Statement by André Gaum, Western Cape Education Minister

More than 900 000 learners will stream to schools throughout the Western Cape today (Wednesday, 22 January) as they start the 2003 school year.

All of them will be starting important new chapters in their lives. Thousands will enter primary school and high school for the first time. Many will be excited at the new worlds opening up for them. Others will be more apprehensive.

We can assure our parents and learners that our schools and the Western Cape Education Department as a whole will do everything possible to welcome them and to provide our learners with an education we can all be proud of.

Our learners excelled in the 2002 matric examinations, when they obtained an overall pass rate of 86,5% - the highest ever.

This matric pass rate reflects the expertise and commitment of our teachers and learners in every grade. It takes at least 12 years to reach matric.

However, we are well aware of the challenges that face us if we are to build on this success.

Our goal is to build a world-class province. We can only do this if we offer a world-class education. We still have a lot to do before we can claim this status.

We can only reach this goal if we all work together, learners, parents, teachers, school managers and everybody involved in education, to ensure the success of our learners, and our education system as a whole.

The Western Cape is well prepared for the start of the 2003 school year. Our non-Section 21 schools have received about 87% of their textbook requirements on average, and more than 90% of their other learner support materials, including stationary.

This is more than enough to start the school year. The balance of the supplies will be delivered shortly, except in certain rare cases where textbooks are out of print.

Our Section 21 schools have already organised their own supplies, in line with their mandate to manage their own finances.

Our 10^th-day survey in early February will provide an indication of how many learners we will be accommodating in 2003.

Judging from our enrolments in 2002, we are expecting around 86 000 learners in Grade One, and more than 900 000 learners in the system as a whole.

Fortunately, we launched an Enrol Early campaign in September last year to persuade parents to register their children early if they are starting primary or high school for the first time, or are changing schools.

Hopefully, this will take the pressure off schools that would otherwise have to spend time registering learners in the opening days of the new school year, to focus instead on teaching and learning.

The WCED will admit underage learners in Grade One once again this year, if the department has found that the learners are school ready.

The WCED is currently completing the processing of applications for the enrolment of underage learners, who are turning six in 2003.

By Monday (20 January 2003), five of our seven EMDCs had processed a total of 5 182 applications, of which 1 324 were successful (25.6%).

Meanwhile, continued migration from the Eastern Cape, general population growth and population shifts are pacing severe pressure on schools in certain areas.

Our Education Management and Development Centres (EMDCs) and physical resources planners have studied these trends closely and we are making contingency plans to accommodate learners wherever possible.

For example, our EMDCs have identified "hotspots" where we expect a shortage of 143 classrooms. Our short-term solutions include platooning classes, using mobile classrooms, and building prefabricated classrooms.

We have taken partial delivery of a new school in southern Delft, Masimbambisane Secondary, which has 36 classrooms, to provide access to schooling closer to home for learners in this area. Previously, they had to travel long distances to attend a school by the same name in Woodstock.

The new Thembalethu School in George is close to completion, and we will be deciding shortly when exactly to take delivery of these facilities.

The province will complete three new secondary schools in 2003, each with 36 classrooms, in Khayelitsha and Wesbank; along with three new primary schools, each with 28 classrooms, in Wesbank, Marconi Beam/Phoenix and Crossroads.

My senior management and I are currently visiting schools and districts thoughout the Western Cape to obtain a first-hand picture of problems facing us as we start the new school year. We will act on them immediately in conjunction with our colleagues in our schools and district offices.

Our key challenges for the year ahead include the following:

• Preparing the ground for the introduction of the revised national curriculum, starting with the Foundation Phase in 2004;

• Continued development of Further Education and Training in schools and technical colleges;

• Ongoing efforts to support Early Childhood Development, Adult Basic Education and Training; and Education for Learners with Special Education Needs; and

• Ongoing efforts to apply scarce resources as effectively and as equitably as possible.

2003 will be an exciting year, filled with challenges that we are more than capable of meeting. I wish our learners, parents, teachers, school managers, governors and support staff every success as we tackle these challenges.

By working together, we can all break through to a better future, together.