THE officials from the Department of Education hosted an engagement with various stakeholders from OR Tambo Inland District Education Forum (DEF) at Trinset in Mthatha, last week.
The aim of this engagement was to consult and empower each other about what was needed from the members of this forum in order to tackle critical issues related to the district.
So far they had visited OR Tambo coastal, and Alfred Nzo coastal district.
According to the director for stakeholder management and citizen care from the Department of Education, Pumezo Mhletywa, the DEF seeks to enrich participatory democracy through allowing the parent component to be part of decision-making processes towards improving education in the district.
“These stakeholders would assist the district directors from the Department of Education because they cannot manage to be all over the province in order to see the challenges the schools are facing.
“It would be easy for them (DEF) to assist because they are on the ground and are able to see everything. We are here to share with them how they should work going forward,” said Mhletywa. He added that they knew that there are problems with the standard of education in their communities, since there were lots of negative things that are happening there. Mhletywa said some challenges lead to gender-based violence (GBV).
He added that parents and the members of DEF had to make sure that they assisted each other, so that all the problems that lead a child to be disturbed during learning should be eradicated.
Chairperson for the DEF, Mbongeni Magosa, from OR Tambo Inland District, said the schools were facing many problems, like a lack of stationery and infrastructure, because the OR Tambo district consists of rural areas.
“We hope that (following this process) we will know what we must do and the work that is needed from us,” said Magosa.
He added that they, as the stakeholders, were eager to see education in this province changing for the better.
The member of the school governing body (SGB), representing the inland region, Malizole Mayile, said they, as parents, were very happy to be included in the forum.
“We will play our role, as parents, to ensure that our children are safe and they are getting all they want in order to improve their results,” said Mayile.
