The minister of basic education’s answers to parliamentary questions reaffirmed that Gauteng’s MEC for education, Panyaza Lesufi, has an agenda of its own aimed at Afrikaans schools in this province.
So said adv. Anton Alberts, chairman of the FF Plus.
Alberts said the minister, Angie Motshekga, has also confirmed that the proposed change to the Schools Act has nothing to do with apartheid, which is in line with Lesufi’s statements that it aims to eradicate apartheid practices.
According to the minister, the necessary changes to move away from apartheid in education fully endorsed the creation of the Schools Act.
Adv. Alberts said the positive result from his questions to the minister is that she has reaffirmed that Afrikaans schools have nothing to fear as long as they are full. This also differs from Lesufi’s threats that even full schools will have to make room for foreign language learners.
“The fact is that Lesufi does not act in line with its given budget and builds more schools, nor threatens to force English schools to take on additional students, leads to one distraction, and that is that he wants to destroy Afrikaans schools.”
“Lesufi’s dishonesty darkens, and unfortunately, he acts like a demagogue with his own agenda and not as a responsible provincial MEC for education, which must be looked after by all the pupils in his province, regardless of the language they speak.”
“However, the FF Plus is strongly opposed to the proposed amendments to the Schools Act as it will take school language policy out of the hands of the community.”
“The centralization of power is undemocratic and comes down to the expropriation of the democratic rights of parents about their children’s educational environment, which can be the worst form of expropriation in a constitutional democratic order. It contradicts the letter and spirit of the Constitution.”
“The FF Plus agrees with the minister that a lack of education infrastructure is a significant problem. She must, therefore, ensure that enough schools can be built to accommodate all languages without impairing a single language.
“It is insightful that the minister could not answer to new buildings and whether it meets the needs in Gauteng and nationally. She had to request the information. This means that any pressure placed on any Afrikaans schools to incorporate foreign language learners is irrational and motivated because how can it be determined whether there is a need to force Afrikaans schools to open if there is no data on new schools not?”
This is in line with the issue that new schools in Gauteng and possibly nationally cannot be built regarding the infrastructure budget allocated to provinces each year. Therefore, there must be a complete audit to determine whether MECs from across the country are building new schools and how the money they receive is actually being used.
“Without such auditing, Afrikaans schools will remain under siege, notwithstanding the premier’s assurances. The FF Plus proposes that an independent audit in this regard be done as soon as possible,” said adv. Alberts.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
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