Education key to real transformation

THE proposed Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill has caused uneasiness in the public sector.

A petition campaign and an objection with the hashtag #StopSchoolCapture were initiated on social media.

The public was requested to freely make submissions and comments. What was the need for the petition?

The best approach would have been to visit the Department of Education website and read the proposed amendments and submit comments instead of petitioning.

A number of issues are being discussed, and not just those raised in the petition.

Unfortunately, school governance as a practice of democracy has not translated into democratic participation of all, and this needs critical reflection.

Regrettably, the education system is still failing the poor or less privileged, especially rural children.

The two-tier education system in South Africa significantly lends itself to the status quo: preservation of privilege, perpetuation of race and especially class oppression.

Using language, fees, admission and other policies, pupils from the lower-income and unemployed class are left out from the top-ranked public schools.

Human rights are universal; however, while regulation and laws may afford the promotion and protection of rights, it does not guarantee that these rights are experienced by all citizens.

Without quality education it will be very difficult to break the cycles of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and homelessness.

Education transformation needs to be at the forefront of government and public concern.

The continually widening gap between the rich and poor public schools is glaringly visible. MOHAMED SAEED

Pietermaritzburg ANOTHER mass killing rocks the US.

A lone gunman went on a shooting rampage, massacring 26 worshippers in a Texas church (Gunman kills at least 26 worshippers in church, Daily News, November 6).

Not even the sacred walls of a church can protect congregants from a mad gunman.

President Donald Trump was in the Far East to bolster ties against the North Korean nuclear threat while his country was being ravaged by gun violence. He called the latest mass killing “an act of evil” and said that the problem was not lax gun laws, but deranged gunmen.

But many Americans consider the president himself to be a loose cannon. He is no different from his predecessors, arming America’s allies to pro- tect its global interests.

But it’s all coming back to hurt America.

In its obsession to counter terrorism abroad, it has neglected to clean up its own backyard where gunmen run wild, committing atrocious acts of violence as heinous as the suicide bombers in the Middle East. It is reaping what it sows. T MARKANDAN

Silverglen