Shining examples of township school success
Let’s be honest — access to quality education remains a struggle in this country. That is why the efforts of Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi should be supported by everyone concerned at the state of education in SA. All he wants is for every child to have access to decent education. Yes, there may be problems with the way he is going about it. But his heart is in the right place. Every year around this time Gauteng battles to find places in their preferred schools for tens of thousands of learners entering the new school year. Lesufi this week assured parents that their children will be placed.
In line with this promise his officials have started consulting school principals, trying to persuade them to increase classroom capacity. While Lesufi has many critics, he deserves credit for his efforts to improve the quality and standards of township and rural schools. Since taking over in 2014, Lesufi has made it his mission to channel desperately needed resources to township schools. This is critical if we are to guarantee that every child has access to quality education.
Progress has been slow, but we are now beginning to see these efforts bear fruit. Two examples are featured in this edition — a school in Soweto that just 20 years ago was on the verge of closing, and one in Daveyton that began as a refuge for “unsuitable” children. Now pupils are beating down the doors of these schools for admission. Unity Secondary School in Daveyton and Bhukulani Secondary in Soweto demonstrate what can be achieved when township schools are given the right resources, including human and financial.
There are many other examples, such as Silikamva High, a non-fee-paying school in Hout Bay with the potential to accommodate up to 1,000 pupils. When it opened six years ago, the school’s facilities comprised a shipping container and mobile classrooms. Now, thanks to a partnership between the private sector, donors, civil society and the Western Cape government, the school has been transformed. Pupils go to class in new brick buildings and there is a basketball court; the school aspires to eventually be one of the best in Cape Town with a multimedia centre, science labs and library.