Kagiso Trust InBrief Issue#17 August 2015 Aug 2015 | Page 11

www.kagiso.co.za

BUILDING A FOUNDATION
FOR PARTNERSHIPS IN EDUCATION

Phuthaditjhaba, Free State – “Our aim is to get our township and rural schools to have the same quality education
as urban schools so that the playing fields are levelled and this can only be achieved through partnerships.”

T

hese were the words of the Free
State MEC for Education Tate
Makgoe at the recent panel
discussion – focusing on The
future partnership models for Education in
Africa – held at the QwaQwa campus of the
University of the Free State.
Makgoe noted that the long-standing
partnership between Kagiso Trust and the
Free State Department of Education was
an excellent example of how civil society,
development organisations and government
could work together to empower the
younger generation of South Africans.
Dean Zwo Nevhutalu, Kagiso Trust’s longestserving trustee and a part of the expert
panel, highlighted the need for collective
partnerships to make education a priority
in Africa.“Private sector corporate social
investment programmes need to work
closely with district education to find out
the needs of schools and apply programmes
that are aligned with these needs.
Innovative partnerships are needed to
ensure sustainability in the education sector.

Education is the key to eradicating poverty,”
he said. He cited the Kagiso Trust and Free
State Education Department partnership as
an excellent example of this, where there
was a shared vision and genuine interest
from both parties to improve schools and
provide a better learning experience for
students.
This vision is certainly being realised, with
166 schools in the Thabo Mofutsanyana
district benefitting over the last seven years
of collaboration between Kagiso Trust and
the Free State Department of Education.
The tangible results of this shared vision
and the value of strong partnerships goes
beyond South Africa’s borders.
Makgoe added, “The Free State Department
of Education has formed partnerships with
other countries where study opportunities
have been given to over 500 Grade 12
learners to study at institutions of higher
learning in Cuba, China and India. The
aim of this learner transfer is to gather
international best practice and skills in the

fields of maths, science and engineering –
and bring those skills back to South Africa
thereby contributing to society and the
country.”
The comments from other panellists,
including University of the Free State
Director of Community Engagement:
Bishop Ramhlele and Thabo Mofutsanyana
Education District Director: Busi Tshabalala,
were equally insightful.
They noted the challenges of addressing
the apartheid legacy of Bantu education,
particularly in township and rural schools,
thereby recognising the need for strong
partnerships to close the education gap.
This is being done through bursaries, teacher
training programmes and skills transfer,
better school infrastructure and sharing of
best practice, they noted.
“The public and private sectors need to
start developing a trust relationship, so they
can form strong partnerships, maximise
resources and build an equal nonracial
South Africa,” concluded Ramhlele.

August 2015 Kagiso Trust InBrief | 11