96 challenges experienced with contractors, which have resulted in the delay in altering the infrastructure impasse. In July 2011, the DBE, organized labour, BUSA and NEDLAC signed an Accord on Basic Education. This is a partnership through which all education players, stakeholders and social partners, committed to support the drive to achieve quality teaching and learning in South Africa. This included the idea of adopting a school to provide direct support on the specific challenge(s) they encounter. The adopt-a-school campaign emerged in the context of a rallying call to make education a societal priority. The Accord identified as a major challenge in education the need to improve the quality of basic education in the country. It outlines the importance of performance in the schooling system as being a fundamental to the skills base needed for economic growth and development. The Accord commits all parties to:    Working together to change the mindset among educators, learners and parents in order to rebuild dysfunctional parts of the basic educations system; To adopt poor-performing schools and implement whole school development programme interventions, with individual businesses working collectively; and That trade unions or community based organisations should assist schools to develop proper governance, high standards of teaching, basic schools-level discipline and an adequate supply of essentials i.e. text and work books. This is done through the guidance of a protocol developed and approved by the Minister of Basic Education and key social partners in education who participate in the Quality Learning and teaching Campaign (QLTC). At the heart of the Accord is the need for partnership and creating space for social partners to realise government’s Outcome 1: Improved Quality of Basic Education and to ultimately produce fully functional schools marked by effective leaderships and management; teachers in class and on time, teaching and the availability and the use of learning and teaching support materials. The IDC in November 2011 approved a revised CSI educational focus to support an inclusive intervention targeting selected schools across the county in support of the NEDLAC Accord on Basic Education. Plans are afoot by the IDC to adopt schools within the country by 2013. The DHET has focussed on increasing the country’s production of Honours, Master’s and Doctoral graduates needed to support innovation and knowledge production in our economy. In 2011, close to 9 000 FETs and Universities of Technology graduates were placed in workplaces for experiential training. In addition, 4200 students were placed in workplaces whilst studying. Thirty FET Colleges participated in the training of the NARYSEC youth. In addition, a training programme in Community House Building (NQF 2) and Civil and Construction (NQF 3) has been initiated in partnership with the DBSA and the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA). Two new universities, in Mpumalanga and Northern Cape, are being established and the technical ground work like the identification of sites with campus and academic architectural plans to this end was completed in 2012. University education infrastructure expansion and upgrading will also take place in the coming years in order to improve teaching, research, accommodation and support services. 96