Item 1270 - Message by President Nelson Mandela on the Launch of the Code of Conduct for Schools

TRANSCRIPT

I am delighted by the initiative that has been taken by the Congress of South African Students to launch a code of conduct for schools. This is a clear demonstration of the appreciation by our students of the magnitude of the challenge that is facing us.

A Code of Conduct should go a long way in consolidating the efforts that are being made by communities to inculcate a culture of learning at schools. Above all, it should create the basis for the nation to fully realise its human resources development objectives.

The Government of National Unity is determined to act jointly with organisations of the people, more especially the students, to strive for realisation of the goals you have set for yourselves, and which are enshrined in the Reconstruction and Development Programme.

The process of restructuring the educational system has taken off in earnest. With the active participation of students, teachers and parents, we are confident that we shall succeed. The campaign you are now launching should go a long way in injecting a new dynamism in the development of our new education dispensation.

I also wish to enjoin you to cultivate warm relations with national and provincial education ministries and other ministries. I am convinced that they are doing all in their power to make your conditions of learning much more favourable. Their success is your success. Your success is theirs as well.

For the Code of Conduct to be meaningful, our mass organisations, more especially student and teacher organisations, must remain strong. Without derogating from the initiative you are now taking, I must point out that activities by sections of the student movement in certain parts of the country betray weaknesses in our organisations and our inability to adapt to the changing situation.

The course you are now taking is a practical demonstration of a democratic exercise of power and responsibility. Visible change in our education system, and in society in general, depends in part on the extent to which all of us become part of the process of governance.

A critical element in the transformation of our education system, in the delivery of good results and in the attainment of a culture of learning, is the co-operation between students, teachers and parents.

I wish to conclude by wishing you success in all your endeavours. Let 1995 see improvement on the previous years. We must build on the modest successes we scored last year, to ensure that the nation taps fully the talents of its youth . You are the future. Let each one teach one to build the South Africa of our dreams.