Western Cape schools are unsafe, unsanitary and lacking in maintenance budgets, according to recent findings by Equal Education.
|||Cape Town - Western Cape schools are unsafe, unsanitary and lacking in maintenance budgets, according to recent findings of human rights activist organisation Equal Education.
In response, the Western Cape education department has conducted its own schools audit, in what seems to be an attempt to counter the findings.
Equal Education conducted an audit in 244 no-fee schools which serve 217 388 pupils across the province between September and November 2015. They acquired data from 912 questionnaires which were answered by pupils, 220 which were answered by school administrators and from 229 physical inspections.
According to Equal Education, at least one in six pupils and administrators felt unsafe in public schools because of violent incidents they had either witnessed or were involved in. The report also revealed that at least 4 percent of administrators in the sampled schools said an incident of rape occurred in their school in the past year. The report went on to say corporal punishment was rife in some schools.
“Principals, teachers and school governing bodies, already responsible for the most under-resourced sector of the education system, are being left with the bulk of the responsibility for school safety. Educators, particularly at poorer schools, are not capacitated for the development and execution of crime-prevention strategy,” the report read.
The head of Equal Education in the Western Cape, Nishal Robb, said they submitted their findings to the department three weeks ago and requested a response. However, no response was received.
The spokeswoman for Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, Jessica Shelver, said they would not be responding to the Equal Education report as yet.
“We will only be providing a response to the audit next week once we have completed our analysis.”
Robb said one of the schools they audited, Weltevrede High School in Wellington, was in dire condition this time last year.
“We were struck in particular by the condition of perimeter fencing and walls - there were massive open holes in the wall and people were entering and exiting the school grounds freely. A school with zero access control cannot be considered safe; especially if there is gang activity and poor policing in the surrounding community,” he said.
When Weekend Argus visited the same school this week during the school holiday break, the front part of the school appeared neat with planted trees and a relatively well-kept garden. However, a short drive around the perimeter wall showed a totally different picture.
The brick wall meant to secure the school premises had a hole which was used by several people to gain access into the school yard. There was a pile of rubbish strewn near what could be a netball court. The grass on the rugby field was recently cut but on the rest of the backyard, it was overgrown, with clear pathways from the broken wall to the school building. There were traces of excrement on the school grounds and near the buildings.
It did, however, seem some issues raised by the Equal Education report were being attended to.
The WCED is studying the report carefully.
noloyiso.mtembu@inl.co.za
@NoloyisoMtembu
Weekend Argus