Deputy Minister of Education Mosibudi Mangena addressed the national conference of the South African Principals Association recently. This is an excerpt from his speech
One of my worst concerns is how we are collectively going to manage effectively and efficiently the scourge of the HIV/Aids pandemic.
The latest estimates claim that around 4,7-million South Africans are infected with HIV – more than 10% of the population – with 1 500 additional infections per day, while the HIV/Aids infection rate among the sexually active group of 15 to 49 years is nearly 13%. It is higher among teenagers.
As a country we have already begun to experience a small population growth rate of about 0,6. HIV/Aids is making profound inroads into education and training. It is ravaging our national human resources. It is reversing many of the gains of human resource development. The education and training system must respond in more visible and realistic ways than we have done so far, despite our rhetoric and our policy documents. As practitioners in the field we would welcome your advice and your direct engagement in institutional and organisational programmes to help manage the high toll of illness and death and the educational consequences of losing so many productive citizens in the prime of their lives.
The ministry has produced a policy document on the pandemic but this alone is not sufficient. Policy alone does not provide the answer; the human conscience is the next level of HIV/Aids management that we must forge together.
We must educate our sexually active population about the manner in which this disease spreads. Contrary to popular belief, the use of condoms is not foolproof against contamination. Condoms are primarily manufactured to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Apart from the danger that the size of the latex pores in a condom is much larger than the HI virus, the environmental degeneration of the condoms after manufacture and human error at the point of usage further reduce significantly the chances of condoms becoming an effective barrier against contamination.
Preaching condoms alone will not stop the spread of the disease. We have to go back to the basics and try to convince our people, especially teenagers, about the efficacy of good behaviour. Sexual abstinence and faithfulness to one partner are non-negotiable if we are to beat the spread of Aids. We should take advantage of the absence of a vaccine against Aidsto encourage our children to adopt good moral behaviour with regard to intimate personal relationships.
As managers you are tasked to deal with the practical impact of the virus at school level. As many of your educators and learners succumb to the ravages of this scourge, you will not only be expected to deal with absenteeism resulting from relatives attending an increasing number of funerals, but also to manage with compassion and dignity the care of orphans and infected officials. The onus is upon you to put HIV/Aids plans in place. And I am hopeful that our collective will and wisdom will prevail against all odds.
Even more worrying than the pandemic is the level of intolerance in our society and educational system. Racial intolerance, overt discrimination, unfounded prejudice and the blatant abuse of the youngsters, sexually and psychologically, may be a more difficult problem to deal with than anticipated. Together with the educators you wield enormous power to make or break the lives of young people. More than just being the facilitators of learning in the classroom, educators are also entrusted with the role of being parents to their charges. The indiscriminate violation of their rights destroys not only the children’s innocence; it also destroys their trust and belief in our education system and humanity. More and more teachers are being prosecuted for such violations countrywide. This situation confirms the collapse of our moral standards as a nation. I am therefore hopeful that you as teachers will take the challenge of restoring our precious social values. I am also fearful that the remnants of a fragmented approach to education for learners with special needs will continue to haunt us for some time. I must however emphasise that we have made tremendous inroads in addressing this challenge I am aware that your conference will discuss issues pertaining to curriculum 2005. Mine is to highlight the fact that phasing in the revamped curriculum into our education system will be a major challenge. Your role in this endeavour is crucial. You are going to drive this process as the stewards of academic proficiency. You are going to guide our youth in adopting the high standards we are setting for our education system. We have come a long way in transforming our curriculum to suit both our needs and those of our global counterparts. It is our vision that our graduates, at all levels, should be able to function in any education system.
My dream in the short term is to see every child in this country attending school in a classroom that is worthy of the name. Some of our children attend classes in hovels that can collapse on them any minute. In some schools there are more than 100 learners in a class with many of them sitting on a cold cement floor. In some schools tin shacks, without any form of ventilation, serve as classrooms. I also dream of the day when all parents in this country will surrender their children to our schools with the confidence and knowledge that they will not only receive the best education there is, but will also return home safe and intact.
Our success in making our education system one of the best in the world is entirely dependent upon our teachers who are at the point of delivery. Success cannot be achieved through wishful thinking. We need to dedicate ourselves to our vocation.
– The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, November 2001.