Mission

Equal Education (EE) movement of learners, parents, teachers and community members working for quality and equality in South African education, through analysis and activism.

Background

15 years after the end of Apartheid, the education received by young people in South Africa remains vastly unequal and of questionable quality. Despite attempts to overhaul the system, class and race-linked inequalities remain entrenched. Education was the foundation upon which inequality was fashioned during the years of apartheid, but unequal and poor quality educational opportunities still remain amongst the greatest obstacles to equality, dignity and freedom in today’s South Africa.

What is Equal Education?

Equal Education is a research driven, community and membership-based organisation. EE advocates for quality and equality in the South African education system and engages in evidence-based activism for improving all of the nation’s schools. We promote the right to equality and education, with the firm belief that these will enable the poor and marginalised to an equal opportunity in life.

EE seeks to improve the poor quality of education in South Africa by working together with communities, schools, teachers and principals, learners, parents, academics, researchers and the government. We are building an understanding of the educational system, whilst drawing attention to problems faced by schools and their communities. Equipped with this knowledge, EE offers a new way for people to participate in the democratic system and bring change to education and society.

Parents, teachers, religious leaders and community members are increasingly active in EE. Possibly the most active members are called ‘Equalisers’. They are high school students in grades 8 to 12. Equalisers have a leading role in the activities of the organisation. They work with EE to improve schools in their communities, and they set an example to their peers through their dedication to their own education. They participate in meetings in educational and planning meetings on a weekly basis. The organisation currently has over 1000 members.

History of Equal Education

The organisation began in 2008 by conducting research in schools in Khayelitsha (a working-class community in Cape Town, with a population of approximately 750,000 and 54 schools). Schools in Khayelitsha are under-resourced and overcrowded – factors which have a significantly negative impact on academic performance. The National Department of Education recently stated, in its Report on the National Senior Certificate results for 2008, that in general, the less resourced a school, the worse its performance. Khayelitsha was among Cape Town’s worst performing areas in the 2008 Matric results, with a 54% pass rate.

This is where EE’s head office is. EE aims to support the many hardworking teachers and determined learners within the community who are battling in difficult conditions.

Equal Education has now spread to Kraaifontein, where there is an active branch, and other parts of Cape Town including Landsdowne, Wynberg, Rondebosch, and Mitchells Plain. We work closely with an organisation called ‘Save Our Schools and Community’ or SOSAC in the Eastern Cape. We welcome participation from all parts of society.

Major Campaigns to Date

• EE successfully campaigned for the Western Cape Education Department [WCED] to fix 500 broken windows at Luhlaza High School in Khayelitsha.
• EE has been assisting Harry Gwala High School in Khayelitha to have its leaking roof fixed.
• EE ran a ground-breaking campaign against late-coming in 8 Khayelitsha High Schools. In some schools (Esangweni, for example) daily late-coming was reduced from over 100 learners per day to zero. This campaign also spread into other parts of Cape Town and the Eastern Cape.
• EE is presently running a major campaign for a National Policy on School Libraries.