Thousands of learners, parents and teachers marched from Zone 1 in Swelitsha to the Eastern Cape Department of Education on 5 April in what the deputy director of Eastern Cape Equal Education called an inspiring event.
Thousands of learners, parents and teachers marched from Zone 1 in Swelitsha to the Eastern Cape Department of Education on 5 April in what the deputy director of Eastern Cape Equal Education called an inspiring event.
David Carel said “It was a remarkable day, inspiring to see learners, parents and teachers join together demanding directly from ECDOE leadership that they have access to a better education.
Department leadership sadly failed to do their part and meet with these marchers but the Community Liaison director promised a meeting with the MEC shortly. We will go from there.”
He added “The march stands not in isolation but as part of the growing movement of school community members across the Eastern Cape who have grown increasingly outraged by the failure of the Department to provide children with an adequate basic education.
The education crisis includes, but is not limited to, crumbling school infrastructure, textbook shortages and delays, missing furniture and vacant teacher and principal posts.”
The marchers demanded that MEC Makupula and Superintendent-General Netshilaphala were held to account over the education crisis in the province and the impending violation of the norms and standards for school infrastructure.
The marchers also called upon Minister Angie Motshekga to account for the Department of Basic Education's failure in its oversight of the provincial education department.
Carel said that since 2011’s Section 100 (1)(b) takeover of the Eastern Cape Department of Education, Minister Motshekga has been directly responsible for the provision of education in the province. However interventions have been limited throughout and near non-existent since late 2013.
Learners in the province had suffered school infrastructure crises “We are in the final year of first time frame for implementation of the norms and standards for school infrastructure.
The regulations state that by 29 November this year there must be no schools without water, electricity or sanitation, and that all schools must be built from appropriate structures.
The Eastern Cape Department has openly acknowledged that it will not meet this deadline and will therefore stand in direct violation of the law.”
