STOP BLAMING APARTHEID - PANDOR

Wow! Finally someone in Government who is not only a voice of reason, but who is also willing to take responsibility for her department and their short comings. Well done Naledi Pandor!

And isn't it actually time now - time to start taking responsibility for what is happing in our country, by firstly taking responsibility for our own lives. Too much is blamed on apartheid, or the last generation or the boer war or anything and everything that we can think of - anything but ourselves!

It's time to stand up and be counted - for ourselves and our future.

Stop blaming apartheid - Pandor
Sibusiso Ngalwa
May 30 2007 at 04:51AM

Apartheid can no longer be used as an excuse for South Africa's education problems or to justify her department's failures, says Education Minister Naledi Pandor. Speaking in parliament during her budget debate on Tuesday, Pandor said levels of mediocrity in the education system had reached unacceptably high levels, while many people were hiding behind excuses. "The defence of mediocrity is supported by unjustifiable arguments - some cite apartheid. I acknowledge that the legacy of apartheid continues to affect us, but it no longer serves to explain continued failures on our part. Others cite inadequate resources, yet this is also no longer a persuasive argument."

Pandor said she was aware that her statements would anger some people, but nevertheless, "it must be said".

'It must be said'

"We have appeared far too tolerant of mediocrity in its many guises and extremely neglectful of that which works and of those who are doing what must be done," she said. Pandor - whose speech was themed "affirming excellence and challenging mediocrity" - said her department had not accomplished what she had wanted it to achieve. The country had become a moaning nation rather than a nation that celebrated and expanded success. Society also seemed to tolerate and assert the rights of violent and disruptive children, she said. "We tolerate parents who don't care to support their children, who don't care to support our schools and who fail in their duty as parents. We tolerate public officials who are not up to the task of administrative or professional support, who leave work early and fail to pay subsidies to schools on time. We also tolerate mediocrity in the teaching force."We tolerate too much that is unprofessional. We tolerate late-coming, little and sometimes no teaching, constant under-performance and poor academic success," she said.

'We tolerate too much that is unprofessional'

"Our people ask 'How long do we have to wait?' I want to say today we intend to intensify our efforts at ensuring that our people wait no longer." Pandor made a call to stakeholders to assert excellence in schools to achieve positive outcomes. She also announced the launch of the Fundisa Fund, a private-public partnership to encourage parents to save for their children's tertiary education. The savings would then be matched with a grant from the fund. The aim of the fund would be to widen access to higher education, she said. "We have an agreed plan for the growth of higher education. We believe the plan to grow from 738 000 students in 2005 to 820 000 in 2010 creates the basis for a more efficient and coherent system of higher education," she said. The greatest expansion would be in the fields of science, technology and engineering.
This article was originally published on page 7 of The Star on May 29, 2007