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Officials urged to report blockages in education - admin - 09-02-2011
Pretoria - Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela has encouraged stakeholders attached to the Gauteng’s Education Department to approach her office if government fails to address challenges threatening the public’s right to education.
Addressing a two-day conference organised by Gauteng Department of Education in East District on Tuesday, Madonsela said the state had a responsibility to make education available and accessible to all, in line with the Constitution.
She noted that the architects of the constitutional democracy enshrined the right to education in the Bill of Rights. “Clearly this places a responsibility on the state to make education available and accessible to all by delivering adequate infrastructure, providing learning material, recruiting capable and sufficient human resources and ensuring an environment conducive to productive learning,†Madonsela said.
She, however, noted that government had made an effort since 1994 to give effect to the right to education as demonstrated by the annual expenditure on education and attempts to equalise the distribution of resources.
Responding to some of the delegates complaints about a lack of adequate resources in schools, overcrowding in classrooms and an alleged unfair treatment of teachers belonging to certain labour unions by the department, Madonsela emphasised that in calling the state to account for its acts and omissions, she had a responsibility not only to check if the state’s conduct was lawful but to also establish if it was proper.
The conference held at the Springs Civic Centre, brought together school principals, librarians, teachers, and officials from provincial and national education departments from the district, amongst others.
It aimed to provide a platform where key stakeholders in the educations sector would collaborate to ensure functional libraries, financial accountability and sound management of resources in schools. - BuaNews