By Bhekisisa Mncube
Newcastle – President Jacob Zuma says given the youthfulness of the population, the government has prioritised youth development.
“Census 2011 indicated that South Africa is a youthful country. More than 50% of the population is young people under 39 years of age,” said Zuma.
Zuma was addressing scores of young people during the 37th commemoration of National Youth Day held in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.
Steady increase in educated youth
To demonstrate government resolve to tackle youth development, the President announced that the percentage of the population who completed a higher education which includes certificates, diplomas above Grade 12, as well as degrees and postgraduate qualifications, increased from 7.1% in 1996 to 8.4% in 2001 and slightly increased in 2011 to 12.1%.
He also said the proportion of persons who completed secondary education or higher education increased from 23.4% in 1996 to 40.5% in 2011. This figure shows improvement, but it is still far from what we want for our country.
He further revealed that more than eight million children are enrolled in no-fee school, and over eight million children receive nutritious meals at school and more than 800 000 being enrolled in Grade R compared to about 300 000 just a few years ago.
FETs now key to youth development
He indicated that higher education has also received a boost. “We have prioritised access to higher education especially technical and vocational education to expand the country’s skills base.”
He reported that in the 2012 academic year government had set a target of five hundred and fifty thousand (550 000) student headcount enrolments at Further Education and Training Colleges.
But, “We exceeded this target and colleges enrolled a total of 657 690 students. This represented an increase of 54% over the preceding year.”
He also announced that a staggering 17.4 billion will be spent on building and improving FET College infrastructure to match increased enrolment figures. He said some 187 497 FET College students were receiving financial assistance through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme
He also mentioned that scores of young people from 3 300 rural wards across the country are enrolled in various training programmes under the National Rural Youth Services Corps.
“There is also a plan to create nine Rural Youth Hubs per province, including in the 23 poorest districts in the country,” he said.
The President said he had directed that the Expanded Public Works Programme, which provides temporary work opportunities for the unemployed – to insist that 40% of people employed on these projects be young people.
Youth business support
The President announced that the new Small Enterprise Funding Agency, formed after merging small business financing institutions, will make R1.7 billion available over the next five years for youth enterprises, with a target of R220 million in this financial year.
In addition, he said the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa has announced a R1 billion Youth Fund to provide concessional lending to youth-owned enterprises that create jobs. – SAnews.gov.za
