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<h1 class="gmail-bold">Western Cape parents urged to participate in school governing body elections</h1>
<span id="gmail-spnDate" class="gmail-block gmail-datestamp">2018-02-21 19:17</span>
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<article id="gmail-article-body" class="gmail-clr_left">Cape Town – Tired of the
language policy at your child's school? Fed up with "outdated" hair
rules? Parents are about to get their chance to change the rules from
the inside with school governing body elections coming up in March.<br><br>"All
parents and legal guardians with children registered at the school are
eligible for election," said Western Cape education MEC Debbie Schäfer,
in the run-up to the elections. All schools across the country are
expected to hold the elections.<br><br>The South African Schools Act (SASA) gives governing bodies considerable powers to govern schools.<br> <br>"We
therefore urge parents to participate fully in the nomination and
election of members to ensure that the school serves the best interests
of their children," said Schäfer.<br><br>According to SASA, the responsibilities of the governing body include:<br><ul><li>Deciding on an admissions policy for the school;</li><li>Deciding on the language policy of the school;</li><li>Deciding on what religious practices will be followed at the school;</li><li>Formulating the school's constitution and mission statement;</li><li>Formulating the code of conduct for pupils which sets out disciplinary procedures;</li><li>Budget and financial management;</li><li>Recommending staff appointments; and</li><li>Supporting the principal, teachers and other staff.</li></ul>No
formal qualifications are required, but skills such as bookkeeping,
accounting and legal services, plus a passion for education are
recommended.<br> <br>The term of office is three years.<br> <br>Parents
nominate and elect governing body members at a parents' meeting called
by the school for the elections, explained Schäfer.<br> <br>Parents
complete a nomination form which they submit to the school. A nomination
must be seconded by another parent and the nominee must accept the
nomination before the forms are submitted to the school.<br> <br>Parents
may seek nomination, but not nominate themselves. Parents must submit
nominations at least seven days before the election meeting.<br> <br>Teachers,
non-teaching staff and pupils nominate and elect members at similar
meetings. Schools will provide school communities with all relevant
information.<br> <br>A quorum of 10% is required for the nomination and
election meeting – for example, at least 50 parents must attend if the
school has 500 parents on its admissions register.<div id="gmail-ad-600x50-1" class="gmail-24ad600x50"><div class="gmail-noad"></div></div></article>
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<b style="color:gray">Read more on: </b>
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<b><a style="color:rgb(14,46,94)" href="https://www.news24.com/Tags/Topics/education">education</a></b>
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<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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