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SPEECH BY PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA AT THE DEDICATION OF QUNU AND NKALANE
SCHOOLS

Qunu, 3 June 1995

Premier of the Eastern Cape Province;
Honourable Ministers;
Dr.
Venter;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies, gentlemen, and children

To be at one's first school of seventy years ago is a humbling experience. To
share in the renewal of its fabric, is an inspiring one.

Our children are the rock on which our future will be built, our greatest
asset as a nation. They will be the leaders of our country, the creators of our
national wealth, those who care for and protect our people.

But if they are to take on this great responsibility, the rich potential in
every child must be developed into the skills and the knowledge that our society
needs. Education is the key to that process. It is also a door which opens from
every village and city onto our larger society and indeed onto the whole world.

That lesson is spelt out with shocking clarity in the legacy of apartheid.
This system also gained its notoriety for marginalising the majority of children
as far as educational resources are concerned. Poverty, unemployment and
illiteracy combine with lack of education to draw the same broad lines through
our society as the divisions created by apartheid.

And this Eastern Cape Province is amongst the worst affected. The provincial
government is busy renovating schools and even renting accommodation, in order
to provide basic facilities for tens of thousands more children. But this is
only the start of a long journey.

The cost to our whole society of these discriminatory policies is now clear
for all to see. The lack of skills in our economy is holding the nation back
from sustained economic growth.

Education, therefore, stands amongst the highest priorities for our country.
It needs to be at the forefront as the emphasis in government shifts from
planning to visible change.

For all these reasons the upgrading and extension of the Nkalane and Qunu
schools is something which we welcome as a contribution to the lives of the two
communities. But more than that, it has national importance.

The project whose completion we are marking today, provides an example of the
spirit of partnership which must be our guiding principle. The government has
taken important steps to define and start phasing in an education policy which
meets the needs of our people and our times. This can only succeed in
co-operation with communities, the private sector and the donor community.
Masakhane! Let us build each other and build together.

Success requires that communities should play their part in fostering an
appreciation of the importance of education amongst their young people and in
caring for the education facilities which they have.

It demands that teachers dedicate themselves to the solemn responsibility
that society has placed upon them, of nurturing the potential in our young
people.

It requires that young people themselves make the most of the opportunity
which education provides, to become builders of our new society. To achieve
this, they must apply themselves purposefully to their studies.

On the part of the private sector, it means engaging its substantial capacity
to contribute to the reconstruction of the education system. This includes steps
to facilitate the enhancement of the skills of employees through training
programmes, as well as making an input into the development of technical
training generally.

But the private sector can also add directly to the resources available for
meeting the most fundamental need of providing classrooms for our children.

Ladies and gentlemen;

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Venter, Chairman of
ALTRON for the opportunity to share in the regeneration of these schools. You
have set others who have the capacity to do so, a model of practical
contribution to our national goal of building a better life for all.

I am deeply honoured to join with you in dedicating the renewed and enhanced
facilities of this Junior Secondary School to the community of Qunu and its
children.

I thank you

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