Report on Small Group
Discussions on Sunday
Sections of the Report
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What are the causes of inequality in education?
What are the responsibilities of government?
How can organisations help bring change?
What are the steps we can take to build this
movement?
• We all have responsibilities, and the successes
of others depends on us too
• Roles and responsibilities: Parents, Teachers and
Learners
Causes of inequality in education
• South African society is massively unequal with
high levels of poverty and unemployment. This
has its roots in our apartheid history, and in the
racial profile of poverty and wealth that is still
evident today. Despite the end of apartheid, the
inequalities of poverty and privilege continue.
• Apartheid marginalised people so greatly that the
work is way too large to be done as fast as we
need so difficulties and hardships persist
• Social inequality is at the root of the inequalities we
see in education. Learners from poor families do not
have the same resources at home, in the community or
in the school as learners from wealthier families.
• Inequalities are perpetuated by unequal schools.
• The quality of schooling that many students receive is
determined by how much their parents are able to
afford. Economic advantage continues: ex-model c
schools have great advantages, because they can
supplement their government stipend with money
from fees to improve class size, have better resources,
attract good teachers with top-ups to salaries. All of
this translates to better University access and tertiary
graduates
• Poor learners have little chance of receiving an
education of the quality needed to enable them
to achieve their potential and without an
improvement, the majority will remain trapped in
poverty.
• Not enough has been done since the end of
apartheid to change this legacy in society, or in
schools. Grandparents are disappointed to see
their grandchildren go to school under the same
conditions that they went to school
• Inequality is exacerbated by corruption
What are the responsibilities of
government?
• The backlogs of apartheid are enormous - we need to
hear and see more from government about what they
are doing to address these backlogs
• Government should communicate and take us into
their confidence more about the challenges they face
and work with civil organizations to effect change
• The government must give real information to the
public, not just poor excuses.
• Government needs to show that they understand our
pain, and that they care. They must share their plans so
that we can have hope and confidence that things will
change.
• This is urgent for learners who do not see any prospect of
real change in the few years they have left in high school.
• We need an injection of hope into the system. Hope is what
will change the system. Right now people are very
downtrodden and pessimistic.
• Government officials should have a love and passion for
education and not simply do their job because of the salary
they receive.
• Government should provide beyond the school building
and teachers. Many parents don’t have the funds to buy
school supplies or pay for transport to school. These are
important factors that the government should contend
with.
• Poor infrastructure and resources exist, greatly affecting the quality
of schools. This is part of the government’s task. The government
should focus on basics of school infrastructure first to build a strong
foundation.
• There are poor social conditions which lead to poor conditions in
education. The government needs to fix this and at a faster rate
than is currently happening
• The government does not give real information to the public but
only poor excuses. The department does not, even when directly
asked, say that farm schools still exist in which more than one grade
occupy a classroom
• The Department must keep principals in check (many seem to use
schools as banks; receive computers for a school computer room
but use them for a personal internet cafe instead)
How can organisations help bring
change?
• The groups agreed that we need a
social movement for quality education
for all. If this movement is to succeed in
transforming education:
• It should be mass-based and be deeply rooted in
the lives of the poor
• It should build participation by giving people
knowledge regarding their rights and
responsibilities, and how to engage government
as active citizens
• It should unite people from a range of class
positions and identities. The movement should
unite people across all social divides – race,
gender, class, language and religion
• It should build alliances with the widest possible
range of organisations which share this vision and
commitment.
• Everyone who cares deeply about the future of
South Africa should be involved.
• Parents, learners and teachers are key
What are the steps we can take to
build this movement?
• Activism extends far beyond joining an organisations; it
is part of our everyday way of living
• We must have leaders who will lead us by example,
whose conduct is above reproach
• We are the ones to keep the government accountable.
Civil society action should be paired with direct legal
action against the government to ensure that the
government is held accountable.
• Organisations should be applying pressure so that
government begins to make concrete plans on which it
must report to respond to our pressure.
• With the same understanding of the issues we will be able to
move together in order to achieve the same goal with the
same spirit and attitude. This way, if one of us falls, the others
can pick her up and keep moving. We are all fighting for
human rights, not only education. In that way, we do connect
with other organizations and parents whether we like it or not.
We are all part of the movement.
• We can be the change. It is a small thing, there are other
bigger issues. But we must say that we are starting with this,
and we are going to change this. You as a learner can change
things within your community. This can be done by including
your parents and understanding why your parents don’t want
to be involved. The same applies to teachers. You must start
with your favourite teacher and engage with her and explain
Why you want to be part of EE, why you want to be part of this
change. They don’t necessarily understand initially, but you can
explain to them.
We all have responsibilities, and the
successes of others depends on us too
• We recognise that we are all dependent on each other to
achieve quality education for all. When any one of the
key roleplayers of government, teachers, parents and
learners do not play their part, this weakens the efforts of
each of the other roleplayers. When teachers do not have
the resources they need, teaching is compromised. When
teachers do not teach, students lose motivation and
hope. When parents do not support teachers, their work
is made more difficult. Once this set of responsibilities
we have to each other collapses, we spiral into blaming
and denying our responsibilities and education suffers.
Instead we must through our efforts, make it possible for
others to succeed.
This is an example of how this negative
spiral can work:
Few
resources
and high
enrolment
Poor teacher
commitment
alienates
learners
Resources
not cared for
Teachers
demotivated
Bad learner
behaviour
• Another example: government has
responsibility to provide resources, and we
have the responsibility to use them correctly.
• Principals manage them
• Teachers use them in class
• Learners care for them
• Parents support caring and using them
Roles and responsibilities: Parents,
Teachers and Learners
• As a social movement we are committed to
demanding change and the realization of the
right to quality education for all South Africans.
We have spoken about the ways in which this
movement will do this, and we have spoken
about the minimum that we expect from
government in this struggle. In our groups
yesterday, we also all discussed our own
responsibilities and the commitments we need to
make as parents, teachers, and learners in order
to further the goals of this struggle.
Parents:
• We all recognized the difficulty of the relationship between
parents and teachers. Many parents feel intimidated by
teachers, and unable to approach them about their child’s
education.
• This means that as parents, we are not able to hold
teachers to account when things go wrong at school. It also
means that parents don’t support teachers, and teachers
need the support of parents as they struggle to provide
quality education under difficult circumstances.
• Parents need to educate themselves about the educational
needs of their children and their rights, so that they can
feel empowered to go to school and talk to teachers.
• Parents need to break the silence with schools, and
become actively engaged with teachers in tracking the
progress of their child.
• This means attending meetings, building relationships
with teachers, volunteering at schools if they can. It
also means being actively involved in building the
social movement for quality education, as this struggle
cannot be carried by learners alone.
• It is difficult for parents to support their child’s
education, because they themselves received poor
quality education under apartheid. Nevertheless, even
if parents cannot help with the work, children need to
know that their parents support them and will fight for
their rights to quality education. This means showing
an interest in what they learn at school, checking on
homework, being aware of their achievements and
difficulties, and creating a home environment that is
conducive to studying.
Learners:
• Learners must provide the energy and enthusiasm to
drive both their own education and the struggle for
quality education for all.
• Learners must take responsibility for their education as
much as possible, by ensuring that they attend school
regularly and on-time and show commitment and
discipline in their approach to school work.
• Learners must respect and value teachers and the work
that they do.
• Learners must respect and value the resources that are
available to them, for example textbooks and school
property.
• Learners must be educated about their rights and
what quality education is, in order to equip them
to fight for these rights.
• Learners must not accept inferior education, and
must lead the struggle in demanding adequate
resources and quality teaching.
• Learners must take responsibility for building the
movement for quality and equal education
amongst themselves, educating their peers about
the struggle and mobilizing their schools and
communities
Teachers:
• Teachers must take responsibility for providing a quality
education
• Teachers must always be present and well prepared to
teach quality lessons
• Teachers are role models to learners and their conduct
must be beyond reproach
• Teachers must support learners and parents in their
efforts to build accountable and constructive relationships
with their schools
• Teachers must build relationships with students, and be
informed about the challenges which individual students
face.
• Teachers must reach out to parents and engage them in
dialogue about their child’s progress.
• Teachers must play an active role in the struggle for
quality education.
• Thank you