[lg policy] ‘Return total power back to the parents’

Sat Jun 2 14:25:22 UTC 2018

 ‘Return total power back to the parents’
By Aretha Linden - 02 June 2018
<https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2018-06-02-return-total-power-back-to-the-parents/#>
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<https://www.dispatchlive.co.za/news/2018-06-02-return-total-power-back-to-the-parents/#>
[image: South African Institute of Race and Relations has developed a
detailed policy proposal which will give parents the power to decide on the
direction of their children’s schooling]
<https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/w1ecWi1uwPWWXKhiN7Sg-U-tF5i3DwPnq-XeZ0i8gGzbV6-NDUn8-2GVtIY5fxZGdehg0_UxUDNA2GLIPUzcSZD4zFhxU-i51vM=s1200>
South African Institute of Race and Relations has developed a detailed
policy proposal which will give parents the power to decide on the
direction of their children’s schooling
Image: File

Giving parents total power to decide how their children’s school operates
was the solution to the education crisis facing the country.

This according to the South African Institute of Race and Relations (IRR)
that has developed a detailed policy proposal which will give parents the
power to decide on the direction of their children’s schooling.

The author of the policy titled, “The South African Education Crisis -
Giving power back to parents” Marius Roodt believes more parental
involvement in the management of schools was the solution to the education
crisis in the country and would result in better outcomes.

Roodt also believes getting bureaucrats out and communities involved in the
governing of schools will also lead to better outcomes.

According to Roodt, many schools in the country have poor facilities, and
fail to prepare children for life at university or in the workplace.

The drop-out rate was high and only a small portion of children who start
Grade 1 will make it to Grade 12.

In the report, Roodt writes that some state schools could be sold to
community groups, churches, non-profit organisations, and private education
providers for a nominal amount of R1, and let them run such schools within
agreed guidelines.

This would go hand-in-hand with channeling the national education budget
into smart-card vouchers to be given to all parents.

“We estimate that these vouchers will be sufficient to finance high-quality
education for every child in the country. Parents can redeem these vouchers
at any school of their choosing and top-up the voucher with their own funds
in the event that the school charges higher fees.

“By giving parents the choice and buying power to decide on the education
of their children they then have the power to control the curriculum,
language policy, and ethos of the school they send their children to.”

According to Roodt, the schools would then be responsible for the payment
of salaries and upkeep of the school.

The voucher could be used at an independent school, an ordinary state
school, a former Model C school, or a school run by entrepreneurs.

“Education spending would be redirected to pupils, to around the value of
R12 000 a year. This would give parents far more choice than they have
today, especially those on lower incomes.”

According to Roodt, through this system, poor-performing schools would soon
experience an exodus of pupils and principals and teachers at these schools
would soon realise that unless their offering was improved they would be
jobless. — arethal at dispatch.co.za

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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