2012 AND BEYOND

The signing of the contract with the Department of Basic Education to provide operational funding for the next three years will enable implementation of much of the planning that was scheduled to have been undertaken in the 2011/2012 financial year.

An urgent requirement is the appointment of an Education Officer who will be able to build on the work that has been done through the University of Fort Hare and the FOSST Discovery Centre in connection with the STERC project at Healdtown. Depending on the success of this project, the STERC model may well be an intervention that can be replicated elsewhere in the country. In order for this to happen we need to establish the outcomes and refine the Project content.

It is also hoped that winter schools or additional classes could be organised at historic schools using retired educators; however, for all of this to happen the services of an experienced educationalist will need to be secured. It is hoped that this appointment can be secured in August/ September of this year.

Due largely to budget constraints, our cultural colloquium did not take place in 2011. Energy will be put into ensuring that this becomes an annual event, with a gathering during the latter part of 2012 being organised.

We will continue to try and engage with the Provincial governments in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. A good deal of work was undertaken by the HSRP on the schools in these two Provinces and there are challenges at some of these schools that can only be resolved through interventions by the MEC’s for Education.

Partnerships remain important to the HSRP and efforts will be made to build on the partnerships that are already in place. We will be looking for not only funding partners, but also organisations that can assist in the fields of education, construction, training, governance and finance. As we complete infrastructure projects at the schools, the need to establish relationships with companies dealing with computer equipment, networking, furnishings, etc will become equally important. We are looking forward to the next three years when practical steps can start to be taken at the schools, and the significant amount of groundwork that has been undertaken over the last couple of years can be translated into direct beneficial interventions at the schools.

The Inanda girls’ percussion band enjoys a light moment.