Education Resource Centres   PURPOSE:To increase the access to and use of learning and teaching resources through the Education Resource Centres. (ERC)   FUNCTIONS 1. Establish and maintain Education Resource Centres and their satelites. 2. Provide access to facilities and learning and teaching resources. 3. Ensure the use of the facilities and the resources.   WHY EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTRES ? Educators are the most valuable resource of any school and should be supported and nurtured with vigour and in a well-structured manner. Educators need to be provided with opportunities to develop in their work. They also need to be supported as changes take place, both in education and in their professional roles (Life-long learners). In research that was done in 1999 in Britain on the effectiveness of teacher resource centres, it was indicated that the quality of the classroom educator is the single most important ingredient for pupil learning.   Educators need to meet and work together on an informal basis, receive instruction and guidance on lesson formulation and have access to learning support materials and equipment that they can use in their preparation for learning facilitation. Education Resource Centres can address this issue by keeping in touch with schools in the region and providing a forum for exploring  whole-school development. They also facilitate valuable networking between schools and between schools and other support structures.