The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has called on parents to participate fully in this year’s governing body elections at schools.

The term of office of governing bodies for schools in the Western Cape which have been elected or constituted in 2003, will expire after 30 June 2006.

The election of new governing bodies will be held nationally simultaneously over the period 1 May 2006 - 30 June 2006 in terms of a decision of the Committee of Ministers of Education (CEM).

The WCED has trained principals of public schools as electoral officers to enable them to handle the election process. The training sessions took place from 21 February 2006 - 23 March 2006.

The department has supplied principals with the necessary support material such as the manual for the election of governing bodies and hand-outs which give guidelines on the different processes.

The WCED distributed circulars to schools in January and April this year, to inform them of the processes involved, and to provide other relevant information.

Meanwhile, the WCED has also issued the following message to parents:

"You, as a parent, will receive a notice during April or May 2006 informing you of the date, time and venue of the governing body election meeting at your child’s school. It is very important that you attend this meeting to make yourself available for election or to exercise your right to vote for representatives of your choice.

"Voting in these elections gives you, as a member of the school community, an opportunity to play a role in the education of your child and to ensure that your child attends an institution you can be proud of.

"The governing body of a school plays an important role in the management of the school and is responsible for, amongst others, the following functions:

• Ensuring that a sound education is provided by the school
• Drawing up an annual budget and controlling the expenditure and income of the school
• Adopting a constitution and developing a mission statement for the school
• Making recommendations to the Head of Education on the appointment of the school’s teaching and non-teaching staff

"If you need any further information on the election of school governing bodies, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s school.

"The Western Cape Education Department urges you to participate in these governing body elections. Only with everybody’s active involvement can we provide excellent education for the children of our province."