Western Cape learners make 20 demands of the Western Cape government and SAPS, including specialised, safe ways for learners to report rape and sexual assault, and patrols of routes that learners walk to school
21 September 2016
Equal Education today officially releases the list of demands that learner members of EE have put to representatives of the Western Cape government and SAPS following the release of the full Social Audit Report yesterday.
Yesterday at 16h00, Equalisers (learner members of Equal Education) representing over 50 schools held a press conference outside the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) offices in Parliament Street. Our final Social Audit report on schools in the Western Cape was handed to WC Education MEC Debbie Schafer, Community Safety MEC Dan Plato, and Deputy Provincial Police Commissioner Thembekile Patekile.
Social Development MEC Albert Fritz was also present at the press conference, but left halfway through without any apology or explanation to the learners present. Shameful behaviour by public officials appears to be trending nationally.
Our audit involved site visits and interviews with learners and administrators at 244 schools in the Western Cape. The major focus of the audit was on safety and sanitation conditions in schools, but the findings laid out in our report reflect serious crises in other areas as well. These include disability access in schools, sanitary pad provision and systemic underfunding of schools that serve our townships and rural areas.