Your Royal Highness, Chief Mandela
Honourable Deputy Minister
Siemens Executives
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen,
I feel extremely happy to be part of this auspicious occasion just as a passionate architect would do when she beholds the artefact of her labour of love.
This sod-turning ceremony, courtesy of Siemens, is an embodiment of the delicate seed I have nurtured since I took office in May 2009, that is, implanting among our people the fundamental principle that education is a societal issue.
The message I’ve been toiling hard to drive home is that no entity can cultivate a delivery-driven education system on its own, without the invaluable mutual support of all partners and stakeholders.
Here lies the essence of the current administration’s determination that working together we can do more. One of the ‘Big Ideas’ we have adopted as a department and made public, even in our last budget vote speech, is attending swiftly, as a matter of urgency, to the school infrastructure backlog.
In addition to making provision for schools that function optimally, for better learning outcomes, we have committed to eradicating mud schools and unsafe structures.
An amount of R700 million has been set aside to reinforce our efforts in addition to school infrastructure budget allocations for provinces. Ours is a mammoth task calling for a concerted effort particularly if we’re to reach out to children in our rural areas as Siemens has done.
It gives me great joy to see companies like Siemens seizing the opportunity to plough back to communities where they do business, as part of their corporate social responsibility.
I would therefore like to deeply thank Siemens for making possible this wonderful project of the Mandela School of Science and Technology in Mvezo, the village of our beloved former President Nelson Mandela. This project does not only honour his legendary name, but it also advances a noble cause so close to his heart – educating and developing the children of South Africa. This is a personal highlight for me.
Nelson Mandela has always been a champion for the education of children in South Africa and elsewhere. Education remains the apex priority of our government, and thus it is necessarily our single largest investment.
What makes this occasion even more special is that just yesterday together we celebrated National Youth Day – a historical day dedicated to the memory of daring students who stood up against ‘bantu education’ and demanded human dignity and a better quality of education.
For all of us gathered here today, 35 years later, this project, made possible by Siemens, constitutes an appropriate gesture better to salute the 1976 generation. From where the heroes and heroines of 16 June left off, this initiative takes forward the task of providing our children with better and improved education. Indeed, from another front, you have advanced our accelerated school infrastructure development initiative.
This way, Siemens has brought us closer to the goal of opening the doors of learning and culture for all our people, as we said in 1955, in the Freedom Charter document.
Only this way, as we have stated in the Delivery Agreement for Basic Education, can we hope realistically to win the war against poverty, joblessness, disease, crime and under-development, especially in our rural areas.
As former President Mandela once said, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.
Another ‘Big Idea’ you have assisted us to realise is improving learner achievement in and appreciation of Mathematics, Science and Technology. The new school will accelerate interest in these gateway subjects vital for meeting the challenges of the 21st Century.
This is perhaps one of the most meaningful ways for preparing the youth of today to change the world of tomorrow. It is the best way of meeting our human resources development goals and thus achieving economic transformation and economic freedom for all.
In South Africa, as in other countries, there is a shortage of engineers, scientists and technology experts. They are the women and men who design and build factories, power plants, trains, roads, hospitals and even schools, who make cities work, and drive a country's sustainable growth.
So, investments like the school Siemens will start building here are what our country needs. Today’s sod-turning ceremony is a symbol of Siemens’ commitment to skills development and to the production of a new generation of innovators.
As government, we are also committed to addressing systematically challenges in education and turning schooling around. It is this commitment that informs our Delivery Agreement and the education sector plan which we gazetted in August 2010 – Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025.
We welcome the contribution of Siemens, a valued local partner making a difference to society, with open arms. Siemens’ proudly South African school project here in Mvezo will go a long way in enriching and deepening the appreciation and understanding of science and technology among young learners.
I have no doubt that when the project is complete the 700 learners of the Nelson Mandela School of Science and Technology would have been exposed to world-class education and enriched with the knowledge and skills that will give them the best chance of success in life.
On behalf of the children of Mvezo, "a big thank you" to Siemens for investing in their education and the further development of South Africa's youth and economy. We will encourage our teachers and learners to allow themselves to be nourished by the fruits of this valuable resource. Working together we can improve the quality of basic education. I thank you.
Source: Department of Basic Education
Opening remarks at sod-turning ceremony for the Mandela School of Science and Technology by Department of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga in Mvezo
