Minister of Education Kader Asmal held a conference to assess the state of farm schools last month.
IN an effort to find a solution to the problems of farm schools, Minister of Education Kader Asmal convened a national conference on farm schools in Midrand on May 13.
”The Schools Register of Needs survey conducted by the Department of Education in 1996 found that farm schools were the most poorly resourced of all schools in the country,” Asmal said. The conference was attended by education representatives, farmer unions, labour representatives, education MECs and non-governmental organisations, among others.
According to the minister, there are about 4 600 farm schools in the country catering for some 600 000 learners. This makes up about 17% of all schools, which means that one in every five schools in the country is a farm school. One out of 13 farmers has established some facility for the education of children on farms.
The question of farm schools has been of concern to the Department of Education for some time. According to the department’s Charles Sheppard, they are ”a legacy of the previous government’s strategy on education provision”.
”Under the Bantu Education Act of 1953, farmers who established schools on their properties were provided with financial subsidies,” Sheppard said in a report on farm schools. ”They are, however, a critical sector in the education system, as farm schools provide education to one of the poorest groups in the country — the rural poor.”
Among the problems faced by farm schools are:
– The learners at farm schools are mostly the children of the farm labourers and farmers would often expect them to be available for additional labour, resulting in the disruption of the education process;
– Parents’ literacy levels are often low, which affects their participation in their children’s education;
– Lack of supervision in small schools leads to lack of educator accountability;
– Educators often have to teach five to six grades per class;
– Transport problems lead to frequent absenteeism;
– District officials often neglect farm schools in their planning and visits to schools; and
– Change of farm ownership and worker evictions make farm schools vulnerable.
Despite these problems, farm schools are recognised as a vital part of the country’s educational system. Their advantages include their location, closer link to the communities and a stronger focus on outcomes-based education.
While the schools were the responsibility of both the state and farmer during the apartheid era, the South African Schools Act of 1996 aimed to transform this sector throughout the country. Through this Act all farm schools have been proclaimed public schools, bringing them within the ambit of financing and governance provisions that apply to public schools.
”But for these provisions to be effected there is the legal obligation to conclude agreements between education MECs in the provinces and the owners of the farms on which schools are located,” the minister said. In terms of the Act, these agreements should have been concluded within six months of the implementation of the Act. The minister said that these agreements have ”only been concluded for about 10% of farm schools.
”Without these agreements the schools in question occupy a legal limbo, without any of the protection of any of the parties involved. The situation is untenable. It has made farm schools extremely vulnerable and, ultimately, it is the children who suffer,” Asmal said.
The lack of progress on agreements that would ensure government support for farm schools was one of the main reasons for the conference. The one important outcome of the conference was that ways of accelerating the process of finalising agreements were found.
The scope was not only restricted to agreements, however, but also looked at other problems affecting farm schools. One of the important players in the process leading up to the conference was the Transvaal Agricultural Union, which was determined to speed up the process of signing the agreements.
The conference hoped to facilitate:
– Partnership arrangements between the various national and provincial departments that play a role in education and human resource development in agriculture;
– Increased co-operation between the farming community, the state and other relevant parties regarding the provision of basic education on farms;
– A greater understanding among all parties of issues hampering educational provision at farm schools;
– A greater understanding of the conditions under which educators at farm schools live and teach;
– Agreement on the roles and responsibilities of various parties involved in farm school education;
– Agreement over processes to be instituted to secure educational rights over land on which schools are situated; and
– Guidelines and time limits to finalise agreements or expropriate or purchase schools.
Based on the discussions, programmes of action will be developed to meet the needs identified at the conference.
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, June 12, 2000.
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