THE liberation of South Africa from apartheid is the greatest collective achievement recorded in contemporary history.
This is so because under apartheid the majority of our people were systematically, brutally and, in the most inhumane manner, stripped of all fundamental human rights.
With the advent of democracy in 1994, the country began a long-term agenda of transforming the lives of all citizens.
This agenda has touched and moved all of us in the direction we believed epitomised the great national vision encapsulated in the Freedom Charter and our Constitution.
But, as the saying goes, "to err is human and to forgive is divine", the ANC government has also erred in pursuing some of its transformative projects.
Who knows, maybe it will deserve forgiveness once it acknowledges its fallibility.
Some of the errors of judgment the government made in its well-meaning endeavour to transform our country include:
- A rush to close some nursing and teacher training colleges without proper consideration of the future needs for teachers and nurses;
- A rush to change educational curricula without providing credible and sustainable alternatives.
Many opinion-makers would argue that there were countless other mistakes and I would not necessarily disagree.
In all its manifestos since 1994, the ANC has never downplayed education and skills, which are regarded as key to the socio-economic prosperity of our country.
The challenge though has always been in the methods of implementation. The government needs to acknowledge that the changes in the education system since the advent of democracy have not produced the desired results.
These range from ministers Sibusiso Bhengu's Curriculum 2005, Kader Asmal's National Curriculum Statement to Angie Motshekga's Curriculum and Assessment Statement.
All changes have not moved the country convincingly forward. Instead, they left us with confusion and despair.
Ask anyone: What education system is South Africa following? Where is it heading to and for what socio-economic purpose?
People will express despair, frustration and confusion. So, where to from here? A new minister with new purposeless creativity? The country cannot afford further directionless experimentation.
Let us settle for one clear system comparable to successful systems in the world that will address our conditions and perfect it. We need to get our education in order, including better management of providing pupil support material.
According to reports, South Africa has a teacher backlog running into tens of thousands. This begs the question, what informed the closure of training colleges?
Did the facilities fall victim to ill-informed experimentations of education bosses?
Our country also experiences a huge backlog of nurses and yet we closed some nursing colleges. What a contradiction!
It is a fact that education and skills increase the possibility of getting employment.
Colleges are a critical part of the source of education and skills. Our country faces near-explosion levels of unemployment and yet, according to Sowetan of Wednesday, July 18, the government intends recruiting nurses from abroad.
What message is it that we are sending to the thousands of unemployed and probably unemployable graduates?
When foreign countries recruit our nurses, our government sees it as a threat rather than an opportunity to produce more and thereby meet our domestic demand and reduce our unemployment dilemma.
Smaller countries see this as an opportunity, not a threat.
What is wrong if South Africa produces world-class health workers for the world?
Is this not an opportunity? The fact that countries of the world recruit our nurses suggests they are of world standard.
I think we need more teacher and nursing training colleges for both the domestic and global market.
Some unemployed graduates and matriculants need to be diverted to these professions that provide better opportunities of employment.
We have a huge backlog of teachers and nurses, estimated to be running into tens of thousands. These are employment opportunities waiting to be taken. Isn't it?
Sowetan reported that about 6800 nurses have left our country for greener pastures abroad.
Is this not an issue needing the attention of the government? It boggles one's mind how successful the recruitment of foreign nurses would be in conditions that motivate our own to leave.
Does it mean that nurses from the targeted countries are prepared to work here even if pastures are less green?
- Mbonani is a government official
Directionless way forward
THE liberation of South Africa from apartheid is the greatest collective achievement recorded in contemporary history.
This is so because under apartheid the majority of our people were systematically, brutally and, in the most inhumane manner, stripped of all fundamental human rights.
With the advent of democracy in 1994, the country began a long-term agenda of transforming the lives of all citizens.
This agenda has touched and moved all of us in the direction we believed epitomised the great national vision encapsulated in the Freedom Charter and our Constitution.
But, as the saying goes, "to err is human and to forgive is divine", the ANC government has also erred in pursuing some of its transformative projects.
Who knows, maybe it will deserve forgiveness once it acknowledges its fallibility.
Some of the errors of judgment the government made in its well-meaning endeavour to transform our country include:
Many opinion-makers would argue that there were countless other mistakes and I would not necessarily disagree.
In all its manifestos since 1994, the ANC has never downplayed education and skills, which are regarded as key to the socio-economic prosperity of our country.
The challenge though has always been in the methods of implementation. The government needs to acknowledge that the changes in the education system since the advent of democracy have not produced the desired results.
These range from ministers Sibusiso Bhengu's Curriculum 2005, Kader Asmal's National Curriculum Statement to Angie Motshekga's Curriculum and Assessment Statement.
All changes have not moved the country convincingly forward. Instead, they left us with confusion and despair.
Ask anyone: What education system is South Africa following? Where is it heading to and for what socio-economic purpose?
People will express despair, frustration and confusion. So, where to from here? A new minister with new purposeless creativity? The country cannot afford further directionless experimentation.
Let us settle for one clear system comparable to successful systems in the world that will address our conditions and perfect it. We need to get our education in order, including better management of providing pupil support material.
According to reports, South Africa has a teacher backlog running into tens of thousands. This begs the question, what informed the closure of training colleges?
Did the facilities fall victim to ill-informed experimentations of education bosses?
Our country also experiences a huge backlog of nurses and yet we closed some nursing colleges. What a contradiction!
It is a fact that education and skills increase the possibility of getting employment.
Colleges are a critical part of the source of education and skills. Our country faces near-explosion levels of unemployment and yet, according to Sowetan of Wednesday, July 18, the government intends recruiting nurses from abroad.
What message is it that we are sending to the thousands of unemployed and probably unemployable graduates?
When foreign countries recruit our nurses, our government sees it as a threat rather than an opportunity to produce more and thereby meet our domestic demand and reduce our unemployment dilemma.
Smaller countries see this as an opportunity, not a threat.
What is wrong if South Africa produces world-class health workers for the world?
Is this not an opportunity? The fact that countries of the world recruit our nurses suggests they are of world standard.
I think we need more teacher and nursing training colleges for both the domestic and global market.
Some unemployed graduates and matriculants need to be diverted to these professions that provide better opportunities of employment.
We have a huge backlog of teachers and nurses, estimated to be running into tens of thousands. These are employment opportunities waiting to be taken. Isn't it?
Sowetan reported that about 6800 nurses have left our country for greener pastures abroad.
Is this not an issue needing the attention of the government? It boggles one's mind how successful the recruitment of foreign nurses would be in conditions that motivate our own to leave.
Does it mean that nurses from the targeted countries are prepared to work here even if pastures are less green?
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