Statement by Premier Ebrahim Rasool on Stability and Efficiency in the Education Sector

Normally, our schools are informed in September about their educator establishments for the next school year. However, this year, we have had reason to postpone this.

This has caused frustration and also anxiety as speculation abounded that 1,900 educator posts were to be lost in the province. We are here today to end this anxiety.

We are here to say that we have worked hard to bring stability and growth to the education sector. We are here today to thank those educators who put in time and effort to develop the full potential of our learners.

We are here to say to those educators who are not pulling their weight and giving this noble profession a bad name that your days are numbered. If ever we face the unpalatable decision again to reduce the number of educators, we will visit this decision on those educators who show no commitment to learners, who do not perform and who lack discipline. In making this call, we know that we will have the support of our educator unions in our drive for quality education for all.

The children of this province and South Africa deserve the best and none of us should let them down.

The delay in informing our schools was due to the fact that our Education Department faced a shortfall for the 2005/06 financial year. In his August consultations with Educator Unions and School Governing Bodies concerning the basket of posts, Minister for Education, Cameron Dugmore, then requested that the process be delayed while attempts were made to secure additional resources and reprioritise the budget.

All the stakeholders welcomed the initiative and agreed to the delay.

Our Cabinet and in particular the provincial treasury under the capable leadership of Minster Lynne Brown, have had a bruising three months, as we tried to look within our own resources and also engaged with National Government to deal with the challenge faced by health and education in particular.

Our province faces immense challenges with an estimated 48 000 people moving to our province each year. Most of those coming to our province seek a better life, work and other opportunities. These are natural movements of people globally, let alone between provinces.

Our fellow provinces, Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal, are also experiencing similar challenges. We have also found that the campaign to sign up children who qualify for the child support grant has worked so well that the social services budget had begun to crowd out education, health and other departments.

We have just emerged from a Cabinet Lekgotla where this bruising process came to an end. Although final details of the budget will only be available in December, we have given Minister Dugmore the mandate to conclude his consultations with the education stakeholders.

With the additional resources that have been made available, we are pleased to announce that not a single educator will lose his/her job. In addition to that, we will in fact be able to grow our establishment by 365 educators next year.

In 2004, a basket of 29 715 posts was declared. This year, the Minister will be proposing that a basket of 30 080 posts be declared for 2005. I have asked Minister Dugmore to apply these additional posts wisely so that the transformation of education both in terms of its inequality as well as its content, can be addressed.

These consultations will resume at 15h00 today. I hope that this process will be speedily concluded so that our school principals who have been waiting anxiously, will know their establishments as soon as possible. I would also like to use this opportunity to thank our unions, governing bodies and in particular our principals for their patience and understanding since August this year.

We have charged Minster Dugmore to finalize a provincial human resource development strategy. This strategy, which will have an emphasis on youth, is an important component of Ikapa Elihlumayo - our stratgey to grow and share the Cape.

Our Lekgotla was encouraged by work already done on the strategy and the 10 key priorities. We all know that only 50% of our learners who enter grade 1 reach matric.

We know that only a handful of Coloured and African matrics are writing math and science on the higher grade. Also very few of our disadvantaged learners are passing matric with exemption. This is going to change.

Our FET colleges need to dramatically increase the number of learners - it is these colleges that have the potential to develop skills needed by our economy. This means more jobs for our people.

We also know that the bedrock of our education system is our General Education and Training Band (Grades 1 to 9). This band will only succeed if our Early Childhood Development receives much greater priority. That is why the provincial Cabinet has instructed Education, Health and Social Services to develop a strategy, together with our social partners, that will make sure that every 0 to 4 year old in this province is given access to an environment in which their cognitive skills can be developed.

In this regard, I appeal to every mother and father in the Western Cape to join us in accepting responsibility for our children.

We have cause to celebrate today, as we bring stability to the education sector. Now we face the even greater challenge of developing the knowledge, skills and values of every child in this province.

We cannot and will not fail them.

For further comment, contact either Redi Direko [082 805 9119] or Gert Witbooi.