Poor governance at core of our school admission woes

Re: School zoning reflects apartheid era by André H Gaum, The Star, July 28 I am perplexed by this article. You accurately identify a large number of problem areas and inexcusable stumbling blocks that are still put in the way of children, overwhelmingly from racial groups excluded by apartheid.

There is no excuse for apartheid and its legacy. This must be addressed, and with the greatest of urgency.

What is not clear to me is why the progress is so slow. A great number of these factors are poor governance and leadership, of which you were (are?) a senior member. Instead of addressing the problem at the core, which is equipping, training and shaping up the 400 schools that are unwanted, the easier option is to pull down the few schools that still perform?

Here is the fact: It does not matter from where the children come from, these few schools CANNOT accommodate the thousandswho apply to go there.

In my mind the problem is human rights, and that everyone is equal. This leads to a myriad problems. The teacher who gets pupils pregnant and abstains from school, has equal rights to the teacher who works selflessly with almost no help from government.

The failing student with NSFAS funding who after six years is still a student, has equal rights to the 2nd-year student who passed and sleeps in toilets because he cannot afford accommodation.

Where I agree with you is children have rights, and we as society must nurture, protect and train them as they are our greatest assets.

How I wish we had leaders who had sleepless nights about the rights of our children, instead of having sleepless nights about how to stay on the gravy train.

Now the sleepless nights are dominated by schemes to hide incompetence, gain votes by pointing fingers, “plannetjies” to syphon off the money.

I really do not care which political party governs South Africa, as long as we can have leaders of integrity, focus and honesty. Henley on Klip