MEC queries school audit
Although ‘some issues raised were important’, the methodolgy applied was questioned
EDUCATION MEC Debbie Schäfer is questioning the methodology applied by advocacy group Equal Education (EE) to compile a social audit of Western Cape schools, which raised concerns about sanitation and safety.
The final version of the group’s Western Cape social audit, which was conducted in 244 schools, was released during a press conference last month.
A list of demands was given to the provincial government representatives and the police, and the group requested a response by October 5. The findings of the audit included that:
Corporal punishment had occurred in 83 percent of schools
At 74 percent of schools in the sample there was no toilet for persons with disabilities. An estimated 8 percent of schools was built out of inappropriate materials.
42 percent of pupils reported having access to a library that was well-stocked with books. A quarter of pupils reported having no access to a sport field.
Earlier this month, the provincial education ministry informed EE it wouldn’t be able to respond by the October 5 deadline. In her response to Equal Education, which was sent on Monday, Schäfer said there had been a few erroneous assumptions made by Equal Education.
This included that there was no plan to address the issues raised and there was an unlimited budget available to address every problem in every school whenever it arose.
She said some issues pertaining to safety, especially issues of safety of pupils and teachers outside school property, fell within the domain of the police.
Schäfer said the issues raised in the report were important.
“I am especially concerned about the allegations around corporal punishment and sexual violence, and the lack of maintenance by schools of sanitation facilities, as this is an issue of human dignity.
“The WCED takes such allegations of corporal punishment and sexual violence very seriously and investigates each case that is reported to us.
“However, it is a concern that many learners have claimed to have experienced either corporal punishment or sexual violence which has gone unreported.”
She said there had been numerous meetings lasting several hours each between the former head of education and the head of the Safe Schools directorate to discuss the department’s plans and budgetary constraints with Equal Education, both in respect of safety issues as well as infrastructure issues.
“Unfortunately, we simply do not have the resources or capacity to provide for every demand that is put before us. Therefore we have to prioritise according to the direst needs.
“Detailed lists of implementation plans are drawn up on annual bases which prioritise projects according to those needs and the available budget.”
In a media statement released yesterday, Schäfer said the sample size used for the audit was extremely small, and “certainly does not constitute a randomised sample”.
“Whilst we would love to have every school fully equipped with excellent infrastructure and equipment, our financial realities preclude us from doing so. It is unfortunate that Equal Education fails to acknowledge this reality.”
Equal Education Western Cape head Nishal Robb said the group was studying the response, adding it was not what they had hoped for. He said he didn’t know why the MEC faulted the methodology when experts from universities had not.