Education is an essential service
- Authors: Geyer, Simone
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Collective bargaining -- Education -- South Africa , Right to education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:10254 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020875
- Description: This treatise investigates the extent to which education could be declared an essential service. This is informed by an ongoing public perception that education is in a crisis as a result of the ease within which teachers embark on wildcat strikes, the level of absenteeism in schools, the manner in which communities prevent learners from attending school to place pressure on the state to meet service delivery demands, the lack of professionalism among teachers and the performance of our learners in achieving international benchmarks of results. The treatise critically explores the debate, in the South African context, on the need to declare education as an essential service in South Africa. This is done by examining the international benchmarks set by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in relation to essential services and what motivating reasons exist, if any, to proceed with declaring education as an essential service. There is a dire need to find a balance between the teachers’ right to strike and the learners’ right to basic education. At the moment there is a threat to this balance with the rights of teachers appearing to override those of learners and this has a negative impact on the learning outcomes and stability in education. The question that arises is what measures must the South African government put in place to ensure that the fundamental rights to education are not compromised. If the current situation continues to prevail it has the danger of retarding the development of a society in transition. There is a need for urgent intervention that takes on a consensus-based approach of identifying education as an essential priority in the interests of all. Can this be achieved by developing a minimum service level agreement for education that outlines which levels of teachers may go on strike? Can policy be regulated that outlines the duties of principals and deputy principals as those who are in the authority of the state and as such may not go on a strike? Can this be achieved without compromising the rights of any citizen as guaranteed in the Constitution of South Africa? The solution that this treatise provides to these vexing questions attempts to balance the rights of teachers with those of learners with a view to normalizing and stabilizing education in South Africa. It recommends that policy be set in place for principals and deputy principal that identifies them as part of those public servants who are in the authority of the state and therefore may not embark on a strike. This will enable the state to gain control of striking situations in education to ensure that there is still authority at the schools to maintain some level of minimum service, especially where there are very young learners. At the same time this will not be so severe as to render a strike in education ineffective for the teachers’ not to be able to exert force on the state to achieve improved conditions of service for themselves.
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- Date Issued: 2014
NGOs and the depoliticisation of development : the case of GADRA education in Grahamstown
- Authors: Nqaba, Patronella Pinky
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: GADRA Education (Grahamstown, South Africa) , Non-governmental organizations -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Non-governmental organizations -- Political aspects , Education -- South Africa -- History , Right to education -- South Africa , Educational change -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2890 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017865
- Description: Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been criticised for depoliticising development through focusing on alleviating suffering rather than on addressing the root causes of poverty and underdevelopment. This research explores whether and how NGOs can act in ways that do not depoliticise development. The research focuses on education NGOs and in particular on the NGO GADRA education in Grahamstown, South Africa, to provide insights into ways in which politically conscious leadership of NGOs attempt to deal with the contradictions that are inherent in this field of work. This research provides a brief history of the South African Education system as a means to set a basis for the discussion of the role of education NGOs in the country. Furthermore it looks at the work that is done by GADRA education in the Grahamstown community. The thesis makes the argument that education NGOs can act in ways that do not depoliticise development because by providing access to education for people who are structurally excluded from education, they contribute to shifting power. This research found that although the leadership of GADRA Education acknowledge that they are confronted with great challenges in terms of how to bring about changes in the education system, they are hopeful that advocating for quality education will bring about the potential for the disruption of power relations as they exist between the state organs and the public.
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- Date Issued: 2015
The implementation of the right to education in South Africa and Nigeria
- Authors: Taiwo, Elijah Adewale
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Right to education -- South Africa , Right to education -- Nigeria , Human rights -- Study and teaching , Comparative education , Education -- South Africa , Education -- Nigeria , Right to education -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Right to education -- Law and legislation -- Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , LLD
- Identifier: vital:10279 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1392 , Right to education -- South Africa , Right to education -- Nigeria , Human rights -- Study and teaching , Comparative education , Education -- South Africa , Education -- Nigeria , Right to education -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Right to education -- Law and legislation -- Nigeria
- Description: The thesis examines the right to education in South Africa and Nigeria. It presents the right to education as an empowerment right which is given a wide recognition in a number of important international and regional human rights instruments as well as in national constitutions. It asserts that the right to education is a right with a multiplying effect in the sense that where it is effectively guaranteed, it enhances the enjoyment of all other rights and freedoms, and when it is denied, it precludes the enjoyment of many other human rights. The thesis examines the provisions of relevant international and regional human rights instruments to assess the adequacy of a framework that applies to South Africa and Nigeria's obligations regarding the right to education. It argues that those instruments impose obligations on all the States to make primary, secondary and higher levels of education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable to all in their territories. It argues that by having ratified those international agreements in which the right to education is protected, both South Africa and Nigeria assume obligations under international law, enjoining them to realise the right to education and to respect freedoms in education. The study adopts a comparative approach and relies on primary and secondary sources of data; the data is subjected to an in-depth content analysis. The focus of the comparison is on whether the South African's position regarding the right to education can inform Nigeria's interpretation of the right to education. The reason being that the Nigerian Constitution does not provide for the right to education as a basic right as exists in South Africa. The Nigerian Constitution categorised the right to education under “fundamental objectives and directive principles” which are non-justiciable. In this sense, the thesis argues that the legal classification of the right to education, to a large extent, affects its realisation in Nigeria. It suggests that an important area where Nigeria could learn from South Africa is the issue of justiciability and constitutionalising the right to education as well as other socio-economic rights. In terms of implementation, the thesis submits that despite the international obligations and commitments to provide education for all, there is a significant gap between what is stipulated and the practical realities in the two countries. It argues that the right to education is more than a mere school attendance, how well a learner progresses in school is equally important. It posits that the high failure rates and the progressive slide in students' performances in schools xx examinations as shown in the study illustrate the poor quality and falling standard of education in the two countries. South Africa enjoys one of the highest rates of formal school enrolment of any developing country, yet the link between access and success is also weak in the South African schools just as in Nigerian schools. Inadequate planning, poor implementation of policies, lack of adequate resources and commitments are identified as the prime factors hampering the implementation of the right to education in both countries. Solving these problems and making the right to education realisable call for a renewed government commitments and investment of appropriate human and financial resources on education. This also requires a strong political will as well as concerted efforts of all the various actors in the educational sector in the two countries.
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- Date Issued: 2011
The role of civil society in advancing education rights : the case of Gadra Education, Grahamstown, South Africa
- Authors: Msindo, Esteri Makotore
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Gadra Education (Grahamstown, South Africa) , Right to education -- South Africa , State departments of education -- South Africa , Educational change -- South Africa , Social justice -- South Africa , Civil society -- South Africa , Social contract
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3392 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016500
- Description: This thesis has identified and analysed the role of an NGO called Gadra Education in advancing education rights to the less advantaged people of Grahamstown in South Africa. Gadra Education’s role has been identified as twofold. Firstly as an educational NGO, Gadra Education’s initiatives directly impact on the lives of the less economically and socially privileged learners who, due to their previous learning environment in state schools, do not achieve academic results that ensure entry into tertiary level. Secondly its role is identified in its nature as an organisation that emerged due to the deficiencies in the state schooling system. It therefore stands de facto as a critical institution for critique of the state’s education system. The thesis concludes that without confronting the Department of Education or collaborating with it, Gadra Education offers a significant alternative approach which can potentially influence the state to improve the state schooling system. Its strategy of non-confrontation to the state, informal and non-corporatist is advantageous as an NGO that focuses on the actual provision of education. It focuses on instilling Ubuntu values of sharing and giving that are of critical significance in teaching and learning. The context of the thesis is located broadly within socio-economic rights and specifically on education rights. In South Africa where the state has not adequately met the educational obligations for the economically and socially less privileged citizens, the emergence of educational NGOs that focus on providing education to the poor is of vital importance. Although other NGOs that confront the state are important in pushing the state to deliver especially on school infrastructure, teacher deployment and other educational challenges, Gadra Education model ensures academic success for the learner. Lessons can be drawn from Gadra Education which can be potentially useful to state schools and other NGOs that seek to advance education rights to disadvantaged communities.
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- Date Issued: 2015