Members Statement on Protests over Lack of Classrooms
2006-01-05. Yesterday the Western Cape Provincial Education Department was greeted by the sight of hundreds of protesting primary school pupils who were demanding the classrooms that had been promised to them. The Independent Democrats is appalled that primary school students have to resort to protesting in order to get the government to deliver on what is their constitutional right. What is even worse is that a commitment to deliver these classrooms was given last year and that these promises were simply broken. If we are prepared to break our promises to children over something as important as education then our society is in a very sorry state.
The Independent Democrats are tired
of excuses and the passing of the buck to other government departments
on this issue. ID brought up the concerns of non-delivery of mobile
classrooms in the Western Cape at the start of last year’s school year
and still the problem has not been resolved. Education is a
constitutional right that does not have a resources limitation, which
means the government cannot claim it does not have the money to build
these schools or classrooms. It is for that reason that the President
promised in his State of the Nation speech last year that by April this
year no child shall be taught under trees or in unsafe
structures.
This target has not been reached and in fact the budget that was allocated for it fell woefully short. Estimates are that we need between 12 and 20 billion Rand to address the backlogs in school provision. This money must be made available immediately and ring-fenced in conditional grants to provincial departments. If the department of public works cannot live up to its mandate then the department of education must take responsibility for this. The children of South Africa are entitled to their education and this is one thing our society can simply not compromise on. The ID demands urgent action to be taken on this issue.
This target has not been reached and in fact the budget that was allocated for it fell woefully short. Estimates are that we need between 12 and 20 billion Rand to address the backlogs in school provision. This money must be made available immediately and ring-fenced in conditional grants to provincial departments. If the department of public works cannot live up to its mandate then the department of education must take responsibility for this. The children of South Africa are entitled to their education and this is one thing our society can simply not compromise on. The ID demands urgent action to be taken on this issue.
