Zikhulise Minister

Date: 2014-06-20

MEC for Education Ms Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni, MPL on the occasion of handover of renovated infrastructure for Inhlakanipho High School, KwaMashu

Programme Director, it is with great pleasure to be invited to this special occasion. This event takes place on the important month of the year of which is June. The month of June like no other month has a special place in the annals of South Africa's history. It was young people who took the apartheid regime by surprise when they organised thousands to march against Bantu Education which had been made worse by the decree that all subjects were to be taught in the oppressor's language i.e. Afrikaans. It was on 16 June 1976, when the brave youth stood up against the oppressive apartheid regime in the face of death and detentions.

As our country celebrates the 38th anniversary of the Soweto uprisings ofJune 16, the ruling party salutes the role these young people played in contributing to the overthrow of the oppressive apartheid regime. Their heroic actions which saw many young people losing their lives led to the freedoms that we as South Africans enjoy today.

When the youth of 1976 waged a struggle against the apartheid regime, the barbaric Bantu Education system provided schooling that ensured that black learners and in particular the African learners remained on the periphery of every aspect of the society. During that period, classrooms were overcrowded with the majority of teachers who taught our black children having no proper qualifications.

Thirty eight years later, the situation has dramatically changed for the better. Thanks to the ruling party which has since 1994 prioritised education and ensured that the state of schools and the quality of education received the attention it needed. As a result, millions of children are now receiving free quality education.

Since the dawn of our democracy in 1994, major interventions aimed at strengthening and raising performance of education at all levels have been made and they are now reaping handsome dividends. This has ensured that the doors of learning are indeed open for all as espoused in the Freedom Charter. While all the interventions are impressive; we as the ruling party strongly believe that the ANC led government must ensure that education is free for all at all levels including undergraduate studies so as to address the dire shortages of critical skills needed by our economy in-order for it to flourish.

We also believe that young people of this country should rally behind the historic mission of making education an apex priority. We are certain that as we embark on a radical second-phase of our socio-economic transformation aimed at putting the economy on an inclusive growth path, education will remain at the centre of all our efforts.

We call on young people to be wary of the emerging political charlatans who use young people's plight for their own political gains. It is only the people's movement led by the ANC that has a clear plan to deal with unemployment, underdevelopment and poverty.

As our National Development Plan (NDP) outlines, this radical second-phase of socio-economic transformation will be characterised by economic empowerment and job creation ensuring that South Africa indeed moves forward to prosperity and success. As such as government we will continue to draw strength from the resolutions of ruling party's 53rd Manguang Conference which, amongst other things confirms education as an apex priority for the country.

The June 16 1976 Uprisings which began in Soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the socio-political landscape in South Africa. Events that triggered the uprising can be traced back to policies of the Apartheid government that resulted in the introduction of the Bantu Education Act in 1953. The rise of the Black Consciousness Movement(BCM) and the formation of South African Students Organisation(SASO) raised the political consciousness of many students while others joined the wave of anti-Apartheid sentiment within the student community. When the language of Afrikaans alongside English was made compulsory as a medium of instruction in schools in 1974, black students began mobilizing themselves.

On 16 June 1976 between 3000 and 10 000 students mobilized by the Soweto Students Representative Council's Action Committee supported by the BCM marched peacefully to demonstrate and protest against the government's directive. The march was meant to culminate at a rally in Orlando Stadium.

On their pathway they were met by heavily armed police who fired teargas and later live ammunition on demonstrating students. This resulted in a widespread revolt that turned into an uprising against the government. While the uprising began in Soweto, it spread across the country and carried on until the following year.

The aftermath of the events of June 16 1976 had dire consequences for the Apartheid government. Images of the police firing on peacefully demonstrating students led an international revulsion against South Africa as its brutality was exposed. Meanwhile, the exiled liberation movements received new recruits fleeing political persecution at home giving impetus to the struggle against Apartheid.

It is within this context Programme Director that today we celebrate not only the bravely of the youth of '76, but also 20 years of freedom, peace and prosperity.

It is therefore fitting that we meet on the school premises of Inhlakanipho High School on this historic day to celebrate another milestone in the provision of quality education for our people.

We thank the Zikhulise Group for their generosity of spirit through their investment in this school. For us education is and will remain a societal issue. We therefore issue a clarion call to all business people to invest in the future of this country through helping this government to eradicate once and for all the ugly legacy of apartheid education. We further make a special call to all successful entrepreneurs to take a leaf out of the Mpisane's book and invest in their former schools. We are indeed grateful for the hard work that many business people have done for education. However the task of eradicating the Bantu Education legacy is a daunting one hence our plea for helping hands so that the Youth of '76 may truly rest in their graves knowing that today's youth are beneficiaries of a free, compulsory and quality education for all.

I am pleased that my task today is to introduce a man who is passionate about education. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce our former MEC for Education, the leader of the ANC and Premier of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr. Senzo Edward Mchunu.

Zikhulise Minister

Springclean

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Nissan T5ekton

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