Report on Small Group Discussions on Sunday

Sections of the Report

• 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:

• 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