despite increasing awareness among SADC Member States about the importance of involving young men and boys, they often remain overlooked.
Currently, young men and boys appear solely included in strategies for transforming social norms, primarily to aid their female counterparts, rather than as direct beneficiaries of holistic support and gender empowerment programmes.
Boys should not merely serve as agents of change; they too deserve direct interventions tailored to their specific needs and vulnerabilities.
This understanding underpins His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to facilitate a dialogue with young men and boys in 2023, mirroring his 2017 engagement with young women and girls at the Union Buildings.
In 2018, the SADC involved South Africa in a Regional Study examining vulnerabilities amongst boys aged 14-20 years in schools.
The study aimed to better understand the challenges faced by male students.
Evidence from the study reveals that societal and rigid gender norms, which often demand boys to suppress their emotions, contribute to their vulnerabilities.
This emotional repression can lead to issues like depression, behavioural disorders, loneliness, and even gender-based violence, with girls frequently bearing the brunt of the fallout.
Such societal pressures can drive many boys to abandon their education, engage in violent or criminal behaviours, or adopt other risky habits to conform to societal expectations of "real men."
Thus, the focus on boys is crucial for this conference, building on the recent Presidential Young Men and Boys Indaba.
I hope this conference achieves its objectives in sharing knowledge, skills, and innovative strategies related to the Care and Support for Teaching and Learning Programmes.
Our foremost priority remains to pave the way for a brighter future for our children.
I aspire to leave a legacy where the sector and its partners continually innovate and progress.
Thank you for your attention, and I wish you fruitful discussions over the coming days.
