The nongovernmental organization Equal Education has been campaigning for two years to get the norms and standards in terms of infrastructure, sanitation and electricity and so on for public schools to be specified by the Minister of Basic Education. The draft norms were published in January, but activists and pupils were confounded at the absolute vagueness of the norms and standards it laid down.
When it comes to electricity, it states that public schools should have some form of energy. A 10 grade pupil doesn't understand the Minister doesn't even specify what kind of energy. And obviously, there should be safety instructions in relation to the kind of energy as well as how it is installed - but safety and security is not even part of the norms and standards discussed. In relation to that, one pupil says: "I mean, come to think of it, you [Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education in South Africa] would not send your child to a government school."
Now hearings are being held to hear what pupils and teachers have to say about the conditions that require to be addressed through laying out specific norms and standards so that the government can be held accountable for its lack in providing public schools with what is required to educate children in a supportive environment - and not a room where the ceiling may collapse at any moment.
How is it possible that a Minister of Basic Education requires to be instructed by pupils on how to do her job? Kids understand the need for specific norms and standards, yet the Minister doesn't? Does she even care about the children's education and safety? And how is it that only after the norms and standards have been drafted, that those who are actually experiencing the inadequate conditions are being consulted. Is it not obvious that you first consult with the relevant parties and then write your draft?
The political system obviously requires adjustment so that those who propose policy understand what it is they are talking about, so that research isn't done after the proposal and so that those in office have proven their integrity in actually giving a damn about making society the best society it can be. Together with a reform of Capitalism, we suggest a reform of the political system that corrects these points. You can read more about it at www.equalmoney.org/wiki/Politics.
We live in a day and age where technology allows us to be so efficient and so responsive. It's just that we haven't evolved with our technology yet. We haven't yet learned what it means to be an efficient person, how to be response-able, how to be flexible, how to process information effectively, how to be dedicated, how to be consistent. And those are skills that should be developed in schools. The children are begging us to step it up because they're being left in the cold and understand that if their schooling is not effective, then their chances in life will be diminished. Do we even understand how we are destroying people's lives just by allowing vagueness where specificity is required? For those who are starting to see how our current state of being as a human that is not functioning at its optimum potential is creating consequences that reach much further than we actually considered - I suggest signing up for the Free DIP Lite course at www.lite.desteniiprocess.com to develop some basic life-skills that the current education system has failed to provide. It's time for each one to step it up and upgrade themselves, because otherwise we will remain trapped in a vicious cycle where the sins of the fathers will be passed on to the children of the next generation and nothing will change and the cries of the children will be in vain.
Source: http://mg.co.za/article/2013-03-15-pupils-demand-better-norms-and-standards-for-schools
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