Joint statement by Mr. Zacharia Tolo, MEC for Education in the North West Province, and Adv. André Gaum, Minister of Education in the Western Cape.

The MEC for Education of the North West Province, Mr. Zacharia Tolo, led a high-level delegation to the Western Cape today (Monday, 5 May 2003) to discuss a range of programs of common interest with their counterparts in the province.

Delegates from the Northwest included top officials of the province’s education department, a representative of the University of the Northwest and a representative of a German software company that is involved in key public/private partnerships in both provinces.

They met Adv. André Gaum, the Western Cape’s Education Minister, and top and senior officials of the Western Cape Education Department.

The provinces will share experience and work together in the following areas:

• The Africa Drive Public Private Partnership project (ADP) in the Northwest, which is developing technology-based, in-service distance learning for teachers in the North West. The plan is to provide teachers with access to Learning Centers at schools where they can use information technology resources to complete Advanced Certification in Education (ACE) qualifications.

• The Dassie Project in the Western Cape, which is developing innovative ways of using information technology to improve teaching and learning in Further Education and Training Colleges in the Western Cape. "Dassie" is an acronym for "Distributed Advanced Strategic Systems for Industrial eLearning".

• Other technology-based support systems in the Western Cape, including the Tele-communications Project, which has linked almost every school in the Western Cape to the internet; the Khanya Project, which is using information technology to deliver curriculum in schools; and WCED Online, the WCED’s web site.

• Ways in which to collaborate in promoting the national "Year of FET" (Further Education and Training) campaign, which is drawing attention to the changes taking place in FET in schools and colleges in South Africa. The two provinces intend holding a series of similar conferences and seminars in this regard for further collaboration, development and sharing of information, skills and expertise.

• The Western Cape’s new Cape Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST) Academy. Based in the former Constantia School for Boys, the academy will accommodate gifted learners from all population groups, with a special focus on learners from disadvantaged communities.

The delegation from the Northwest visited the academy following their discussions at the Western Cape Education Ministry offices this morning.

It is clear from our discussions that we share a wide range of common interests. These include the effective use of information technology in education; ways in which to improve learner performance in mathematics, science and technology; and how to implement new FET policies effectively.

Challenges facing the effective use of information technology include the high costs of equipment, training, maintenance and connectivity. We will consider ways in which we can cooperate in dealing with these challenges on the national level.

Top officials of both departments will discuss ways on which we can take collaboration between our two education departments further.

Our historic meeting this morning has highlighted the importance of cooperation between the provinces to improve the quality of education in the country as a whole. There is much we can learn from each other, as we seek to use all available resources as effectively and efficiently as possible, ultimately for the benefit of the learner in the classroom.