Minister of Education shows herself to be education tyrant

4 December 2019

Communities should have control over their schools by means of school governing bodies – and it applies to the curriculum as well. That is the only reasonable reaction to the most recent statements made by the Minister of Basic Education about comprehensive sexuality education.

During the debate about the adjustment budget, Minister Angie Motshekga was asked in a parliamentary question whether parents will have the right to remove their children from classes so that they can follow an alternative curriculum.

In her response, the Minister said that parents will have to come to school to look after their children during those times. In her opinion, that is the only way in which parents will be able to exercise that right.

In addition, Motshekga once again reacted to the criticism in a derogatory way.

The FF Plus wants to remind the Minister and school governing bodies that public schools belong to the communities – and not the government.

The Department sets certain minimum requirements by means of curriculum statements, namely CAPS. In schools, it is the teachers' responsibility to determine the content that they teach as long as it meets the minimum requirements.

Schools can and should take it on themselves to develop their own appropriate learning materials through teachers, governing bodies and parents. It is a form of civil activism that the tyrannical Department of Basic Education will not be able to withstand in the long run.

Issued by Wynand Boshoff, FF Plus MP and chief spokesperson: Basic Education, 4 December 2019