Appendix 10

     Rural Education Examples

Current intiatives of Youth Programmes in the National and Provincial Departments of Agriculture

The Agriculture Youth Development Initiative for South Africa

By A. T. DIDIZA

This section of the appendix articulates the aspiration and hopes of the National Department of Agriculture (NDA) concerning Youth Development Initiative, aims to commit itself to creating awareness of, encouraging and helping South African youth, particularly Black youth, to avail itself of the unlimited agriculture-related opportunities. As explained in the document, the initiative is meant to be all-inclusive as it is ideally designed to cater for young people from all walks of life, starting with the ones in the rural areas and progressing up to those who are pursuing or planning to study agriculture-related disciplines in tertiary education. 

The document reiterates the fact that the Agriculture Youth Development Initiative is part and parcel of the broader mission of the NDA to ensure access to agriculture. It promotes the contribution of agriculture to the development of all communities, society at large and the national economy in order to enhance income, food security, employment and quality of life in a sustainable manner. The Youth Development Programme is, to a large extent, the backbone of the mission of the NDA.  

 Statement of purpose 

The Agriculture Youth Development Initiative aims at facilitating the development of programmes that will capture the interest and commitment of South African youth, particularly young Black people, to agriculture and agriculture-related opportunities that exist in the sector. Although the disadvantaged groups will be the primary focus of this initiative, other non-target groups such as the white male youth will also be included. The initiative also aims to develop support structures and incentive opportunities for its target where possible. The purpose of this initiative is more than just creating interest in pursuing agriculture as a career. It is also about encouraging everyone who has an interest to embark on agriculture-related activities. As part of the awareness campaign it must be stated very clearly that one does not need to own a farm to be involved in agricultural activities. There are a series of activities where people can get involved despite the fact that they may not have any background in agriculture. The initiative should also undertake to market the spin-offs of agriculture, which are currently totally understated, and generally not seen as part of agriculture. The purpose will be achieved through:

•      identifying opportunities in rural areas in which the youth can participate;

•      identifying appropriate young individuals and groups who would benefit from this initiative;

•      designing assistance packages to benefit special youth; and

•      creating financial assistance programmes for young people studying agriculture-related disciplines at tertiary institutions.

 

A controversial point of this programme is that a large component of the awareness and development campaign falls within the jurisdiction of the Education portfolio and with Provincial Government mandates for implementation.

 Other Initiatives 

The National Department of Agriculture has a number of initiatives for youths that include mentorship programmes and animal health care. 

Interesting initiatives have started in the provinces including food gardens, youth clubs and training for youths and women. 

In Mpumalanga, vegetable gardens are being created at primary schools. Unemployed matriculants are being exposed to poultry farming and vegetable production. The province runs competitions with fertilizers and implements as prizes. 

In the NC South African Brewery funds a poultry project of R110,000 and gives training to women. This province also encourages young people to enroll for agriculture at tertiary institutions. 

Kwazulu Natal is running a number of initiatives aimed at young people, namely school gardens, school kitchens. This province will be launching a youth in agriculture initiative on 16 June 1998, after which a formal process of establishing youth needs will follow.

 Enterprise training 

It appears that some in some cases distance education might not be the most suitable mode of delivery. Training for SMME or enterprise training is seen as a key area for stimulating economic growth in South Africa because of the shrinking job market. 

Many organizations have developed training programmes on SMME/Enterprise training.[1] Godsell has pointed out the difficulties that arise when people attempt to run enterprises in their communities. A deeper look at this indicates that unless programme organizers have a great deal of resources to feed into on-site support, including ongoing mentoring and support in their attempts to being enterprises, the desired outcomes of enterprise education, that is, generating income, might not be forthcoming. Some of these difficulties were spelled out by Godsell.[2]

1)    The idea of networks has become very popular. But not all networks are helpful or healthy. If a resource (such as funding) is only available to a group, a dissipating network may form. Its only goal is to acquire the resource. The members replicate needs rather than complementing strengths; when the resource has been consumed, the network falls apart. An energising network, in contrast, is formed to achieve a goal rather than access resource. Members bring their own resources, which are complementary rather than replicating, and resources are a means not an end. Often borrowing groups enforce repayment rather than providing business resources.

2) The outcome of training may be the production of a stunning business plan. Ten to fifteen years ago, the outcome of some interventions was that people learned how to write excellent funding proposals. Now they write business plans.

3) The skills that are acquired are all me-too - that is, they replicate existing enterprises. Soon the market is glutted, and nobody can make a profit anymore.

4) People are taught to access resources (e.g. donor funding) external to the community, rather than recognizing resources within the community. At the very least you need a combination of these.

5) The classic definition of entrepreneurship still applies, that is, the capacity to combine resources. Trainees must come out with the capacity to understand what resources (tangible and intangible) they need for a particular business, and have a range of techniques for acquiring these resources. For example, go into partnership with someone who has resources, barter a skill/resource you have for one which you need, buy-in resources, or acquire knowledge or skills for yourself. Then there must be the inner confidence to combine/apply all this.

6) Really bad training leaves a culture of entitlement intact. Self-employment does not become something the trainee can do, but something he/she expects to receive. The attitude remains passive rather than active. The trainee remains a consumer, rather than becoming a producer - jumping over the counter in his/her head.

 National Contents 

National Community Water and Sanitation Training Institute (NCWSTI)

The NCWSTI was established in 1996 with the mandate or the Minister of DWAF. After the election of the TLCs DWAF identified the training of local councillors as a priority. 

The NCWSTI aimed to developing appropriate training and capacity building that would work towards standardization and accreditation of a variety of courses from capacity building to technical and engineering aspects. 

This included:

q       Technical materials (water and sanitation)

q       Non-technical matters (local government functioning and HR management)

q       Development and financial management. 

Training of the first group of councillors took place in 1998. 

In general the summative evaluation of the first course was positive. Councillors claimed to have learnt relevant technical and theoretical matters as well as the ability to develop business plans that allowed them to solve some of the problems facing their communities. 

However the evaluation pointed to pedagogical and organizational concerns that still had to be addressed. For example, participants’ educational history, communication skills and experiences should be used to frame the course programme. In addition, registration on the NQF would require further work in considering standards and accreditation.

 Various organizations invovled with education and training programmes 

Rural development organizations 

Two rural organizations that offer a comprehensive array of courses to rural communities are the Valley Trust and Akanani Rural Development Association. Coupled with literacy, agricultural and enterprise activities conducted at its headquarters near Elim, Akanani runs 27 literacy centres in rural villages.

English Language Educational Trust

ELET’s focus is teacher development (communicative language programmes with teachers) but they have now diversified the range of the programmes and provide health and hygiene programmes in conjunction with colleges in rural areas to service rural schools.

Programmes at tertiary institutions 

Two rural Organizations that offer a comprehensive array of courses to rural communities are the Valley Trust and Akanani Rural Development Association. Coupled with literacy, agricultural and enterprise activities conducted at its headquarters near Elim, Akanani runs 27 literacy centres in rural villages.

UNISA offers a certificate in Adult Education and training that aims at enabling practitioners to present and manage ABET programmes. It teaches them to use and evaluate materials, assess learners and analyse the learning needs and social context of the adult learner’. [3] 

The REFP, at the Centre of Continuing Education, University of the Witwatersrand, was a certificate course aimed at promoting community development by equipping community members with leadership and management skills so that they are able to access education resources and become effective decision-makers. The programme, which has now closed, operated in rural communities in the Eastern Cape and Northern Province from 1994 - 1997.

Trainign in energy affairs: Sustainable Energy and Development Programme (SEED) 

The sustainable Environment (SEED) promotes sustainable energy and environment practices in rural and urban development. It aims to build the capacity of NGOs, CBOs, local authorities and other implementing agencies to plan and carry out development projects, integrating sustainable energy options.[4] 

Rural SEED aims to bring attention to actual energy needs and opportunities, provide good information about the energy options available and how to access them (in order to help energy users select their best options), provide information on economical and efficient energy use, health and safety aspects, more sustainable management of resources, and encourage greater integration of energy solutions in education, health services, water supply, telecommunications, and income-generating activities. 

In the Eastern Cape SEED facilitators work closely with the EDA in its programme of land management. The EDA works intensively in selected pilot areas to establish models that can inform rural development policies and strategies more widely.[5] 

Mohlakoana and Cowan acknowledge that there is no quick fix to solving our energy problems in rural areas because of widespread poverty, the shortage of income-generating opportunities and the land-use and settlement problems inherited from apartheid. As a result it is difficult for rural people to gain maximum benefits from the activities of strong agencies such as Eskom and Telkom, who have shown the capacity for rapid widespread service delivery. But they are optimiztic that there is more sense of ‘being on the road forwards than there was at the start of the decade…’ [6] 

During 1999 Urban SEED ran workshops using participatory learning methodologies to train communities on

q    facilitation and media skills;

q    networking to promote collaboration between the local government structure and participating NGOs;

q    principles and tools for sustainable development;

q    other technical issues relating to housing and energy, and

q    The impact of energy on other aspects of community life such as health, environment and economic development.  

Participants included LC, development organizations and CBOs.[7]

 A curriculum to fast-track older age learners 

Rural learners may enter school either too young (because there is no-one to look after them at home) or late (because the distance to school may be too great for young children to walk, they may not have the funds to pay for uniforms and books and so on). In South Africa we have not developed strategies of dealing with over-aged children despite the fact that many children are too old for their grade level.

Some projects reduced the time taken to complete basic education to mainstream older learners as soon as possible. For example, BRAC developed a programme for youths who had left school before completing their basic education that enabled them to re-enter the formal system at a level appropriate to their chronological age. This programme provides three years of non-formal education to rural children. On completion, 90% of the graduates enrol in the formal system.  

Vietnam has developed three separate systems of education; a 165 week curriculum for mainstream students, a 120 week curriculum for students in remote and mountainous areas, and a 100 week curriculum for parents who cannot afford regular classes or who have dropped out of school.

 Footnotes 

[1] Ntsika is a national agency that supports and develops the SMME sector in SA. Besides providing information to policy makers and implementers it has implemented a Target Assistance Division that serves to promote and support service to the SMME through programmes such as the School Leavers' Opportunity Training Programme, Project Grime Buster, Innovative Business for the Disabled. They also promote new enterprise and agricultural-based products, and product improvement products and small scale Industries Promotion which targets women in the SMME sector.  

[2] Remarks written by G Godsell, February 2000.

[3] UNISA Institute for ABET (1999) Information Booklet

[4] SEED is implemented by a number of S African organisations: the Energy and Development Research Centre at the University of Cape Town co-ordinates Rural SEED activities and the Energy and Development Group the Urban SEED activities. SEED Update, Volume 1 No. 2 November 1999.

[5] ibid: 9

[6] Mohlakoana N & Cowan B: Is there a quick fix? ibid: 

[7] Ward S & Tshikini M. Laying the first brick. Ibid: 10