EDITORIAL: Disempowering parents is risky
Options for the middle class are growing as private-sector companies roll out schools
The Department of Basic Education has published a draft bill that will amend various pieces of legislation including the South African Schools Act. The amendment seeks to clarify certain issues such as the authority to determine admission and language policies, which have given rise to extensive litigation. However, the most important objective of these amendments is the one that aims to stamp out the corruption that has become endemic in the appointment of promotion posts in schools. In poorer communities, where the stakes are high as to who gets that much sought-after promotion, school governing bodies and trade union officials have used their leverage in the process to earn extra cash. Two years ago, a commission headed by Prof John Volmink stated emphatically — to quote educationalist Nic Spaull — "that Sadtu [South African Democratic Teachers Union] had captured the education department in most provinces". Sadtu’s extensive influence has developed despite parent members being t...
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