President Jacob Zuma delivers the first Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI) School

Delivering on the promises made towards the 2009 elections of making education a priority has received a boost as President Jacob Zuma handed over Mphathiswa senior primary school, on Tuesday to the Ngqeleni community, one of the 49 schools built through the Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI).

This initiative by the government is meant to ensure that conditions under which children learn is improved as it plays an important role in raising learner performance and in enhancing the quality of education they receive.  Additionally, this crusade to deliver infrastructure to destitute school communities will also add value to teaching as conditions under which educators work also play an important role in creating job satisfaction and in cultivating values of professionalism.

According to Zuma, the inherited inequalities in educational provision have played a significant role in the rate and quality of learners matriculating as such the government have prioritised education to reverse that. 

“The bases for oppression by the past regime, was the provision of poor or the so called Bantu education, but now as part of our responsibility as the caring government to build a nation, we call upon everyone to unite against illiterate.  In 2009, we decided to prioritise education as part of liberating a nation from mental slavery,” said Zuma.

The president also highlighted that these projects will also help minimise the learner dropout rate in the school and ultimately in the area. “We will never be able to realise the intentions of our policies like the Affirmative Action (AA) if our black communities do not receive proper education”, added Zuma.

Attending this occasion was King Ndamase Ndamse of the Western Pondoland who urged teachers and officials to heighten their commitment in education.  “We plead with our educators to be in class and abide with the department’s prescribed contact time with the learner as this will help in delivering the curriculum within the required government time”, said Ndamase while welcoming the guests.

Jubilant Basic Education minister, Angie Motshekga assured the Eastern Cape communities that she is aware that delivering quality education could only be achieved in proper schools.  “Our conception of a proper school includes resourcing them well, ensuring that it has accessible, portable and mentally stimulating school library to its learners. 

“We all must agree, for us fully and qualitatively to give effect to every child’s right to basic education, we need decent and functional schools. That’s why we’re here, opening these schools, with the President, and in the presence of the King.

Additionally, given the resources we’re investing in building schools, developing and efficiently deploying teachers to areas where they are most needed is another top priority for the system. Lastly, we know that competent and quality teacher in a properly resourced school is requisite for improving learning outcomes”, emphasised Motshekga.

She also added that material conditions on the ground, as well as logic, dictated that government prioritised broadening access to education of quality, especially for children of the historically marginalised and poorest of the poor. Apart from her promise to return before the end of the year to deliver the outstanding 48 schools, Motshekga did not shy away from the fact that this ASIDI project also is for a short period of time complementing the province’s infrastructure strides.

“ASIDI is intended to supplement provincial school infrastructure programmes and its aim is to help eradicate basic safety backlogs, to replace inappropriate structures and mud schools. It looks also at issues of water, sanitation and electricity”, concluded Motshekga.