---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: karabo klaas <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 5:56 PM Subject: If the Minister will not come to us, we will go to Pretoria! To: Equal Education Staff <[email protected]>
Equal Education Press Statement For immediate release 30 March 2011 *If the Minister will not come to us, we will go to Pretoria!* Following our 20 000-strong march on Parliament on Human Rights Day, *Equal Education (EE) is holding a picket on the Union Buildings lawn, Pretoria/Tshwane, on Thursday, the 31st of March. A memorandum will be handed over at 2:00pm.* *We want decent school infrastructure!* On the 21st of March, 20 000 people gathered to demand decent school infrastructure. EE leader Yoliswa Dwane told the crowd: "We will not rest until we see all schools functioning properly, with proper physical resources distributed to all schools equally!" We want libraries and laboratories in our schools, and we want toilets that flush. We refuse to see children in the Eastern Cape going to school in mud structures, and we insist that rural schools are electrified and connected to water. According to government statistics, 3,600 schools have no electricity, 2,444 have no water supply and 92% do not have stocked libraries. Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, chose not to attend on Human Rights Day. This was an error of judgment. Her repeated non-attendance at EE marches means that she is missing opportunities to build alliances with thousands of young allies who want to work with her to fix education. EE reaffirms its commitment to work with the Minister to implement the Infrastructure Standards, once they are passed, and to support her leadership of education in South Africa. *Now let’s win School Infrastructure Norms & Standards for generations to come!* The key demand of the Equal Education youth is National Minimum Norms & Standards for School Infrastructure. This is not just our bright idea. The South African Schools Act itself, in Section 5A, gives the Minister the power to set Infrastructure Standards. Although this provision has been in existence since 2007, the Minister has failed to create Infrastructure Standards. In 2010, because of EE's campaigning, a National Policy was passed, which said that Infrastructure Standards must be adopted by 1 April 2011. That is a commitment made by the Minister and not yet delivered. She now has less than 2 days to fulfil it, and EE will be picketing in Pretoria/Tshwane to remind her of this promise! For more press comment please contact: Yoliswa Dwane [email protected] 021 387 0022/3 For information about logistics please contact: Lukhanyo Mangona [email protected] 082 595 8600 *Regards, Karabo Monatisi Equal Education: Communication and Media Liaison* *Policy Communication and Research Chat with us on Mxit: +277233312343* *Twitter: equal_education* *(T) 021 387 0022/3* *(F) 086 511 7807 (C) 072 425 9732 [email protected]* *www.equaleducation.org.za* -- [email protected] or [email protected]. You will find me on both e-mails cell:0789228959 tell:021-387-0022/3 fax:086 604 1369 "Sometimes, if you wear suits for too long, it changes your ideology." - Joe Slovo -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
