On Thursday, 17 October 2012, Equal Education (EE) supporters will march in Kraaifontein wearing masks of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s face. The march is being held one month before EE’s court case for minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure against Minister Motshekga. The march will start at 15h30 at Hector Peterson Secondary School.
Most schools in South Africa lack necessary resources or only have access to inadequate facilities that render them incapable of providing learners with the quality education that they are entitled to by law. Currently 3,455 schools do not have electricity, 2,402 schools have no water supply and 22, 938 schools do not have libraries. In the Eastern Cape there are 395 ‘mud schools’.
Section 5A of the South African Schools Act gives Minister Motshekga alone the authority to set minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure and thereby vastly improve the quality of education that South African learners receive. She committed to set minimum norms and standards by 1 April 2011 but failed to meet her own deadline. This has perpetuated systemic school infrastructural problems and gross educational inequalities. No one else in the country has the power to set a national standard for school infrastructure. During the march EE members will be wearing masks of Minister Motshekga’s face to let the public know who is responsible for improving school infrastructure. Learners will put a face to the school infrastructure crisis.
During its two year campaign for minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure EE has fasted, picketed, petitioned, held community meetings, written countless letters and spent nights sleeping outside Parliament. EE has met with Minister Motshekga about the need for minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure and written to her often. EE’s court case will be heard on 20 November 2012 in the Bisho High Court in the Eastern Cape. The court documents are available online.
For more information please contact:
Yoliswa Dwane (EE chairperson) on 072 342 7747
Kate Wilkinson (media officer) on 082 326 5353
