House Chairperson, the ACDP notes the allocation of R38.2 billion to this budget vote and asserts that education remains the single greatest instrument for breaking the cycle of poverty, inequality and unemployment. However, budgets mean little if funds are not released effectively and transparently.
The ACDP remains concerned that the R10 billion, announced to strengthen access to Early Childhood Development in under-resourced communities, has still not reached many ECD centres. Delays in funding undermine the very foundation of learning and disadvantage children before they even enter formal schooling.
Hon. House Chairperson, our first national education priority must be ensuring that every learner can read with meaning. Reading comprehension is the gateway to all learning, and learners who cannot read for understanding are likely to struggle across every subject. We therefore need targeted literacy interventions, stronger teacher support, properly resourced libraries, and measurable accountability in reading outcomes.
Equally urgent for the ACDP, is the restoration of discipline in our classrooms. Educators cannot teach effectively in environments marked by violence, intimidation and disruption. Schools must once again become safe spaces of learning, respect and responsibility through stronger partnerships between parents, communities and school-governing bodies.
The ACDP also believes that every educator must be properly equipped for the modern classroom. Teachers require ongoing professional development, adequate learning materials and digital resources if we are serious about improving outcomes.
Simultaneously, the ACDP calls for the expansion of vocational and technical schools, to better align education with the needs of industry, manufacturing, agriculture and the private sector. Not every learner will follow a university path, but every learner deserves a pathway to meaningful employment and dignity.
The ACDP welcomes the Minister’s referral of the Lighthouse textbook tender controversy, to the Public Protector. We assert that corruption in education is a direct assault on our children’s future.
As Kingdom builders, the ACDP believes that if we strengthen literacy, discipline, educator support and vocational education, we can restore hope and unlock the full potential of South Africa’s youth. Minister, unless you keep to your promise to assist young Joshua Petersen, all your words will sound like an empty gong.
I thank you.
