INLSA

Pupils during a protest in front of the Parliament, Cape Town. Picture: Neil Baynes

Pupils handed over a memorandum of demands to the National Treasury’s Kenneth Brown on Tuesday, asking Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan to prioritise the building of schools and also to ensure that funds allocated for school infrastructure are well spent.

The march was organised by the Equal Education group, who are calling for the government to enforce “minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure”.

About 100 people gathered outside Parliament, among them pupils from Joe Slovo High School, Chris Hani Secondary School and Sinako Secondary School.

The group sang songs demanding better education and held up placards saying “A school needs water, toilets, library and electricity” and “Fix our schools and build our future”.

Brown apologised for Gordhan’s absence and said he was preparing for the budget speech on Wednesday.

He promised to get back to Equal Education “shortly” with a response from Gordhan.

Nokubonga Ralayo, 20, from Khayelitsha, who is studying at UCT, said she had experienced how hard it was to attend a school without proper resources and be expected to pass at the end of the year.

“I had to take a gap year after high school to improve my matric results so I could get into a university. I want to ensure that the next generation doesn’t suffer like I did.”

The Equal Education movement was established in 2008 and is made up of pupils, teachers and community members who are working towards quality and equality in education in the country.

For more than two years Equal Education has been campaigning for national minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure to be prescribed by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga.

nontando.mposo@inl.co.za