Pretoria – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday called on the private sector to get involved in the building of more schools as well as support the sanitary pads project.
Speaking at an Adopt A School campaign event in Sandton, Johannesburg on Saturday, the Deputy President urged the private sector and individuals to support the Adopt A School campaign and the young girls for the betterment of education in the country.
Communications Deputy Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams launched the sanitary pads project earlier this year. It is believed that up to nine million young girls aged between 13 and 19 miss up to a week of school due to the lack of sanitary products.
In a bid to end the absenteeism, Proudly South Africa, Proctor and Gamble (P &G) and Sun International took on the project, which aims to restore the dignity of young girls by distributing sanitary products to girls from disadvantaged backgrounds across the country.
As the manufacturers of sanitary products, P&G currently distribute sanitary products to young girls throughout the country.
With regard to the building of new schools, Deputy President Ramaphosa said they will be going around raising funds to build more new schools.
He said to date, more than R370 million has been spent in the building of schools and that jobs were created in the process.
“There is now quality in our schools and we are now delivering quality education. Real success is in the delivery of results,” he said.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga applauded the Adopt A School campaign. “The campaign has added value to the education system. Investments are appreciated and welcomed,” she said.
She said while much has been achieved to improve education in the country, more still needs to be done.
“We are still facing challenges with regards to infrastructure and we hope that with the support of the private sector we will succeed,” the Minister said.
Free State MEC for Education Tate Makgoe told delegates at the event, who were dressed in school uniforms, that even though they were working with a small budget, they were doing everything they can to produce better results.
“We are a small province with small resources but we are thinking big. We are prepared to prove to everybody that resources don’t teach,” he said.
One of the guests at the event, Thabitha Simelane, told SAnews that she would support the sanitary pads project by donating R1000 towards it.
She said this would help young girls, especially those from poor families, who miss school because they lack sanitary pads. – SAnews.gov.za
