14 January 2003
As schools in five provinces re-open tomorrow, the South African Communist Party (SACP) calls on teachers, principals, and the Department of Education to ensure a smooth and successful start to the 2003 school year. We are also doing this as part of honouring the memory of that great communist and patriot, Joe Slovo, a great lover of education and ideas who passed away 8 years ago this January. (The SACP has declared January as the Joe Slovo Memorial Month).
The SACP calls on school governing bodies, principals and school administrators to ensure that there are no barriers that will exclude poor pupils in particular from any public school in the country. We have already received reports of pupils being denied access to schools because they either do not have school fees or required school uniforms. These barriers perpetuate the legacy of apartheid education and undermine the struggle for compulsory and free education.
The SACP also calls on communities to work with their schools in order to ensure that effective learning and teaching takes place and that schools become sustainable community resources.
The SACP has also learnt that water, electricity and sanitation services have been cut to a significant number of schools because of payment problems, let alone many schools in rural areas and townships which are without these services. This goes against the right to education given that the availability of water, electricity and sanitation services is fundamental to a decent education. The SACP calls on all local municipalities to play their role in ensuring a successful start to the school year by ensuring that water, electricity and sanitation services are provided to all schools, in particular schools in poor communities and in line with the overall government commitment to provide a basic amount of free services. This is linked to the need to expand the school nutrition programme to high schools whilst also fighting corruption and access problems in the current programme.
SACP provinces and districts have been mobilised to conduct similar visits in local schools throughout the country. These visits will be the SACP’s contribution in ensuring that the admissions and registration process is smooth and that effective learning and teaching from day one.
Following the month of January, the key challenge which must be addressed by government, schools. communities and local organisations, is problems such as the return of material and books removed from schools, the building of School Governing Bodies, maintenance of schools, and continuing learning and teaching. The SACP will play its role to ensure that these problems are effectively addressed.
CONTACT
Mazibuko Kanyiso Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information and Publicity
South African Communist Party
Tel – 011 339 3621; Fax – 011 339 4244 Cell – 083 651 0271
Email – mazibuko@sacp.org.za