The start of the school year was better than others have been in the past, but it was very far from perfect. Julia Grey reports
The many years of nagging schools to begin the year professionally and on time seem to finally be making a difference, as the majority of schools kicked into action on day one.
A strategy common to most of the provinces, and which is also putting pressure on educators to perform, is for top officials to drop in unannounced on targeted schools. Minister of Education Kader Asmal was another education official up and about early on January 16 when schools reopened in Gauteng, the North West, the Free State, Mpumalanga and the Northern Province (the other provinces reopened on January 23). Asmal and Gauteng MEC for Education Ignatius Jacobs hit on Sowetan schools, and despite various scenes of chaos, Asmal pronounced himself as “satisfied” with some of what he’d seen.
But in many ways, the lack of preparedness that has long characterised opening day was once again evident. President of the Congress of South African Students Lebogang Maile says that there was no learning and teaching at all in the majority of township schools on the first day. The reasons for this are wellknown, the most serious being the late registration of students. Repeated calls for parents to enrol their children by October for the next school year had some impact, but queues were still snaking around administration buildings at many schools.
However, Maile said that this was still an improvement, since “In the past there’d be no work throughout the first week in all schools.”
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) also blitzed several Gauteng-based schools to gauge if the learner’s right to education is really being met. They reported both success and disaster stories, the worst one being the deterioration of Alexandra High school. A SAHRC report describes conditions as “chaotic, with parents trying to register their children amidst an atmosphere of rebellion and negativism”. And the lack of interest in learning and teaching is clearly not restricted to the beginning of the school year: the report noted extensive vandalism, and “numerous incidents of violence” that occur throughout the year. No surprise that the matric pass rate has plummeted from a modest 22% to a shocking 0,7%, when only one out of a class of 140 passed.
Described as “dysfunctional”, Alexandra High may face closure unless drastic efforts from all stakeholders can reverse its dismal performance.
Mpolwane High school in Ekuvukeni, Kwazulu-Natal, was the scene of one of the few serious crimes at schools as they prepared for the new school year. Armed robbers stabbed three teachers, seriously wounding them, as they disappeared with R31 000 in registration fees. Said provincial education spokesperson Mandla Msibi: “We advise schools to open a bank account instead of collecting registration fees in cash. Collecting in cash is an open opportunity for criminals.”
All in all, this year’s start does seem a small step in the right direction. But given how atrocious other years’ beginnings have been, there’s not all that much to cheer about.
– The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, February, 2001.