pupils and parents to plough back either in kind or money into their old
schools
28 February 2007
Speaking at the launch of the Cato Manor Whole School Development Initiative
where Cronje was the keynote speaker, she said much can be learnt from why some
schools fail and why some succeed. The two learners who had the highest marks
for mathematics and science in the 2006 Matric exam came both from schools in
Umlazi. However, as MEC Cronje pointed out, some other schools, that serve
parents and learners with the same background and which have similar resources,
performed poorly.
In underperforming schools one often finds poor parental involvement. This,
said Cronje, goes hand in hand with higher absenteeism, poor attendance, a
general negative attitude and with a variety of other social ills, such as
substance and drug abuse and teenage pregnancy. "It is essential that parents
become involved at their children's schools. There are various ways to get
parents to come to school. It does not have to be a heavy agenda. One way is to
organise fun events to pull parents to become involved at their children's
schools. Ward councillors also have meaningful roles to play by bringing the
community together. Churches can also be invited to social school events."
Praising Moses Tembe, chairman of the Greater Durban Community Foundation
for his interest in his old school, MEC Cronje urged past pupils to go back to
their schools to plough back either in kind or in money.
She said she is always delighted to discover that there is so much goodwill
for education. "I have often said that education is everybody's business. There
is not a single one here who is not prepared to walk the extra mile. It would
indeed be a very foolish country and government that did not make education its
top priority."
She said the Cubans' national commitment to education struck all South
Africans during a visit to the World Literacy Conference in 2006. "South Africa
is at that point that we realise that unless we put everything into the
education of our people, we will not realise our goals. We can talk as much as
we like � not everything requires money, but unfortunately some things do
require money."
Responding to a baseline study that was conducted by the Institute for
Partnerships of Education and Business at 14 schools in Cato Manor, Cronje said
key in partnerships between the education department, business and other
entities, is the consistency of the messages that are sent out. "Officials from
the department gave various inputs today on infrastructure plans, school
nutrition, adult literacy and steps that the department has taken to turn
around under performing schools. These are action plans with deadlines. I have
been stressing to officials and principals the importance to be businesslike.
It is not airy fairy and tomorrow is another day."
"Within these action plans is space for everybody. We cannot do it alone.
Education is everybody's business especially the task of redress of levelling
the plain fields to give everybody the opportunity to be unequal. We need the
input from businesses, their expertise, management skills, and the approach of
how to get a job done. And although we must work harder and smarter we also
need business for financial support to assist us with our task of redress."
Touching on the greening and beautification of schools, she shared an
experience of a school that had been vandalised to a point that even the door
frames were gone. It had a 15% pass in the 2006 matric examinations. "The
school was filthy with cow dung and weeds everywhere. People respond to beauty
and good things and I suggested that they start with a symbolic cleansing of
the school. Flowers and plants can be obtained for free from the Departments of
Agriculture and Environmental Affairs and Water and Forestry. I strongly
believe that children want to go to a school that looks nice, warm and
friendly."
Some schools need more mentoring and additional motivation. Cronje urged
ward councillors get to know education ward managers in their areas. "The
officials are clear that they must work with social partners. The department
can guide individuals and organisations how to best assist particular schools.
A certain businessman put two wooden cabins at a particular school where we
want to start digging the foundations for six new classrooms. He never came
near our infrastructure component or any official but contacted the media.
While we are extremely grateful and need that involvement it can't be a
surprise. It has to be in conjunction with the relevant component and its
action plans. My heartfelt plea is that we co-ordinate and work together. We
have worked and planned projects with various entities and they have been
wonderful successes."
Other key areas where social partners are needed include Early Childhood
Development, especially at community sites as it is financially impossible for
the department to provide qualified Grade R teachers attached to all schools.
Adult literacy especially the Masifundisane mass literacy campaign also needs
the support of None-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), councillors, churches
and business.
The KZN Education Department is already feeding more than 1,3 million
children in KwaZulu-Natal, half of the school population but do not have money
to feed more children. "A hungry child cannot function optimally. If you can
assist in community feeding schemes that fall outside our quintiles, we will be
very grateful."
Cronje urged stakeholders to get in touch with the relevant components to
guide them. It is wonderful if we can all get together and say yes, we can make
a difference. Fourteen schools out of 6 000 is a tiny number of the huge
picture. But a journey of a 1 000 miles starts with the first step. It is
plough back time.
The Cato Manor Whole School Development Initiative is a holistic approach to
improving the learning environment facing more than 11 000 children who attend
14 schools in Cato Manor every day.
The KZN Department of Education, Greater Durban Community Foundation,
eThekwini Municipality and Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry have joined
hands to provide quality education and develop strong communities. Other
partners in the development of strong communities in Durban include Business
Against Crime, Centre for the Advancement of Science and Maths Education,
Environment and Language Education Trust, Institute for Partnerships between
Business and Education, Operation Upgrade, Project Build, Training and
Education for Early Education, and the Wildlife and Environment Society of
South Africa.
Issued by: Department of Education, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government
28 February 2007
