{"id":93992,"date":"2024-12-14T09:55:26","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T07:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=93992"},"modified":"2024-12-14T10:04:26","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T08:04:26","slug":"education-infrastructure-crisis-irr-calls-for-urgent-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/education-infrastructure-crisis-irr-calls-for-urgent-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Infrastructure Crisis: IRR Calls for Urgent Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

3-minute read
\n14 December 2024 | 09:39 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

Equal Education’s report found that school infrastructure affects teaching and learning. (Photo: Gallo Images \/ Sowetan \/ Thulani Mbele)<\/p><\/div>\n

South Africa\u2019s education system faces a critical challenge as the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) pushes for immediate action on classroom shortages and infrastructure gaps. With up to 70,000 classrooms needed nationwide, urgent intervention is necessary to prevent further setbacks in learning outcomes, according to Gabriel Crouse, Executive Director of IRR Legal.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Radio Islam International<\/a>, Crouse outlined a three-step plan to address the crisis: \u201cStep one is to build 13,000 classrooms, estimated to cost R17 billion. Step two involves empanelling global and local experts to reverse our poor education performance. Lastly, all stakeholders must commit to non-racialism, respecting language, religion, and the principle of merit-based teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current infrastructure is failing to meet demands. The Department of Education estimates a nationwide shortage of 35,000 to 70,000 classrooms, with Gauteng and the Western Cape hit hardest. \u201cBuilding these classrooms won\u2019t solve all problems,\u201d Crouse admitted. \u201cBut it\u2019s the most critical factor for effective teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s school landscape has changed drastically since 2000. Over 4,500 schools have closed, shrinking the total to around 22,500. While this period saw improvements in water, electricity, and sanitation, the quality gains have been offset by insufficient expansion in capacity. Crouse emphasized: \u201cKids learning under trees or in overcrowded classrooms is untenable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act adds to the complexities. Signed into law in September, the Act\u2019s clauses allowing government override of school governing bodies on language and admissions policies have sparked legal challenges. President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s three-month suspension of these clauses has been labelled \u201cfishy\u201d by legal experts, who argue that his actions may violate constitutional procedures.<\/p>\n

Crouse highlighted the practical challenges to implementation: \u201cThe regulations aren\u2019t ready. The department says it could take a year and a half to roll out necessary measures.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, in a joint statement<\/a>, Equal Education (EE) and the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) sought to clarify widespread misinformation about the BELA Act. \u201cThere is a need for clarity on BELA to correct the misinformation and disinformation surrounding this act,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

Equal Education emphasized the importance of public clarity and legal accuracy, calling on stakeholders to address the Act’s confusion.<\/p>\n

A social movement advocating for quality education, Equal Education has been a vocal proponent of equitable infrastructure development. The organization\u2019s campaigns emphasize the importance of meeting minimum norms and standards for school facilities, such as access to functional toilets, adequate classrooms, and safe learning environments. Their efforts have led to successful legal action against the Department of Basic Education, holding it accountable for delays in infrastructure delivery.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, as the country awaits clarity on these issues, the IRR\u2019s proposals stand as a roadmap to address urgent gaps in South Africa\u2019s education infrastructure. \u201cNow is the time to build classrooms, hire teachers, and focus on long-term solutions,\u201d Crouse concluded.<\/p>\n

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round Up<\/a> with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Gabriel Crouse, Executive Director of IRR Legal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 14 December 2024 | 09:39 CAT South Africa\u2019s education system faces a critical challenge as the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) pushes for immediate action on classroom shortages and infrastructure gaps. With up to 70,000 classrooms needed nationwide, urgent intervention is necessary to prevent further setbacks in learning outcomes, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":93993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-14-094204.jpg?fit=400%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-os0","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-18 20:07:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}