Media Release
Minister of Education Debbie Schäfer
Western Cape

24 October, 2016

Minister Schäfer responds to Equal Education's Social Audit.

Statement by Minister Debbie Schäfer, Minister of Education

On 20^th September 2016, Equal Education handed me a copy of a Social Audit Report, which they claim to have been working on for a year.

They demanded a response within two weeks from all parties present. We informed Equal Education that their self-imposed deadline was unattainable, in view of the other commitments that we have, as well as, our intention to draft a comprehensive response to the very important issues raised.

It is unfortunate that during this time, Equal Education has chosen to engage in grandstanding, claiming that we have failed to respond "seriously and timeously" to the aforementioned self-imposed deadline.

Today, we are releasing our response, as indicated to them on 19 October last week.

In the report we address the issues raised by Equal Education and what we are doing to address them, within our budget.

We also point out the inaccuracy of the generalisations disseminated by them, which are based on faulty methodology. The sample size was extremely small, and certainly does not constitute a randomised sample.

Nevertheless, there are some serious issues that have been raised.

Issues of corporal punishment and sexual assault are extremely concerning.

However, action on these allegations can only be taken in respect of specific complaints by and against specific individuals. None have been furnished in this report.

While we acknowledge the important role Government plays, the complex issues dealt with in this report require all roleplayers to assist in addressing them.

As an NGO, we believe Equal Education could play an important role in assisting us in the following areas:

• Advocating for a more equitable distribution of funds by National Government.

• Publicising the Safe Schools hotline amongst their members and in schools where they are active.

• Campaigning for responsible and involved parenting across the country.

• Lobbying National Government for funding for sanitary pads.

• Assisting poor schools with fundraising activities to supplement their budgets.

These are just a few suggestions emanating from our response.

It is also clear from this response that we have plans in place to address all the infrastructure issues raised, and are working with SAPS and other roleplayers to improve learner safety.

Whilst we would love to have every school fully equipped with excellent infrastructure and equipment, our financial realities preclude us from doing so. It is unfortunate that Equal Education fail to acknowledge this reality.

Click here for Minister Schäfer's response to Equal Education's social audit
Click here for a letter sent to Equal Education on 2 July 2016

Media enquiries:
Bronagh Casey
Head of Ministry
Western Cape Education Department
072 724 1422