South Africa’s president on Sunday described youth unemployment as “a national crisis,” vowing to tackle it with a variety of new approaches.

Axar.az reports citing Anadolu Agency.

According to official government data, 27.6% of South Africans are unemployed, most of them young people.

“We are committed to provide our young people with all the opportunities possible to enable them to reach their potential. This begins with education,” Cyril Ramaphosa told an audience at National Youth Day celebrations held in the city of Polokwane.

The day commemorates scores of black students who were killed by apartheid police during a 1976 student uprising in Soweto.

The protests were a turning point in the country’s struggle against white minority rule.

Ramaphosa said during this era of technological advances, young people need certain tools to navigate the changes technology brings to the workplace for them to seize opportunities.

“We are therefore prioritizing science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics in our education system,” he said, adding that coding and data analytics are also being introduced in schools.