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Skills audit workshop at University of Fort Hare
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Premier's Office

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EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

SPEECH BY PREMIER MAKHENKESI STOFILE

SKILLS AUDIT WORKSHOP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE

BISHO: 16 AUGUST 1999



The Freedom Charter captured the objectives of our struggle in the Education front as follows:

"The doors of learning and culture shall be open". The Preamble to the SA Schools Act of 1996 has this to say: "A school system that will 
lay a strong foundation for the development of all our people, talents and capabilities, advance the democratic transformation of society, 
combat racism and sexism and all other forms of unfair discrimination and intolerance &#133;"

Both documents lay the foundations for the emancipation of our people from Bantu Education and racial oppression and domination. But the 
"Strategy and Tactics" document of the ANC go deeper in defining these people who must be emancipated. The document says: " &#133; the 
National Liberation of the largest and most oppressed group: the African people &#133;" This is the task that faces all of us. Especially 
institutions like the University of Fort Hare. This is why this workshop is so important. Both the public and the private sectors are 
feverishly reviewing the roles and contributions they must play and make to the RDP of our country. Tertiary institutions cannot be left 
out of this activity. We must be properly positioned if we must be effective.

Many countries of the world who show levels of success in their own RDPs (whatever they are called) invariably they rely on a long 
development and strategic deployment of such as their priority. Human resource development is simply the wisest investment for any country. 
Coming generations of South Africans need it more than ever before.

The majority of the people of this Province do not even have a Matric Certificate. What they have in abundance is an insatiable quest for 
learning and training. Attending to this, we believe, will contribute towards the alleviation of the unwelcome levels of poverty and crime 
in our Province. The solution in this regard lies in the provision of short courses in fields like:



* Business Management
* Project Management
* Project Monitoring and Evaluation
* Agriculture and farming
* Finance (Public) Management

The essence of what we are saying here is that, tertiary institutions must teach and train for the market. The private and the public 
sectors must be consulted before putting together a syllabus. We must know what the world out there is looking for. What it is that is 
needed.

Students could also be empowered by being involved in the sectors of their training even before they leave university. Industry and 
commerce could be convinced to take on board some students to gain experience while at university. Government Ministries and Departments 
could enter a similar deal with the university. This could count towards the accreditation of the students and be considered for placement 
after graduation. The world is not exactly what the textbooks and academics want us to believe it to be. A direct interaction with the real 
world will enrich both student and professor. In the end, it will benefit the RDP.

We should not fall into the traps of believing that this approach spells the end for Humanities and Arts subjects. By no means. There is 
still a lot of contribution to be made there too. Think, for instance, of the role the Departments of Religious Studies and Psychology 
could play in what Madiba call the RDP of the sour. The reconstruction of the moral fibre of our society is not going to occur sua-
spontaneously. We have to work at it. Sociologists have not said a word about what our society needs to cope with todays traumas in a post-
apartheid era.

All this begins to say to academics: there is a lot of work to be done by you for government. Dont leave it to the professional skills. As 
consultants of government departments you will begin to earn something for the university. Dont wait for annual grants. These are not 
going to be enough. There are too many competing needs for these and tertiary education is not the highest among them. In this respect, a 
vibrant and relevant research programme will also bear fruit for the university. Just imagine what such research could contribute to our 
rural development planning! What about environmental awareness and related subjects? There is a lot to be done out there than merely 
repeating what our professors had taught us.

The above are concrete possibilities of what ca be done to translate the much talked about partnership into reality. It can only be done if 
there is a heartless foreman at the helm. This is so because some jobs may be lost as unproductive staff has to be shirked off. This is 
what scares all managers of transformation. But revolutionaries have to defeat their own fears and do what needs to be done. I hope that 
there are some few revolutionaries left after 1994.

Good Luck!!

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