N Pandor: Opening of Langa High School Multi-Media Centre

13 March 2006

IT’S A DIGITALLY DIVIDED WORLD

Mr Poobalan Murugan,
MEC Dugmore,
Mr Venter and colleagues at Altron and its subsidiary bytes technology
group,
Parents and pupils,

Langa High School has a distinguished past, having made a significant
contribution toward education and the community. The opening of this centre
provides a further education opportunity for Langa High and the surrounding
community.

At the outset, allow me to express my gratitude to the Altron group for
building this media centre and for “adopting this school.”

The opening of the centre provides our learners with the opportunity to
develop their capabilities and prepare for a world that utilises rapidly
changing technology.

Today’s learners grow up in a world where both work and leisure are shaped
by computers, the Internet, cell phones, 3D videogames, DVD, and MP3
players.

These technologies have a profound impact on the ways in which learners
engage with one another, with information and with society as a whole. Some
educational commentators see computer games, simulations and 3D as the next
generation of learning environments because of the intensity with which they
engage our learners.

It is our view in education that proficiency with and understanding of
information communication technologies should join reading, writing and
arithmetic as one of the basic learning processes.

Learners and parents, the invitation I received to deliver this opening
address stated that this centre is being established to contribute toward
bridging the digital divide.

The digital divide is a complex issue, often clouded by heated debate.
Simply put by Wikipedia, “the digital divide is the wide division that exists
between those who have access to information communication technologies and who
are using them effectively and those who do not have access.”

I believe the task of bridging the divide is a crucial challenge because
information communication technologies are emerging as the key driver of
economic growth and social development. Failure to bridge the divide leaves
those who do not have access to information communication technologies in a
developmental cul de sac.

The critical question that we are faced with is, “what can be done to bridge
the divide?”

Our answer lies in a comprehensive approach. The Department of Education has
embarked on a number of initiatives to prepare all our learners to take
advantage of new information communication technologies.

Two mutually supportive initiatives worth highlighting today are the
introduction of the National Curriculum Statement, a new and modern curriculum
for Grades R to 12 and the publication of the White Paper on e-Education.

Broadly speaking, the new curriculum aims to equip learners with the
knowledge, skills and values necessary for self-fulfilment and meaningful
participation in society, irrespective of their socioeconomic background, race,
gender, physical ability or intellectual ability.

The goal of the White Paper on e-Education is to ensure that every South
African learner in the general and further education and training bands will be
able use information communication technologies confidently and creatively to
develop the skills and knowledge they need to achieve personal goals and to be
full participants in modern society.

However, providing adequate infrastructure for information communication
technologies is very costly. Considering the huge backlogs we have, it will
take a very long time to provide the necessary technology infrastructure to all
26 000 schools in South Africa.

We need the support of business in the form of public-private partnerships.
Public-private partnerships offer so much value to so many people and
significantly assist the state to reach out to more people and improve their
lives. Partnerships in education have become a norm throughout the world in
order to harness the resources and energies of prosperous communities while
protecting and encouraging less prosperous counterparts.

It is with this in mind that we wish to draw on the knowledge, experience
and the resources of our friends and partners to achieve our national
goals.

In building this centre and in training teachers to run it and in providing
funds to maintain it into the immediate future, Altron is doing what it does
best.

In a very immediate sense it is investing in our future.

This investment serves as a true demonstration of the private-sector
confidence and interest in the well being and success of our public
schools.

It is also an investment in the Langa community. An important part of this
project is the attention given to community engagement. Langa High will be
expected to make the centre available not only to neighbouring schools, but
also to the community at large. The centre will offer a valuable service to
those community members in need of safe and supportive environments for after
school and work related studies.

Langa High School has in the past played an important role in being a
rallying point for the community in its struggle for upliftment. Today, more
than ever, it must continue this role and assist our children and young people
to participate in the information society.

In return, the community should be invited to participate in the maintenance
and security of the school’s information communication technologies
infrastructure as well as support the school by providing it with expertise and
champions from the community who are willing to volunteer their skills and
experience.

In closing, I firmly believe that with the opening of this centre,
significant changes will come about in the way we teach and learn at this
school. I believe that the foundations of learning at the school will be
strengthened and improved. I also believe that this centre will provide our
learners and teachers with the computer skills and other competencies necessary
to participate more meaningfully in the information society and to take greater
advantage of work related opportunities.

As a part of the African community, we are confronted with the challenge of
revitalising the continent and ensuring that as Africans we break the shackles
of our past and begin to determine and shape our own destiny. Optimal
utilisation of information communication technologies provides us with one of
the key opportunities now available to improve our lives.

Thank you.

Issued by: Ministry for Education
13 March 2006