By David Maynier, Western Cape Minister of Education
Equal Education approached the court to render our collaboration schools model invalid, which would effectively end the ability of these unique schools to deliver high quality, no-fee education to thousands of learners in poor communities in the Western Cape.
The court was entirely unconvinced by their challenge, with Judge le Grange, stating that the challenges brought by Equal Education “cannot succeed and fall to be dismissed”.
Our collaboration school donors have contributed to the value of over R325 million to our schools to date, a contribution to our education sector that might otherwise not have been made.
We are generally seeing a positive trend in systemic test and matric results at these schools, but this is not the only reason the model is valuable. Learners at collaboration schools also benefit from access to opportunities made possible by the involvement of operating partners.
The involvement of operating partners allows additional resources to be brought in, like career guidance counsellors and mentors, partnerships with non-governmental organisations promoting the mental health and well-being of learners, resources for remedial education, teacher training, support for the school’s financial management, and other interventions to support teaching and learning.
The model has also allowed communities to become more involved in establishing schools that serve the unique needs of their community. This kind of direct parental involvement can only benefit our education system, and our learners.
So it is unfortunate that Equal Education and others are challenging the validity of our collaboration schools model, and we will continue to fight for these schools, which provide high quality no-fee education available to learners in poor communities in the Western Cape.
Cape Times
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