Speech by Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, to the march of the Equal Education Campaign on Human Rights Day, 21 March 2010, Cape Town

I bring greetings and support from the Congress of South African Trade Unions and its two million members, to this most important and very necessary march.

Today is Human Rights Day and it is very appropriate that on the 50^th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, we are talking about one of our most fundamental rights, enshrined in Clause 29 of the Bill of Rights, which says: "Everyone has the right to a basic education, including adult basic education, and to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible."

A top-quality, accessible and affordable public education system is not a privilege for a few but a right for every South African. But it is also a necessity if we are serious about transforming our society and building a just and prosperous South Africa for future generations. Education is the foundation on which all nations have liberated themselves, arguably more important than any other area of development.

Quite rightly education is one of the five priorities for the ANC and the government. It is one of the cornerstones of their developmental strategy. But they face an immense task, one which they cannot do on their own. That is why initiatives like yours are so important, involving broader layers of our society in actively campaigning and working for a fully transformed, equal and accessible education system.

COSATU has thrown its weight behind your mounting grassroots campaign to get libraries into every public school in the country. It is absolutely scandalous that only eight percent of public schools have adequate libraries, mostly in privileged former Model C schools. Access to books, and these days we need to add access to computers with internet access, are a necessary part of every child's education.

Whilst we have made tremendous progress on many areas of education, such as improving infrastructure, delivery of books, enrolment of children, in particular girls, improving access by opening more no-fee schools, etc. we have not succeeded in transforming the education system in both quality and quantity.

Of the 1 550 790 South African children who started school in 1998, only 551 940 of them registered for the matric class. That is a drop-out rate of 64%. Of these 551 940 who wrote matric exams, only 334 609 (60.6%) passed matric and just 109 697 achieved university entrance.

That means that 1 216 181 of the original 1998 intake are left with no qualifications and, given the current rate of unemployment, no jobs, no hope and no future. No wonder 75% of all the unemployed are made up of those who are below the age of 35 years. No wonder why there is so much crime and other social ills such collapse of family values, HIV/AIDS, etc.

The children of the rich are in private schools. The children of the middle class who are now joined by a minority of blacks are in the former Model C schools. Both private and former Model C schools are in varying degrees far better than the schools where the working class's kids are attending.

In searching for solutions to this crisis we should first of all reject the crass and simplistic view advanced by the Democratic Alliance, the Editor of the Sunday Times and other right-wing commentators that the problems of the education system are caused by the teachers' unions.

On the contrary three teachers' unions, representing more than 312,000 educators, issued an excellent statement in January 2010. It fully acknowledged the problems in education, affirmed their unequivocal commitment to the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC), and reassured the public that 2010 will see a practical expression of that commitment.

We warmly welcomed the selfless, heroic and revolutionary stance adopted by the SADTU leadership in its battle sometimes with its own structures and members to save generations of working class children from this unfolding tragedy.

For the sake our own children, and the generations to come, COSATU is joining hands with SADTU, NAPTOSA and SAOU and the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, who addressed the CEC, to take the following steps.

We are calling on educators to ensure that:

• Absenteeism among educators will be addressed and it will be required of all educators to complete attendance registers.
• School management teams will complete and implement school timetables in the shortest possible time to ensure that schools can begin their academic programmes from the first formal day of the new school term;
• Unacceptable and unprofessional conduct by educators will not be tolerated, and that their members cannot expect that the unions will protect guilty educators in an unquestionable manner;
• Educators will strive to be positive role models to learners as well as in their respective communities;
• School feeding schemes will be properly administered and managed in a transparent and equitable manner;
• The appropriate LTSM will be provided to learners in the shortest time possible;
• Educators will prepare for classes in a manner that can be expected of dedicated professional educators;
• Educators will comply with their administrative responsibilities to ensure that schools and learners are not disadvantaged;
• Educators and schools will enforce the appropriate codes of conduct at all schools to ensure that learners will abide by fair and equitable school rules; and
• Educators will attend relevant in-service training courses regarding the curriculum and school management to ensure that they are able to teach and manage in the most effective manner.

No education system can show meaningful progress unless the bureaucracy provides the required support to educators and schools and the respective provincial departments of education provide the enabling environment that makes it possible for schools to provide quality education. If such support is absent, or is not of an acceptable standard, schools find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to provide quality education.

We will campaign to ensure that workers, who are the parents, appreciate the critical role they can play in turning this situation around. In this regard we call on workers to stand for positions in the School Governing Bodies and call on them to:

• Empower themselves by attending appropriate training courses to be able to comply with their fiduciary duties and responsibilities towards the respective schools and school communities;
• Provide the required support to schools and educators in a manner that will not intrude on the professional terrain of principals and educators;

We appeal to parents to:

• Register learners timeously;
• Ensure that learners will attend schools and comply with schools' codes of conduct;
• Comply with their financial obligations towards schools;
• Attend the required school functions; and
• Foster a climate of respect for education, schools and educators.

We urge learners to:

• Attend school conscientiously;
• Work studiously and continuously;
• Diligently abide by school rules at all times;
• Show the required respect to schools and educators.

I wish your campaign well and promise that the South African workers are with you all the way. This is a campaign we simply cannot afford to lose.

Issued by COSATU, March 21 2010

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