OP ED: HIGH COURT CLOSES GOVERNMENT’S ESCAPE ROUTE ON INADEQUATE SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE
*Published by The Sunday Times on 22 July 2018 By Amanda Rinquest (Former Head of Equal Education Eastern Cape) and Daniel Linde (Former Deputy Director Equal Education Law Centre) For us to live in a constitutional democracy that is serious about redress and justice, the constitution and the laws which give effect to it must […]
OP ED: PUSH TO TEACH HISTORY WILL BE COSTLY BUT IT DESERVES SUPPORT
*Published by Business Day In a world where the emphasis in education is increasingly on job creation, bolstering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects and digital opportunities, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s recent focus on history is surprising and refreshing. Last week, Motshekga released a ministerial task-team report that proposes phasing out life orientation […]
OPEN LETTER ON EDUCATION TO PRESIDENT GEORGE WEAH OF LIBERIA
*Published by Daily Maverick Dear President Weah, Congratulations on your election to the presidency of the Liberian government; indeed you continue to play a leading role in showing the world that in you Liberia has capacity. President Weah, your term in office begins at a time when Liberia is on the brink of bankruptcy, and […]
Op ed: Dear Coega, tell no lies and claim no easy victories
On 3 November the Mail&Guardian published our op ed, “Equalisers fight for schools not built,” on the role that Coega Development Corporation (CDC) plays in the slow delivery of school infrastructure. We reported the high amounts of irregular and wasteful expenditure incurred by the State-owned entity (SOE); specific schools where it failed to deliver; and […]
HOW MANY MORE PUPILS WILL BE HURT OR KILLED AS THEY ATTEMPT TO REACH SCHOOL?
*Published by City Press Last month alone, seven pupils died and 21 more were injured as they made their way to and from public schools in KwaZulu-Natal. Fifteen of those learners are from Ngwane High in Nquthu – a school that the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department admits qualifies for government-subsidised scholar transport. However, the department is […]
THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY OF EC SCHOOL CLOSURE
*Published by The Daily Dispatch In September last year, Vuyani Sipambo, principal at Nkupulweni Junior Secondary in Matatiele, received a letter informing him his school was to be “rationalised”, and that learners and teachers would be relocated to a new school 25km away. Nkupulweni is one of 1902 schools that the Eastern Cape Department of […]
FEE-FREE VARSITY FOR THE POOR EXAMINED
*Published by Cape Times The programme’s private-public partnership (PPP) model embodies the recent trend of privatising social services. For many, the private sector is seen to possess the high levels of efficiency required to drive social change and bridge inequalities. This is a fallacy that was exposed when the social grant crisis came to light. […]
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF GATHERINGS ACT CHALLENGED
*Published by Daily Maverick In the month in which we commemorate the 41st anniversary of the Soweto Uprising of 1976, Equal Education is joining the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) in court to challenge the criminalisation of peaceful protest. In 2013, 10 SJC activists chained themselves to the steps of the Cape Town Civic Centre in […]
WITHHOLDING KEYS TO EDUCATION, LITERALLY!
*Published in The Daily Dispatch Xhentse SS is a quintile one school (the poorest category) in Maqhingeni, a village in Libode. Three classrooms serve over 200 pupils from Grades 10 to 12. All three classrooms were built in 1997 by community members when each household donated R30 to build the only high school in the […]
PRIVATE SCHOOLS FLIRT WITH CONSTITUTIONAL DELINQUENCY
*Published by Business Day At an elite private school in Melrose, Johannesburg, two pupils have found themselves effectively expelled following a series of run-ins between the school and their parents over the quality of cricket coaching. The pupils, who are of primary school age, are not accused of any sort of misconduct that could warrant […]
ANC stalwarts critique of current leadership: the full text
“The leadership of the ANC … has failed the people of South Africa” Last month 100 ANC stalwarts — including Ahmed Kathrada, Trevor Manuel, Frank Chikane, Cheryl Carolus, Denis Goldberg, Albertina Luthuli, Gertrude Shope and Barbara Masekela — released a press statement criticising the current ANC leadership. Until now the full text of the document that […]
Abandon the draft Western Cape Provincial School Education Amendment Act
*Published by Daily Maverick An open letter to Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga, and Western Cape MEC for Education Debbie Schäfer, from TSHEPO MOTSEPE, General Secretary of Equal Education. Dear Minister Motshekga and MEC Schäfer, Constitutionally suspect, contrary to the spirit of democracy, and unlikely to improve educational outcomes – these are just a […]
