Mandela Day is for giving back — not just for 67 minutes

TimesLIVE

4 days ago

In 1970 Robert Greenleaf released an essay entitled, 'The Servant as a Leader'. Greenleaf could hardly have expected to start a revolution in the then fledgling leadership discipline.
Of particular interest and intrigue was that Greenleaf had used what ought to have been contradictory terms, namely 'servant' and 'leader' to describe a type of leader.
In a nutshell, he argued that the best leaders were those who saw their main task as serving those they had been tasked to lead. This was contrary to the dominant idea at the time that those who lead should lord it over those in their charge.
As we this month commemorate Nelson Mandela International Day, or Mandela Day as many of us call it, we are once again reminded of the importance of leaders who place their followers first in the quest to transform the institutions they lead.
Former president Mandela may have never described himself in the terms articulated by Greenleaf. Still, it is commonly understood that Mandela personified what it means to dedicate one's life to serving one's people. In fact, in his first public address after being released from prison in 1990, he said: 'I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people.'
The number 67 was chosen to reflect the number of years former President Mandela spent in public life and includes the years he was imprisoned as well as his tenure as South Africa's first democratically elected president.
It was for this attitude that the UN in 2009 declared Madiba's birthday, July 18, as Nelson Mandela International Day and encouraged everyone to dedicate at least 67 minutes of their time and lives to helping those who needed a hand, and to do so without expecting anything in return.
The number 67 was chosen to reflect the number of years former President Mandela spent in public life and includes the years he was imprisoned as well as his tenure as South Africa's first democratically elected president.
As has been tradition for the last 15 years, many South African individuals and organisations will identify and choose an institution they can dedicate their 67 minutes of service to, and this is to be strongly encouraged.
This year's Mandela Day Theme, 'It is still in our hands to combat poverty and inequality', is consistent with the three priorities of the government of national unity (GNU). The education sector, especially the higher education and training sector, is well placed to play an active role in combating poverty and inequality.
Mandela himself reminded us that 'education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world'.
As someone with executive oversight over the department of higher education and training (DHET) as well as its entities, I see this potential to change the world every day. Education is never an end but rather a means to an end, which is to meaningfully integrate the educated person into the economy and improve their lives and those of their loved ones.
I am also acutely aware of the challenges the sector faces. Some of the challenges are systemic in nature and will not be overcome overnight. These include the gaps in funding for tuition and for the provision of adequate bed space for students.
We also have the real challenge that some of our Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas) being more likely to make news for poor governance and unethical behaviour than for having the positive impact in combating poverty and inequality.
The two reports released by the commission for gender equality (CGE) last year further highlighted the prevalence of sexual harassment and GBV in the post-school education and training (PSET) system.
While all the above-mentioned are equally urgent, if I were to single out another area of our PSET system that needs more urgent attention than others, it would be the Community Education and Training (CET) colleges. These are offshoots of the former Adult Basic Education and Training (Abet) centres.
CET students best embody what Madiba said about education having the potential to change the world. Yet they remain what I often refer to as the 'stepchild of the stepchild' of the higher education sector. They receive about 2% of the DHET total budget to share across 200 community learning centres and their nearly 1,600 satellite centres where teaching and learning take place.
What is more concerning is that bulk of their annual funding goes to salaries, leaving very little for other needs such as infrastructure.
Many CET colleges are hosted in schools owned by the department of basic education because they do not have facilities of their own. This is itself a disincentive for some individuals who do not want to be seen studying in facilities designed for younger children.
Another challenge for students attending CETs is that, unlike their counterparts in the PSET system, they do not receive any aid from the National Student Financial Assistance Scheme (NSFAS).
Consequently, food insecurity is high and students often choose to forego classes if this clashes with an opportunity to earn a day's wage that can keep hunger at bay. Where food insecurity is high, there tends to be a shortage of hygiene products. This is why I have decided to give my 67 minutes to one of these colleges in Kariega, Eastern Cape that so urgently need our support.
That said, we cannot afford to throw our hands up in despair. It will be unMandela-like to do so. Madiba's life is an example of never giving up to the challenges of the day, no matter how insurmountable they might be. As he famously said, 'it always seems impossible until it's done'.
The PSET system desperately needs servant leaders. We need men and women who properly appreciate that the education enterprise cannot succeed unless there is collaboration with all areas of society, including the private sector.
For it to be done, the PSET sector needs partners. We need leaders like Mandela in local government institutions, traditional leadership authorities, business and non-governmental organisations to each identify how they too can serve in the effort to combat poverty and inequality.
Equally, we need leaders within the sector who have the foresight and are open to partnerships and deliberately seek these out to enhance what their own organisations can offer to their stakeholders and to society at large.
With more than 100 entities under the DHET ambit and tens of thousands of students in our various institutions of higher education, it can be said with the utmost humility that the sector is too big to fail.
On the flipside, the sector's success will have an impact in every home, workplace and in our economy. With our service, we can ensure that we are the side of making the sector succeed.