Thousands of Grahamstown schoolchildren marched to the education department yesterday morning, demanding teachers, textbooks and better security at their schools.
Thousands of Grahamstown schoolchildren marched to the education department yesterday morning, demanding teachers, textbooks and better security at their schools.
The group of more than 3 000 pupils, parents and teachers from Mary Waters and various Joza schools marched 5km to the district office of the Eastern Cape Department of Education on St Aidan’s Avenue, where their plan to hand over a memorandum to district director Amos Fetsha was thwarted.
Staff said he was in East London.
“We will not hand over the memorandum to a subordinate,” one of the group said.
Most of the protesters were from Grahamstown government schools including Mary Waters, Nathaniel Nyaluza, Nombulelo, Kuthliso Daniels, Benjamin Mahlasela Secondary School and TEM Mrwetyana.
Pupils sang, shouted slogans and brandished posters.
There was a moderate police presence. According to Errol Goliath, chairperson of the Mary Waters High School Governing Body, their memorandum demands that teachers be appointed where there are shortages and that the department must act within seven days from 21 February to deal with the shortage of teachers and support staff, security at schools and lack of textbooks.
