Equal Education open letter to the President, Minister of Basic Education, Minister of Finance, Minister of Health, and Minister of Cooperative Governance - Fix and fund public schools, close the widening equality gap! Education is a right, not a privilege!
1 February 2021
“I feel as learners are not being prioritised here especially in government schools. We are told to shut down but no one realises the pressure that’s being put on us. School last year was very horrible and stressful. This is because private schools were operating and we couldn’t really. It didn’t sit well with me.” – Roy Johane, Grade 12 Equaliser (learner member of Equal Education), Gauteng
Dear PresidentRamaphosa, Minister Motshekga, Minister Mboweni, Minister Mkhize, and Minister Dlamini-Zuma
We fear that government is not doing all that it can to prevent the inequality in our education system from widening in the face of COVID-19, as public schools remain closed until 15 February while the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is unbothered with private schools reopening their gates or teaching remotely right now.
The ongoing difference between the support learners in public schools and those in private schools have received during the pandemic, highlights a bigger problem that has been developing over years: the massive education inequality in our country. Education should be a right, but in our country it's a privilege!