BY KWANELE TSABEDZE AND ANDREW DLAMINI
LUDZIDZINI – Education has been a resounding topic at the Sibaya people’s parliament, and today it was formally discussed during the panel discussions.
Presenting on issues of education was former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Mabili Dlamini from Ngwempisi, who was also called on to comment on how to reduce in-fighting between the three arms of Government – the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive.
“Each county’s foundation is the law and the constitution. The in-fighting which happens is because of personalities. These are people who bring their emotions into the work of the people. No in-fighting should happen in Government,” said Dlamini when starting his assessment on the issue.
“For there not to be in-fighting, the three leaders of the three arms of Government should be a phone call away from each other. They should stay on top of any issues or complaints which affect their offices so they may quickly arrest such issues so that the people’s work continues. There are no powers in each arm that enable interference in other arms of Government, so the best thing is for an open communications policy which enables problems to be arrested as soon as they develop,” advised Dlamini.
Dlamini also commented on how the Government can contribute to reducing the gap between skills acquired in schools and skills required by different industries in the modern age.
Dlamini advised that the education system should make it possible for graduates to make a living outside of being classically employed.
“The syllabus should adapt and be modified so that we are not teaching the things which were teaching when I was still in school,” he said.
He advised that a committee of experts should determine the best ways to close the gap between skills taught in schools and tertiaries and the employment sector.
Dlamini also advised the Government to make sure that the institutions of higher education should be very well catered for. One of the ideas he mentioned was the establishment of a scholarship fund, to ensure that there are no cash flow shortages when it comes to higher education as they can be highly disruptive.
The panel discussions on day 4 of the Sibaya People’s Parliament are ongoing.
