Use school governing body elections to make a difference, says FEDSAS
Any parent with a child in grade R to grade 12 may stand for election or vote in the election.
MBOMBELA – The elections of school governing bodies start country-wide on March 1.
These elections take place ever three years and are the biggest election of public representatives in South Africa besides the national, provincial and municipal elections.
“Public schools belong to the community in which these schools are located, and these schools are governed and managed by the specific governing body.
This means that the governing body has a significant influence on children’s education, and determines amongst others a school’s ethos and mission statement, policies regarding admission and language as well as financial management.
The elections enable parents to have a say in who serves on this body that is responsible for important decisions regarding their children’s education and that has a direct impact on the quality of education that children receive,” says Mr Paul Colditz, CEO of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS).
Any parent with a child in grade R to grade 12 may stand for election or vote in the election.
Education in South Africa is facing many problems.
“However, quite a number of these problems could be addressed by competent, knowledgeable and committed governing bodies.
The success of a school is directly linked to the ability of the governing body, which means parents are obliged to vote in order to ensure that the interests of their children as well as the broader school community are served.”
FEDSAS represents the interests of more than 1800 school governing bodies in South Africa.
“As with previous elections, FEDSAS will be involved extensively in terms of creating awareness and providing training,” says Dr Jaco Deacon, Deputy CEO of FEDSAS.
This includes access to experts in school governance and management who will be available for media interviews, analysis and the interpretation of election procedures.
“Creating awareness amongst parents regarding the elections as well as the procedures is our most important task.
After the elections FEDSAS will again make its resources and knowledge available to train governing bodies and equip them for the task,” says Deacon.
FEDSAS wants to emphasise that the responsibility to make a difference now rests upon parents.
“High participation in the elections will increase the quality of school management. An ineffective governing body diminishes a school community’s bargaining power with the state as well as the broader society,” says Colditz.
