There is no justification for violence and irresponsible action by any student on any campus in South Africa, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor said on Tuesday.
Commenting in the National Assembly on protest action by students on several Gauteng university campuses, she said: ”That’s where we must begin. There is no cause; the mergers [of some technikons and universities] are not the cause.
”There is no reason for anyone to act in the manner we have observed on television in recent days. It’s absolutely unacceptable and I object to it,” Pandor said.
Secondly, the mergers will not result in an equalisation of staff salaries or campus fees.
”That is not going to happen,” the minister said.
Pandor said a number of institutions had approached the department indicating that they had difficulties with respect to the fee structure.
”And we have been able when approached to arrive at a result that avoids the kind of situation that we’re seeing on our campuses.”
She rejected allegations that the department is not acting decisively. This shows an absolute lack of appreciation ”of the fact that our officials do not sleep, spending time on the campuses avoiding the kind of trouble that we have seen”.
They should rather be congratulated for the role many of them has played in assisting to resolve the disputes.
Pandor again urged the leaders of institutions to ensure they engage with their student representative committees and student leadership on their campuses.
Protests ‘partly due to schools’ success’
Meanwhile, reports Fran Blandy in Johannesburg, Gauteng education MEC Angie Motshekga said on Tuesday that the province’s university protests are partly caused by Gauteng’s success in getting more pupils through matric, and more poor pupils qualifying for tertiary education.
”This puts a huge strain on tertiary education. Underprivileged students are frustrated because they don’t get scholarships, and universities are pressured by the debt of non-paying learners,” Motshekga said.
She said the province tries to provide bursaries, but this will not solve a national problem.
”It is unfortunate, and I sympathise with both parties. Universities have to cut costs and students from poor families want to study,” she said.
Noting that some protesting students are underperformers who do not qualify for bursaries or object to being refused to register for a subject they have failed twice, she said: ”This behaviour disrupts the quality of education and demotivates academics.”
Improvement in the quality of school education is crucial if Gauteng is to become a successful global province, she said at a media briefing in Johannesburg, in which she addressed issues raised by Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa in his address to the opening of the legislature on Monday.
Subjects such as mathematics, science and accounting are offered by more than 90% of schools but there are still not enough pupils taking these subjects on higher grade.
”This year, 56% of our pupils will write mathematics higher grade,” said Motshekga.
A programme will be launched on June 1 under which qualifying poverty-stricken pupils will receive free uniforms, meals, scholar transport and school-fee exemptions.
Currently, there are only four Gauteng schools without electricity.
”This is due to the fact that these schools are situated in areas without access to the electricity network,” said Motshekga, who added that this is being investigated.
The increased number of children staying in school beyond grade eight has left a shortage of 5 359 secondary classrooms, particularly in new settlements and informal settlements.
The overcrowding of schools will be combated by the Register Your Child Early campaign, to be launched in June.
Efforts to improve post-school education and address issues of drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, teenage pregnancy and bullying are also being intensified.
Motshekga said Gauteng will be going online in a programme that will give all public schools fully equipped computer laboratories linked to the cyber community by the end of 2006. — Sapa