Address by the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation Ms Pamela Tshwete, Qumbu Primary School Media Classroom Handover, Qumbu, Eastern Cape
Programme Director (Councillor Xolile Nkompela),
MEC for Basic Education (Honourable Mandla Makuphula),
O.R. Tambo Executive Mayor Nomakhosazana Councillor Meth,
Mhlontlo Executive Mayor Councillor Mandisa Giyose,
Municipal Councillors,
MTN Foundation,
School principals,
Educators,
Parents,
School governing bodies,
Visiting schools,
Reverend Jongibandla Stokwe,
Learners,
Government officials,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good Day to you all.
I am Pamela Tshwete, the Deputy Minister for Water and Sanitation, originally from King Williams Town in this province.
I first want to thank MTN and the school (Qumbu Primary School) for making this day possible. If MTN did not have this kind of a social responsibility programme we will not be here today and there will be no Media Classroom to hand over.
This school also could have chosen not to participate in the departmental water conservation programmes.
The school could have chosen to focus on an academic programme that produces individualistic personalities with no sense community involvement.
Secondly I would like to thank the semblance of leadership that is present here today. The Department of Basic Education, the O. R. Tambo Municipality, the Mhlontlo Municipality, the provincial leadership as represented by comrade Makuphula and all community structures present here.
Thank you very much for gracing this occasion and raising these critical matters and challenges facing our country today. The challenges facing our country demand a shared common vision, new game changers and without this kind of collaboration our challenges may appear difficult to overcome.
Programme Director, this school is very fortunate because we have planned to visit and handover this Media Classroom as part of the National Water Week Programme.
On Monday, we were handing over Imvutshane Dam to the Maphumulo Municipality in the ILembe District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
On Tuesday, we were in Burgersfort (Tubatse Community) handing over another media classroom to Marota Primary School in Limpopo.
These were all national events planned for this National Water Week which will run until 22 March 2015. Khaniziqhwabele ngokuba kwi National Programme.
The schools must work with local communities to provide information useful in changing the conditions under which we live. Our schools must be a training ground for leaders of tomorrow.
This means teachers must provide leadership and ensure that they guide the children and advise the parents in the most essential areas of training and education.
Currently our system of education does not provide enough engineers, doctors, architects, pilots, agriculturalists, accountants, pharmacists, water specialists and technicians.
These inefficiencies affects our capabilities to provide for our livelihoods especially food security and in the supply of water and sanitation.
Our education system should enable the community to be self-sufficient when it comes to skills and professionalism. Through education we must determine our destinies and what we want to be in our future careers.
In the Department we support children with bursaries to study in selected fields. This is also done by other government Departments. Our children must now take courses in selected areas such as science and maths. These bursaries are aimed to support children whose academic work par exceeds the average level and those children whose parents cannot afford. We urge you to work with us and avail yourselves as part of the struggle to increase the academic status and research capacity of our country.
The doors of government are now open to all those who wish to make a contribution in developing themselves and others. It is now the time where the government directed opportunities must be seized by the young learners so that tomorrow there will be citizens properly equipped to govern and administer this beautiful country.
Parents must help children move away from drugs, alcohol abuse, bullying others, criminal element and blaming the system and demanding all the goods from others without working hard.
Baswa Le Meetse is one of our flagship programmes in the Department which was launched in 2003. This programme aims to mobilise and generate interest amongst young people to participate in the education of their communities. The youth is required to participate in integrated water management, sanitation, health and hygiene related activities.
The hope is that when they reach the higher grades they will follow course streams and university or college degrees that will qualify them to work and provide skills in the management of water and sanitation. In 2013/2014 financial year 51 bursaries were given to deserving students and now in 2014/2015 financial year 50 bursaries have been awarded. More young learners are needed to grow this number.
In the Baswa Le Meetse Awards the Department targets grade 4 to grade 6 learners in five categories, that is: Drama, Traditional Music, Poetry, Praise Singing and Poster.
The school entered for the poetry category and won themselves position number 1 in the district, in the province and nationally. The school became eligible for the MTN Media Classroom which consists of 21 computers with internet connection, with scientific programmes loaded and training of five educators plus a R6 000 cash prize which is shared between the learner and the school.
We have now opened the media classroom and congratulations to the school for hard work and thank you very much to all those educators and learners who have provided leadership and made this possible.
Since the beginning of this project in 2005, 55 Media Classrooms have been handed all over the country and this is the FIFTH one to be handed to an Eastern Cape school.
The connectivity the school now has through internet and other educational programmes must now help the school educators to do their work better.
The school principal must be able to send critical messages to the parents whenever there is a need to do so.
Even the Ward Councillor may relay community messages through this access point to reach both the school educators and the parents of the children attending the school.
We must now see a dynamic link between the school and the society out there in terms of communication, information acquisition and dissemination.
Once again thank you so much to our sponsors MTN and many other partners who are here today. It is only when we work together that we can achieve more and with speed.
Siyabulela MTN.
I thank you
