Nkosi Albert Luthuli Young Historians' awards ceremony, Kuilsriver
16 August 2007
Mr Michael Cameron, Acting Director of Curriculum
Senior Curriculum and Curriculum Advisors
Principals and teachers
Learners and parents
Distinguished guests
Let me begin by saying that an education system does not exist simply to
serve economic needs, important as that may be. It must also enrich the learner
and broader society. In other words, the kind of learner that is envisaged is
one who will be imbued with values espoused by people such as Chief Luthuli,
Robert Sobukwe and others and acts in the interests of a society based on
respect for democracy, equality, human dignity and social justice as promoted
in the Constitution.
Similarly, our curriculum acknowledges educators as key contributors of
transformation of education. The curriculum visualises teachers who are
qualified, competent, dedicated and caring. They should be able to fulfil
various roles as mediators of learning, interpreters and designers of learning
programmes and materials, leaders, scholars, researchers and lifelong learners.
Our Constitution provides the context of our curriculum transformation and
development in South Africa.
The preamble states that the aims of the Constitution are to:
* heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic
values, social justice and fundamental human rights
* improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each
person
* lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is
based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by
law;
* build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as
a sovereign state in the family of nations.
The Constitution further states that 'everyone has the right to further
education which the State, through reasonable measures, must make progressively
available and accessible.' The General Education and Training Band lays a good
foundation for the achievement of these goals by stipulating learning outcomes
and assessment standards and by spelling out the key principles and values that
underpin the curriculum.
Some of those key principles are social transformation, outcomes-based
education, high knowledge and high skills, human rights, inclusivity,
environmental and social justice and credibility, quality and efficiency.
Through the curriculum and projects such as these, we hope to inculcate the
kind of values and morality as enshrined in the example of the lives of people
like Chief Luthuli and others, to give meaning to our individual and social
relationships.
In his State of the Nation Address, our President Thabo Mbeki called on the
nation to commemorate and celebrate anniversaries of historical significance,
which have contributed to the legacies of our history. As part of its
contribution, the national Department of Education, in partnership with South
African History Online, invited all secondary schools to participate in the
National Schools' Oral History Competition, which culminates in the Nkosi
Albert Luthuli Young Historians' Awards that was inaugurated in 2005.
This competition is part of the department's ongoing initiative to encourage
all learners to develop an understanding, not only of the broad history of
South Africa, but also of the richness of the histories of their local
communities. It is also an opportunity for young learners to gain experience in
developing important research skills.
Obviously, the competition is open to all learners from Grade 8 to Grade 11
and all history educators in secondary schools. Learners and educators were
advised to visit the South African History Online website for information on
oral history research - http://www.sahistory.org.za.
I am told you were required to research and prepare a presentation or a
documentary film or video on either an unsung hero; a young person who have
significantly contributed to our communities, or investigate the impact of the
life and death of any one of Stephen Bantu Biko, Oliver Reginald Tambo, Robert
Sobukwe and Nkosi Albert Luthuli.
I am sure you have gained valuable insight into how these people impacted
upon the history of South Africa, and how they, through their contributions,
made communities to come together to demonstrate their opposition the then
apartheid government. So, let me say something briefly about the person after
whom this project is named. He was one of Africa's greatest political figures
of our times, having been President of the African National Congress (ANC) from
1952-1967; a respected statesman and rightly rewarded as the first African to
receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960.
The year 1936 was a year of political disturbances, economic plunder and
uncertainty in South Africa. That year saw the introduction of the notorious
Hertzog Bills, which sought to limit the land to be owned or occupied by the
African population. In 1946, Chief Luthuli entered politics when he was
appointed onto the then Native Representative Council. He pretty soon realised
that it was a useless and frustrating talking shop that had been brought to a
standstill by the protest of members who questioned the government's
policies.
Chief Luthuli engineered the demise of the Native Representative Council and
called upon Hertzog to abolish all discriminatory laws and demanded for a new
policy towards the African population. Chief Luthuli threw himself body and
soul into the struggle for the right of Africans when he joined the ANC in
1945. In 1951 Chief Luthuli was elected Natal provincial President of the
African National Congress and the following year the national President.
As a practising Christian, Chief Luthuli genuinely and sincerely believed in
the well-being, happiness and dignity of all human beings. Because of his
convictions, he sacrificed all prospects of personal gains and comforts and
dedicated his life to the cause and service of his fellowmen and women. But
also, he was an educator for 15 years. Luthuli then and afterwards contended
that education should be made available to all Africans, that it should be
liberal and not narrowly vocational in nature and that its quality should be
equal to that made available to white children. In 1928 he became secretary of
the African Teacher's Association and in 1933 its president.
An English writer, Raymond Chandler in paying tribute to Nkosi Albert
Luthuli said the following: "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not
himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero he is
everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man.
"He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honour, by instinct, by
inevitability, without thought of it and certainly without saying it. He must
be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world."
In a special ANC publication in memory of the 40th anniversary of the death
of Nkosi Albert Luthuli, President Thabo Mbeki wrote: "The terrible news of the
untimely and puzzling death of our President, Inkosi AJ Luthuli, on 21 July
1967, burst upon us while we were in exile in the United Kingdom. With his
passing away it seemed that a great and bright star that would always be there
to guide us along the difficult road to freedom had suddenly been
extinguished."
The President also wrote: "Because the millions of our people understood and
supported what Albert Luthuli and the ANC said and did, refusing to be "neutral
in a situation where the laws of the land virtually criticised God for having
created men of colour", today we are free. But the work that he gave us is not
yet done."
Chief Luthuli has inspired millions of other men and women across the colour
line, to resist and fight apartheid. In commemoration of the historical value
of Chief Luthuli and many others inspired by him, the national Department of
Education initiated the history project.
I am please with the work that our officials and teachers have put into this
project. I know that the entrants and winners are going to give oral
presentations of their research essays. I would have loved to listen to all of
them, however, I have to leave by 18h30 and so, it is not out of disrespect
that I will be leaving the room, but rather because I have another meeting in
Mitchell's Plain.
Thank you very much to all our officials who have helped made this project
possible, thank you very much to all those that have taken up the challenge,
both learners and educators. Congratulations to the winners and I am sure you
will represent us well in the national chapter and make us proud.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Education, Western Cape Provincial Government
16 September 2007
