It is wrong for people with little experience to shape SA’s education
THE NEW draft bill on basic education will restore public confidence in the terrain of education
I salute Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga for pushing a new draft bill on basic education which will strip school governing bodies (SGBs) of the authority to appoint principals, deputy principals and heads of departments.
The bill is expected to give the department more power to prevent the disruption of schooling and reduce corruption in the appointment of school heads.
One of the reasons South Africa experiences an ailing education system is the presence of people who have not even been to class, but are given the responsibility to take decisions affecting the entire terrain of education.
Government is moving towards the right direction by taking power away from SGBs and unions, which have misused the appointment processes to favour their own cadres.
Most rural schools have SGB members who know nothing about education or the philosophy of teaching and learning, yet they have a duty to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of learners throughout the country.
This bill will definitely put an end to these unbecoming acts of sabotage and hopefully restore public confidence in the entire terrain of education.
Education transformation remains a highly contested terrain of struggle 25 years after the dawn of democracy.
The time for cadre deployment is over. Now is the time to prioritise education in words and deeds. We know that others will argue that the SGBs need to be changed instead of stripping them of powers to appoint.
Our view is that the entire system needs to be changed.
It is very heart-breaking to see someone who has never taught learners being appointed to advise a minister of education when there are so many capable professionals who can do the job better. Every time a minister needs advice, the advisers do research. Professionals have readily available answers because they are actively involved in education every day of their lives.
Our comrades and friends from the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) must be honest with themselves. They too have contributed to the decline of education in this country. This country has lost a lot of teaching time because of the strikes by teachers under the banner of Sadtu.
Parliament must go ahead and debate the draft bill until it is adopted into law. |
Most rural schools have SGB members who know nothing