Rights body writes education charter

BASIC education is a fundamental human right, but continuing dysfunction and poor schooling outcomes speak to the need for a clear consensus on what can and should be demanded from the government, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said yesterday.

The right to basic education as enshrined in the constitution has served as the basis for a number of court cases against the Department of Basic Education this year, and answers are still sought over who is responsible for the seven-month delay in the delivery in textbooks in Limpopo.

Questions have also been asked why stakeholders in the province had not raised their concerns sooner, with Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi saying earlier this month that the union federation should have been the first to know of the problem.

Mr Vavi said those with the "power to be heard" who did not know about the textbook saga should "hang their heads in shame" and admit there was a gap between those in power and those who put them there.

The commission yesterday held a workshop on a draft Charter of Basic Education Rights, which aims to provide a common, legally grounded, monitoring and advocacy framework for stakeholders seeking the delivery of quality basic education.

The charter, which will be be publicly released soon, will outline state obligations, and the extent to which these obligations have been fulfilled, by looking at best practice, the development trajectory of the system, and previous commitments made by the government.

Addressing the workshop yesterday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga welcomed the charter, but said further engagement between the department and the commission regarding the details was necessary.

Ms Motshekga said she hoped the charter would serve as a monitoring tool that provided the department with information over its progress, but that "it’s not about me".

SAHRC commissioner Lindiwe Mokate said the charter represented the commission’s need to "change gears" in how it monitored progress made by government departments in ensuring human rights were being met.

Sending questionnaires to departments saying "fill in what you have been doing" was not sufficient, she said.

The charter, which brought together various departmental plans, contained "nothing new" but would serve as another instrument for holding the government to account on its commitments, she said.

Formulation of the charter had started at the beginning of the year, and once consensus had been reached with stakeholders, it should be released publicly in about a month, said Ms Mokate.

(2012-07-20/businessday)