African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma on Saturday encouraged graduates to use their skills to the betterment of society.
He was speaking at the Bhekuzulu Hall of the University of Zululand.
”Many people will be looking at your for leadership on a broad range of issues that affect our people. We expect you to be part of a class that will provide solutions to the many challenges that our country faces,” he told graduates.
He said that many people still need to be taken out of poverty, hunger and unemployment, and education is a tool to break the cycle of poverty.
”We therefore cannot have a situation where some children do not go to school because parents are poor and cannot pay school fees,” he said.
He called on teachers to be ”understanding” with pupils from poor backgrounds and enforce the culture of learning in them.
Zuma stressed that schools must be safe environments and called for an end to pupils who attend school carrying dangerous weapons. He said: ”We must disarm pupils who try to bring killer weapons to school.”
The ANC leader also encouraged graduates from the health sector to improve access to healthcare for all, particularly the poor. — Sapa