Go for Gold Programme by Patricia De Lille
2003-10-10. Thank you ladies and gentlemen for the opportunity to address you here today. It really is an honour to be addressing such an audience as I feel that you are an inspiration to all of us in this country. To me education is the foundation to all our hopes and aspirations as a nation. Without proper education all our ideals that we fought so long and hard for in South Africa will never be realised.
As all of you are no doubt well
aware, we inherited a terrible education legacy from the apartheid era.
Education at that time was underpinned by the philosophy that the
majority of our people were to be given inferior education so that in
the words of Verwoerd, "they would not have expectations in life which
circumstances in South Africa do not allow to be fulfilled."
This obscene philosophy has led to so many of our people being denied the basic human right of a good education. Over 30 percent of all adults in South Africa are currently illiterate. To me this figure is heartbreaking and confirms the challenges that we now face in building a strong country. On an individual level education is the key to unlocking a person's potential and allows them to grasp the opportunities offered by our globalised world. As the philosopher Epictetus said over two thousand years ago and which still applies today " Only the educated are free."
On a national level, an educated population is absolutely essential if we want to reduce the staggeringly high levels of unemployment in South Africa. The unemployment that we face is structural unemployment, which means that the skills base of our people is mismatched to the structure of our economy. This means that even if we do manage to achieve high levels of growth in South Africa it will not necessarily lead to more people being employed. It is therefore vital that our population is appropriately educated and skilled so as to be employable in the sectors of the economy that are growing.
In this regard, the global economy of which we are now a part, is increasingly moving in the direction of high technology jobs. South Africa therefore needs to be aware of this if it is to compete in the global economy and provide opportunities for its people to be employed. It goes without saying that a thorough grounding in Maths and Science are absolutely essential for those people who are wanting to take up jobs in these sectors. Unfortunately though, South Africa is currently struggling to meet this demand. It is a sad fact that less than 1 percent of South African learners gain a higher-grade symbol in Mathematics or Science. This is despite the fact that government has prioritised these two subjects for improvement. Business is also suffering as a result though, as industries like computer science, engineering and the building and construction sectors are finding it difficult to find appropriately educated people to fill positions. It is also making it difficult for these sectors to completely transform themselves as there is a shortage of previously disadvantaged candidates.
It seems clear to my mind then, that the only way for us to change this situation is for all stakeholders to come together and devise innovative ways to get people skilled in these important subjects. It is for this reason that I applaud the Go for Gold Programme as I see it as industry having the foresight to tackle a social problem that it recognises as effecting its long term viability. Many people in South Africa like to sit back and complain about issues, and unfortunately there is more than enough problems for people to get negative about if they so choose. I personally do not have time for such an approach. I firmly believe that one can't complain about a problem if you are not prepared to become part of its solution. The initiative taken by Neil Muller Construction in setting up a programme like Go for Gold is along the lines of my approach to tackling problems. I believe that their example should be followed by other people in the effected industries and that government should look at replicating this programme on a far greater scale. One of the 9 boards of charities and projects that I sit on is Impumelelo Awards where we recognise innovative projects that are addressing our nation's development challenges. We always hope that government will take this projects and apply them on a large scale but it hardly ever happens. I believe that a programme like Go for Gold which is addressing such a serious problem in our country honestly needs to be considered by government and replicated in all of the other provinces.
My final message is to the most important people here today, namely the students who are participating in this programme.
The message I have to you is to take full advantage of the opportunities you have been given through this Go for Gold Programme. You are extremely fortunate to have been given such an opportunity, an opportunity which your parents would probably not have been able to dream about in their period of schooling. I know that this programme can sometimes be tough and that education is not something that is simply given to you but requires constant hard work. I also understand that when you are struggling through some geometry or getting frustrated because a science experiment doesn't want to work, the last thing on your mind is the contribution that you are making to our country. I want to say today though, that you really are the future of this country and economy and we are all relying on you to use your skills to develop our nation. Most of the challenges that we are facing in this country will not be solved overnight and will require long hard work from all of us. Believe me when I say that I have also struggled to get to where I am today and taking on this new challenge of starting another political party takes up all of my energy. Like me, however, you need to constantly remind yourself that what you are doing is not only for your own development but for our great nation as well. I wish you well and look forward to tracking your progress.
I thank you.
This obscene philosophy has led to so many of our people being denied the basic human right of a good education. Over 30 percent of all adults in South Africa are currently illiterate. To me this figure is heartbreaking and confirms the challenges that we now face in building a strong country. On an individual level education is the key to unlocking a person's potential and allows them to grasp the opportunities offered by our globalised world. As the philosopher Epictetus said over two thousand years ago and which still applies today " Only the educated are free."
On a national level, an educated population is absolutely essential if we want to reduce the staggeringly high levels of unemployment in South Africa. The unemployment that we face is structural unemployment, which means that the skills base of our people is mismatched to the structure of our economy. This means that even if we do manage to achieve high levels of growth in South Africa it will not necessarily lead to more people being employed. It is therefore vital that our population is appropriately educated and skilled so as to be employable in the sectors of the economy that are growing.
In this regard, the global economy of which we are now a part, is increasingly moving in the direction of high technology jobs. South Africa therefore needs to be aware of this if it is to compete in the global economy and provide opportunities for its people to be employed. It goes without saying that a thorough grounding in Maths and Science are absolutely essential for those people who are wanting to take up jobs in these sectors. Unfortunately though, South Africa is currently struggling to meet this demand. It is a sad fact that less than 1 percent of South African learners gain a higher-grade symbol in Mathematics or Science. This is despite the fact that government has prioritised these two subjects for improvement. Business is also suffering as a result though, as industries like computer science, engineering and the building and construction sectors are finding it difficult to find appropriately educated people to fill positions. It is also making it difficult for these sectors to completely transform themselves as there is a shortage of previously disadvantaged candidates.
It seems clear to my mind then, that the only way for us to change this situation is for all stakeholders to come together and devise innovative ways to get people skilled in these important subjects. It is for this reason that I applaud the Go for Gold Programme as I see it as industry having the foresight to tackle a social problem that it recognises as effecting its long term viability. Many people in South Africa like to sit back and complain about issues, and unfortunately there is more than enough problems for people to get negative about if they so choose. I personally do not have time for such an approach. I firmly believe that one can't complain about a problem if you are not prepared to become part of its solution. The initiative taken by Neil Muller Construction in setting up a programme like Go for Gold is along the lines of my approach to tackling problems. I believe that their example should be followed by other people in the effected industries and that government should look at replicating this programme on a far greater scale. One of the 9 boards of charities and projects that I sit on is Impumelelo Awards where we recognise innovative projects that are addressing our nation's development challenges. We always hope that government will take this projects and apply them on a large scale but it hardly ever happens. I believe that a programme like Go for Gold which is addressing such a serious problem in our country honestly needs to be considered by government and replicated in all of the other provinces.
My final message is to the most important people here today, namely the students who are participating in this programme.
The message I have to you is to take full advantage of the opportunities you have been given through this Go for Gold Programme. You are extremely fortunate to have been given such an opportunity, an opportunity which your parents would probably not have been able to dream about in their period of schooling. I know that this programme can sometimes be tough and that education is not something that is simply given to you but requires constant hard work. I also understand that when you are struggling through some geometry or getting frustrated because a science experiment doesn't want to work, the last thing on your mind is the contribution that you are making to our country. I want to say today though, that you really are the future of this country and economy and we are all relying on you to use your skills to develop our nation. Most of the challenges that we are facing in this country will not be solved overnight and will require long hard work from all of us. Believe me when I say that I have also struggled to get to where I am today and taking on this new challenge of starting another political party takes up all of my energy. Like me, however, you need to constantly remind yourself that what you are doing is not only for your own development but for our great nation as well. I wish you well and look forward to tracking your progress.
I thank you.
