LAST week I attended the launch of a community education project, Hlagatse Education Centre, in Marulaneng village in Ga-Mphahlele, Limpopo.

Among the people who attended were community leaders, school principals, teachers, parents, graduates and learners.

Hlagatse is a Sepedi expression that means "lighten up".

The prime purpose of Hlagatse centre is to cultivate reading skills and computer literacy in the community.

The medium and long-term objectives of the centre are to:

l Use the community mini-library to foster and instil a culture of reading and learning;

l Provide insightful information to learners and unemployed graduates about career options, guidance and employment opportunities;

l Improve the matric pass rate through after-school study programs, weekend catch-up programs and a winter school initiative;

l Teach pupils and unemployed graduates how to compile impressive CVs, project and business proposals;

l Assist and link academically prosperous pupils with relevant institutions which offer bursaries and scholarships.

l Encourage graduates to donate books, journals, newspapers and magazines to the centre;

l Motivate parents to develop and show keen interest in the education of their children; and

l Also encourage businesses to financially assist learners from impoverished households.

Some of the lessons learnt from the event was that as a nation we must use community education projects to cultivate a love for education among citizens; and parents should inspire and motivate their children to believe in the sacredness and importance of education.

Religious leaders should also never fail to preach about the essence of academic wisdom during their church services.

In Uganda there are community development projects which are supported by the Foundation for Sustainable Development.

The FSD motivates Ugandan graduates to "plough back" to their communities.

There are incredible lessons that South Africa can draw from the Ugandan experience. We should abandon the myth that "it is only schools that must provide and promote education".

Parents must desist from abdicating their parental responsibilities to teachers. A child's education should not begin at school but at his-her home.

As South Africans, we are fully aware that our education system is in a deep crisis. The 2011 Annual National Assessments results have shown poor performance results of our grades 3 to 6 learners on numeracy and literacy.

Learners who pass matric without a university endorsement have very limited career options. In the absence of tecknikons and technical colleges, our universities have become a strangulated market.

Most intellectuals in the country were born and bred in rural areas. And one cannot help but wonder why are they seemingly unable to bring socio-economic prosperity to their communities?

Our graduates should plough back and contribute to the development of their communities.

The founding of Hlagatse is an inspiring example of social cohesion.

lMasoga is a political analyst and senior researcher at the Institute for Dialogue and Policy Analysis