Political strife, corruption, incapacity, the weather, apartheid, geographical constraints, teachers, parents, suppliers... you name it, has been blamed for why the government is most unlikely to meet the Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure by November 29. That’s the date that has been struck in law, and it’s a promise to its children which the state will probably break. Here, two of Equal Education’s young Equalisers tell us of their experiences...
Mary-Kendy Mangiwa
South Africa is a country that values and preserves its diverse and rich history. It nurtures and protects places that the nation’s struggle heroes set foot in. It gives dignity, honour and respect to all who use those facilities and emphasises the roles heroes have played in the mighty struggle for democracy.
Ironically enough, the foundation where these heroes started is left in the dust, burnt to ash.
I am a Grade 11 pupil at the historic Forbes Grant, situated in the famous Ginsberg, home of black consciousness leader Steve Biko. Forbes Grant is a school that groomed intellectual leaders such as Steve Tshwete, Griffiths Mxenge and Biko, to name a few.
Our school is left in the dark with poor infrastructure. School infrastructure provides the building blocks that make a school a school, from the tables in classrooms to the fences that protect them.
The Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure stipulates the level of infrastructure that all schools must have to function properly and deadlines by which time this infrastructure must be provided. The first deadline is November 29 this year. I became aware of Norms and Standards as soon as I joined Equal Education, an education advocacy organisation.
I developed a sudden interest in this law, because I realised how it applied to my school.
The day our school came down in flames was like a movie I wanted to see end. It was March 2014 when a block of science labs was burnt by huge flames, causing grief to the science pupils. Bunsen burners, glass tubes and various chemicals all died in the great fire.
The fire meant that those pupils were unable to do any experiments.
One of the structural issues we face is the clumsy fence around our school.
The unsafe and weak wire fence that is in place gives criminals the opportunity to come in, harass us and threaten us with deadly weapons in our classrooms. There is no security whatsoever, which makes us victims of crime.
Our health is also compromised by the situation of our school. The dirty and filthy toilets we are restricted to using are a health hazard.
Countless numbers of our pupils miss exams and classes due to the numerous infections they contract from these so-called toilets.
Also, we suffer the pain of studying in dark and cold classrooms due to the electricity shortage.
A safe and properly equipped environment can create an amazing learning and teaching community. Unfortunately, this is not the case for those of us at Forbes Grant.
I was a part of two marches with Equal Education, one to the Bhisho Legislature and one to the Department of Education. We wanted the government to be aware of our cries for Norms and Standards. I am also a part of Equal Education Radio, a podcast that shares information and stories about the education system.
We have produced episodes about our marches and about the Norms and Standards - they are available to download on the EE website.
We are sitting, patiently waiting in the dark for our school to have proper resources. I am leaving this school the year after next, because I am in Grade 11.
I hope that the school will be better in the future, so that at least pupils who are in Grade 8 can have it better than us.
When I am successful, I will become a lawyer and lead change in our schools, since the Department of Education is dismally failing us.
It has been three years since the regulations have been in place, but still thousands of schools lack many educational resources - and Forbes Grant is one of them.
Still, we wait for our time to come. We wait for our school to have functioning infrastructure.
Luve Ngqeme
I am a Grade 9 pupil in my first year at Iqonce High. When I was told about Iqonce High, I thought it would be a proper school because it is named after King William’s Town (eQonce).
But when I arrived, I immediately thought Iqonce was a house, not a school. There are not enough classrooms. For science class, Grade E sits outside under a tree.
My year has been trying because of the bad school infrastructure, which is one of the reasons I joined Equal Education (EE) - a movement of pupils, parents and community members fighting for quality and equality in South Africa’s education system.
As part of EE, I wrote a letter to the Eastern Cape Education MEC Mandla Makupula, calling him to pay attention to what we are struggling with and to try, as a parent, to have sympathy for our situation and fix it.
It was when I became an Equaliser (high school member of EE) that I learnt about the Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure.
These describe the basics every school needs to function like water, electricity and sanitation, as well as a structure that is not made out of wood, asbestos or metal.
I was curious then: Why is Iqonce considered a school if it is in this building and in these conditions?
Why is Iqonce High placed next to a shebeen with a garage nearby?
There are times when men drag race during school hours, and the sound of cars getting revved becomes very disturbing.
Things are especially bad now, after the fire.
When two wooden classrooms at Iqonce High School burnt down on July 19, Grade 9 and Grade 10 pupils suffered because of the shortage of tables and chairs.
Grade 12 pupils had to borrow furniture from other classrooms to take their trial exams because there was not enough for everyone.
Pupils had to stand while they were being taught or sit on top of desks.
Finally, on September 1, we received more tables and chairs from the provincial Department of Education.
Still, other kids attend classes at the car garage because there is no better classroom that can be provided for them.
In one “classroom”, there is no ceiling, and the toilet is nearby, so when someone is using the toilet, the smell disturbs everyone.
The painful thing for me is that some of the pupils don’t attend school anymore because of the situation.
It is in these circumstances that very soon, we will be starting exams for the third term. I am worried that we will not get good marks - simply because of the challenges that we as Iqonce High School pupils face.
Slowly but surely, Iqonce High School is falling apart, and the government does not seem to be taking any action. For all that we know, no one is doing anything about Iqonce High.
A week after the classrooms burnt down, we were told that we might go to study at Forbes Grant. But we didn’t. I don’t know why.
Next year, we will be celebrating 20 years of Iqonce High School, and I want to celebrate a school that is actually a school, from the building to the furniture, with enough teachers and books.
I want to see a school that I can be proud of - that has clean toilets, enough furniture and enough textbooks. I just want to carry on studying, to be in this movement, and to one day, become an architect.
Youth activists protest for education: a timeline
* April 1-2 2015
250 Equalisers (high school members of Equal Education) and Equal Education (EE) staff sleep outside the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) in Zwelitsha to demand that the Department of Basic Education release the provincial implementation plans for Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure, explaining how the department is going to fix the worst-off schools by November 29.
This is part of national action which also sees sleep-ins and protests in Cape Town and Pretoria.
* May 2015
Over 2 000 EE members and supporters from around the Eastern Cape march to the ECDoE in Zwelitsha, again demanding the release of the provincial implementation plans, and the timeous fulfilment of the Norms and Standards. The plans are released two weeks later.
* November 30 2015
EE members hold a picket outside the ECDoE to protest the slow progress made in fixing schools.
With one year to go until the deadline by which schools made of inappropriate materials must be replaced, and all schools be provided with water, sanitation and electricity, a fraction of Eastern Cape schools in need have been attended to. The picket is also a response to the ECDoE ignoring EE’s requests for a meeting.
* April 5 2016
EE leads 3 000 pupils, parents and teachers in a march to the ECDoE in Zwelitsha, demanding that both the provincial and national departments are held accountable for the education crisis in the Eastern Cape, that progress reports on school infrastructure provision are released, and that steps are taken to renew the failing department, including appointing permanent leadership and filling teacher vacancies.
The Eastern Cape government promises to secure a meeting between EE and the MEC for Education in the Eastern Cape within a week, but, unsurprisingly, this is postponed.
* April 22 2016
Following the failure of the MEC to meet with EE earlier that month, Equalisers in the Eastern Cape hold their regular youth group - in which they engage on campaigns and learn about South African history, politics and education - at the gates of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature. EE asks the Education Portfolio Committee and Office of the Premier to join them in holding the ECDoE to account.
* 30 May 2016
EE members hold pickets around Bhisho and Zwelitsha to mark six months to go until the first Norms and Standards deadline and demand implementation of the Norms and Standards. However, EE notes that it is now clear the deadline will not be met.
Equal Education