Huffingtonpost on the 06 December 2016
The transformation agenda, especially in basic education, has been the terrain for the ceaseless battle for the implementation of the social contract which was formed sixty years ago on the streets of Kliptown, Soweto – The Freedom Charter. The Charter mandates that the “doors of learning and culture shall be open to all!” The mission of the African National Congress has always been to rid South Africa of the scourge of the apartheid and all its manifestations. Yet, 22 years into our democratic dispensation, many places of learning in the Eastern Cape Province continuously grapple with having to learn under difficult circumstances.
Six years after the 1
995 White Paper for Education and Training was drafted, the role of quality education was underscored in their vision which states that “education had to overcome the devastation of apartheid, and provide a system of education that builds democracy, human dignity, equality and social justice”.
During a two-day summit as far back as 2006, members of the Eastern Cape Department of Education reflected upon transformation in education in that province. Various problems were identified: a shortfall in learners’ skills development, in particular, literacy and numerical skills; an unequal distribution of resources and infrastructure; and a poor work ethic among educators.
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