We hate to belabour the point, but education is far too important an issue for South Africa to treat it as a pastime. That is why for a second day in a row we will use this space to focus on schools and education.
We hate to belabour the point, but education is far too important an issue for South Africa to treat it as a pastime. That is why for a second day in a row we will use this space to focus on schools and education.
Elsewhere in this newspaper today we publish a comment by the spokesman of the Soweto branch of the SA Democratic Teachers Union, who says that normal education will only resume after Jacob Zuma is elected president. This is dangerous talk.
According to Ronald Nyathi, it is acceptable for teachers to down chalks and go to a political party meeting because, in the words of this gentleman charged with the education of our children, doing so is "defending the revolution".
The very thought is criminal. It is the post-apartheid era equivalent of the liberation-now-education-later mentality.
With people like Nyathi, Hendrik Verwoerd's desire to make black children hewers of wood and drawers of water will come to fruition. Sadtu must be reminded that it mobilises mainly at black schools and their actions will hurt the very black children and not the "bourgeoisie" that they are defending their revolution against.
We hope that sensible leaders in Sadtu and in black communities will condemn this silly talk and place the education of our children ahead of short-term political ambitions.
Risky and silly talk
We hate to belabour the point, but education is far too important an issue for South Africa to treat it as a pastime. That is why for a second day in a row we will use this space to focus on schools and education.
We hate to belabour the point, but education is far too important an issue for South Africa to treat it as a pastime. That is why for a second day in a row we will use this space to focus on schools and education.
Elsewhere in this newspaper today we publish a comment by the spokesman of the Soweto branch of the SA Democratic Teachers Union, who says that normal education will only resume after Jacob Zuma is elected president. This is dangerous talk.
According to Ronald Nyathi, it is acceptable for teachers to down chalks and go to a political party meeting because, in the words of this gentleman charged with the education of our children, doing so is "defending the revolution".
The very thought is criminal. It is the post-apartheid era equivalent of the liberation-now-education-later mentality.
With people like Nyathi, Hendrik Verwoerd's desire to make black children hewers of wood and drawers of water will come to fruition. Sadtu must be reminded that it mobilises mainly at black schools and their actions will hurt the very black children and not the "bourgeoisie" that they are defending their revolution against.
We hope that sensible leaders in Sadtu and in black communities will condemn this silly talk and place the education of our children ahead of short-term political ambitions.