News

"Commitment is One of Our Biggest Assets"

Professor Charles Dlamini
Chief Executive Officer, KZN Department of Education

The captain of the largest education Department in the country, Professor CRM Dlamini, Chief Executive Officer [CEO], focuses on and discusses the vision of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education [KZN-DEC].

Professor Dlamini message: "During the course of the year we as the Department of Education were engaged in a strategic planning exercise. From this exercise the Department emerged with a strategic plan which contains a vision, mission, goals and objectives. It is not possible to deal with all of this within the confines of this note. What is important for the time being is to focus on our vision.

The new vision of the Department is to become the leading department of education in the country through the provision of quality education and excellent service delivery achieved by effective and coherent management. It is essential to demystify the vision.

This vision in simple terms implies that the Department wants to be the best. This might appear to be a daunting task in the light of the size of the Department's limited resources and many other challenges. Providing quality education requires not only enormous resources, but also quality educators. We have a challenge to develop quality educators if we are serious about providing quality education. We also need to have basic infrastructure such as classrooms and other basic facilities.

Commitment
We cannot, however, wait for having all the basic facilities before we start realising our vision. What we need more than anything is commitment on the part of our educators and all those who work in the Department. Commitment does not cost money, but it can yield dividends. It means therefore that commitment is one of our biggest assets.

Being the best does not mean that we are comparing ourselves with anyone or any other province. It simply means that we have a standard. In terms of that standard we must do our best. When we have done our best, we shall be the best. We shall not accept anything short of the best.

Wanting to be the best entails that we should think, speak and dream on being the best. We should act as the best and no doubt we shall be the best. There is no room for mediocrity. This means that we shall not be content with the way we have been doing things in the past. We need to have a paradigm shift.

As the bible says, you do not pour new wine into old wine skins because you are risking the old wine skins being burst and the wine being spilled. It is therefore necessary to have this mental transformation. There must be paradigm shift in relation to our work and in relation to the way we do things. In order to be the best department we individually and collectively should be the best.

Having this vision means that we are quite serious about our business. We really mean business. We may not completely attain it, but we should spare no effort in attempting to realize it.

Vision
Our vision provides us with a sense of direction. It is our destination. This means that we are not groping in darkness. We are not drifting aimlessly like a rudderless ship at sea. We are also not overwhelmed by the circumstances under which we are operating.

In order to attain our vision we need not only effective strategies, but we also have to determine the pace. In wanting to reach any destination one has to choose the means of going there. Today one can choose to walk, to ride on horseback, to cycle, to drive in a car, or travel by train or to fly. Whichever way one chooses depends on the availability of resources. It also determines the time it will take to reach the destination.

Having a vision means that we are focused, that we should bring all our efforts to bear on the realisation of this vision. It also means that we should take our vision seriously. Our vision should not just be window dressing. It also means that our problems and challenges are half solved. Moreover, it implies that we no longer have an excuse in not succeeding in what we are doing.

In order to realise our vision we need to have the will to realise this and to succeed. We also need to have the determination to succeed in spite of all the odds. The reason why we need to have the determination is because having the vision and the will to realise it does not mean that everything will be plain sailing. There will be obstacles to overcome. But we do not have to be discouraged. We should pursue our vision with single-minded determination.

Apart from these we need to devise effective strategies to realise our vision, without effective strategies and operational plans our vision remains a paper tiger. It is not worth the paper it is written on. We cannot afford to indulge in day-dreaming. We need to translate our vision into meaningful action. Every member of the Department has an important role to play. Nobody is a spectator and nobody can be an armchair critic. We are all accountable and we must all be involved. Each member of the Department has to demonstrate initiative.

Indeed we have a huge department. With the size of the department go more challenges. It therefore means that we need a multi-pronged approach in realising our vision. Having a multi-pronged approach does not mean that we should be in disarray. That is why we need to be coordinated and coherent in what we are doing. There must be an effective management.

I believe we have planted the seed and we only require to nurture it in order to grow and to bear the desired fruit. Our fruit is having a department that effectively provides quality education and consequently quality learners who will make a difference in society. That is our ultimate goal. That goal requires as a prerequisite effective and coherent management. It also requires excellent service delivery.

What this implies is that the management must identify areas that need attention, must come up with viable programmes to address these issues and must be able to evaluate whether the goals have been achieved. It also means that management has a key responsibility in the effective realisation of our vision.

As already stated, the realisation of our vision entails that there must be the provision of quality education and there must be excellent service delivery. It is the realisation of our vision which will transform the Department into what we all want it to be, the leading department of education in the country. I have no doubt that we as a Department have what it takes to realise this. There are a number of projects which members of the Department are involved in. These projects are important for the realisation of the vision of the Department. The effective execution of those projects will take the Department a step further.

Congratulations
I would like to congratulate all those colleagues who are taking their jobs seriously and who are adding value to the Department. I say to them keep up the good work and you are truly gems to the Department.

May I take this opportunity to wish all members of the Department a well-earned rest to those who will be going on holiday. I trust when they return next year they will be rejuvenated and ready to tackle the challenges of the New Year. To all the members may I wish a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year."

Back