education

Once Again Our Children Are Being Evicted from Schools

Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Release
Friday, 6 February 2009

Once Again Our Children Are Being Evicted from Schools

Every child has a right to a decent education. Every child has a right to dignity in school. These principles are not negotiable.

Abahlali baseMjondolo has a yearly calendar. The last struggle of the year is usually against evictions because Christmas is always the worst time for evictions. Every year the first struggle is to get our children into schools. Before the movement was formed each family waged this struggle alone. Since 2006 we have run an annual back to school campaign. We run workshops informing people of their rights, we provide parents with fee exemption forms and help them to complete the forms, and we negotiate with schools and school governing bodies. We have to confront all kinds of discrimination against poor people and we have to confront racism. The first challenge is to get our children into schools. The second challenge is to ensure that our children are treated with dignity once they are in the schools.

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The education crisis: Call in the people

http://www.ppen.org.za/

The education crisis: Call in the people

As usual at this time of the year, there has been a sudden spurt of analyses, discussions and scenarios about our education system. Some of these are symptomatic of the annual matric exams-related national itch. This year, some of them are undoubtedly related to contests between political parties positioning themselves for next year’s general election. And yet we believe that something even more important is taking place – as South Africans we are sensing more clearly the depth of our crisis in education. And we are realising that education should be placed on the national agenda as a priority item.

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Mercury: Neglecting the law, failing the poor

Submitted by Abahlali_3 on Wed, 2009-02-11 08:50. education | Imraan Buccus | law | The Mercury

http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4836392

Neglecting the law, failing the poor

February 11, 2009 Edition 1

Imraan Buccus

ONE of the guarantees of our celebrated constitution is that every child has the right to education. In order to secure this right in practice, the law stipulates that fees should not be charged for any child who is an orphan or in foster care, for any child whose guardians receive a state grant or a pension or for any child whose guardians earn less than 10 times the annual school fee.

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SSM: Protest For Free Education on 8 September 2008

Submitted by Abahlali_3 on Mon, 2008-09-08 00:09. education | protest | Socialist Student Movement | SSM

SSM has supported every Abahlali march from the beginning. SSM has been beaten, tear-gassed and shot at with Abahlali. Abahlali fully supports the demand of SSM that education not be run as a business and that all education should be free. Education should be a right for every person and not the privilege of the rich. Abahlali will be supporting this protest by SSM. Abahlali salutes SSM, who are students inside the university, for supporting the right of people outside to education.

A CALL TO ACTION FOR DECENT FREE EDUCATION FOR ALL
INVITATION LETTER

The Socialist Student Movement (SSM) is making a call to action for free education against the background of a year of protests at institutions of higher learning, culminating at the closure and beginning of the academic year. Financial exclusions, triggered by exorbitant annual fee increments, academic exclusions, shortages of accommodation, of resources necessary for learning and teaching and of qualified educators have pushed students into battles where they have been faced with brutal state repression, with shootings at for example Wits and the University of Johannesburg.