Pretoria - North West MEC for Human Settlements, Public Safety and Liaison, Desbo Mohono, has challenged department officials on lower levels to enrol for Adult Basic Education Training (ABET), saying it was the right thing to do.
About 50 public servants employed in the North West Human Settlements Branch of the provincial department, sat for the numeracy, communication and Pre-ABET level exams in December 2011. A total of 28 obtained a 90% pass rate.
The officials included cleaners, groundsmen, messengers and other lower level employees within the department.
Four of those who sat for the exams achieved 100% on three ABET tests, with nine achieving a 100% in Communications Level 1. Out of 10 learners who sat for numeracy exams, nine passed and seven learners who wrote Communications Level 2 obtained 100% pass rate, whilst 14 of the 15, who sat for Numeracy level 2, obtained 100%. Nine learners who sat for Communications Level 3 achieved a 100% pass rate.
Congratulating the officials for their achievements, Mohono said the pass rate should serve as a motivation to those adult officials who were still reluctant to enrol for ABET classes.
She said that acquiring basic literacy skills empowered employees to become even more productive and helped them to take control of their own lives.
"It is no small feat for employees to have managed to balance their work, studies and family responsibilities. The remarkable results they have obtained attest to their total commitment, determination and the seriousness with which they took up the challenge," said Mohono.
She added that more officials from both branches of her department were expected to enrol for ABET.
"Education is a pathway to a better life. Through this training programme, more and more cleaners, groundsmen, messengers and other lower-level employees within the department will know how to read, write and count.
"This will further assist in eradicating illiteracy in the country as one of the nine priorities of the National Skills Development Strategy... According to the current research conducted, there are an estimated 3.3 million illiterate adults in South Africa." Mohono noted.
