AfriForum wants Gauteng Education MEC replaced
“His actions (Lesufi) infringes on the rights of the school governing bodies to the detriment of high-quality education.”
In a letter addressed to the Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, civil rights organisation group AfriForum has requested that the current MEC for Gauteng Education, Panyaza Lesufi, be replaced.
AfriForum head of education Carien Bloem said the organisation was concerned about Lesufi’s alleged on-going targeting of schools in Gauteng based on ideological considerations.
This comes after the newly proposed school regulations (published for public comments July 31) in which AfriForum claimed this attitude represented Lesufi’s way of gaining complete control over the placement of learners in schools.
The organisation argues that should the regulation be accepted without change, school communities would have no say regarding the language policy and the placement process of learners in schools.
“His actions infringe on the rights of school governing bodies to the detriment of high-quality education, and the welfare of learners.
“Changing the school regulations as proposed would mean that all applications, placements and the management of schools, would be centralised through the online platform, giving officials complete control,” said Bloem.
The figures brought to the attention of AfriForum showed Gauteng had a shortage of at least 348 schools at the beginning of 2018, while only 85 new schools had been built in the previous financial year.
Despite what the statistics show, the organisation said Lesufi continues to focus on targeting the policies of successful, functional schools rather than providing more schools to address the need for access.
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“AfriForum has received numerous complaints from the parents whose children have been incorrectly placed, or not placed at all, for 2019, despite the fact that they followed the registration process to a tee.
“This highlights the problems at Gauteng’s Education Department,” said Bloem.
Bloem went on to state that the MEC’s constant attacks on schools that offer Afrikaans single-medium instruction polarises South African communities to the disadvantage of social cohesion.
The organisation wants to have Lesufi replaced by a person who is more focused on the quality of education rather than ideological considerations.
The welfare of learners, positive support for school governing bodies, the increased functionality of existing schools and the building of more schools, should be placed above ideological considerations, the letter stated.
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