Rural schools need funding, development

ALL Africans will agree with me that children in poor rural schools start the day in the dark, early hours of morning, preparing to walk to a school that is 10km or more away from their homes.

Sometimes there is no transport because there are no roads, or the weather conditions are harsh.

The children get exposed to rape and human trafficking at a very early stage of their lives. The schools they attend are poor, sub-standard and the level of education delivered is appalling, to say the least.

In some areas, the children are unable to attend school if it is raining because the rivers flood, and they have to stay away for weeks. Poor reading skills that are regularly splashed across the media are found in young children who are largely from such areas.

The bulk of pupils with poor reading skills are from disadvantaged and poor rural schools.

My other concern pertains to the systematic expulsion of children from the school system because of the problems mentioned above, and financial viability.

With the financial and technological resources available presently for these schools, it is not possible to envisage the growth of poor rural schools as well as the development of children born into families where the mother tongue is considered a language with a low status.

The department should, instead of depriving rural schools, apply and implement effective affirmative action.

Sustainable and creative affirmative action will be possible when Africans place as much importance on the development of poor rural schools as Covid-19 responses or election campaigns.

Instead of closing these schools, sustainable affirmative action must be embraced and implemented in poor rural schools.

Quotas must be scrapped and more teachers provided for them. Some Model C teachers have, in the past, expressed their eagerness to teach in rural schools, while some university students have also indicated that they are willing to assist with various subjects, e.g. Maths.

Instead of depriving poor children further, the department must be willing to dedicate time and resources to develop these schools further, bearing in mind that the future of Africa lies in these young and eager minds.

NELISA NTLAMA | Eastern Cape