Building Bridges for Education: LRC Meets with New Minister to Address Urgent Schooling Challenges
Earlier today, the Legal Resources Centre, represented by Cameron McConnachie, Shaatirah Baboo, and Kristen Abrahams, met with the newly appointed Minister of Basic Education, Ms. Siviwe Gwarube, as part of her “Listening and Learning Tour” of the education sector. The LRC, along with Equal Education, the Equal Education Law Centre, and Section 27, engaged with the Minister to discuss some of the pressing issues that they have been addressing in the education sector.
The LRC took this opportunity to highlight some of the critical challenges faced by our clients and learners across the country. We focused on the ongoing scholar transport crisis, which has left nearly 40,000 children in the Eastern Cape without transport to and from school. Additionally, we emphasized the urgent need for the Minister and her department to find a solution to the overcrowding of classrooms that learners across the country are forced to endure. We also raised concerns regarding the current Norms and Standards for School Funding, which have allowed the Eastern Cape Education Department to fund schools in the province at nearly 60% of the level that schools in other provinces receive.
This meeting was a promising first step in building a relationship with the new Minister. We hope that through collaboration with the Minister and her department, we can work together to ensure that every child in the country has access to quality education and avoid protracted and costly litigation.
