Program Director,
Superintendent – General for education Mr RS Malope,
Members of Senior and Broad Management,
District Director,
Principal of Phillipolis High School,
All Principals,
National NTA Coordinator,
Teacher Union Representatives,
Educators,
SGBs,
LRCs,
Members of the Media,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Education, national pride and ethical values
Program Director, our country is characterised by a passion for human dignity. It is a country that subscribes to the restoration and nourishment of the moral fibre of the nation by encouraging citizens to take responsibility for their civic rights, abide by the rule of law and take pride in their national identity.
We believe in the citizenry that uphold ethical values and pride themselves for being pioneers and champions of moral regeneration, promoting values and sustainable behavioural change.
We come from an environment where the education system sought to disintegrate the society through systematically designed discrepant laws and regulations, as well as the curricula which were deliberately intended to demean and undermine the dignity, intellectual capacity and moral values of the majority of the people in this country. It is partly through the latter background that even today, we still have much to do in order to realise a transformed and truly democratic society in which personal and individual needs will be placed in a social context, to encourage acceptance of diversity and to foster commitment to the values and principles espoused in our Constitution.
Education system that serves to enrich the broader society
Program Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to believe that our education system should not exist simply to serve economic needs, important as that may be. But it must also be capable of enriching the learner and broader society, more especially so within the context of our young and developing democracy.
Social transformation in education is aimed at ensuring that the educational imbalances of the past are addressed, and that equal educational opportunities are provided for all sections of
our population.
This means that we envisage the kind of learner who will be imbued with the values espoused by our Constitution, and who will act in the interest of the society, based on respect for democracy, equality, human dignity and social justice as upheld in the Constitution.
Our Constitution provides the context of our curriculum transformation and development goals in this country. Therefore, through the curriculum we hope to inculcate the kind of values and morality as envisaged in both the Freedom Charter and the Constitution.
National Teacher Awards Initiative
Program Director, today we launch the National Teacher Awards initiative, which aims at encouraging our teachers to strive for more excellence in their work. Considering the vast pool of committed and dedicated teachers in our province, selecting and judging the best teachers amongst them will obviously be a mind-boggling exercise.
Our school contexts vary so dramatically, and I believe that our judges through their selection will assess the teacher, and not the school, its facilities or the wealth of the school community.
Having said that, I want to encourage as many teachers as possible, from as many schools as possible in all five education districts to enter, in as many categories as possible.
Everday a Mandela Day
Ladies and Gentlemen, as you brace yourselves for the upcoming NTA competitions, incorporate in your preparations one or two initiatives which will make a difference to your school or community, directly or indirectly. That is what Madiba would like us to do everyday of our lives.
Thank you very much!
