Marchers demand answers on collapse

A NATIONAL non-government organisation has called on pupils, teachers and parents to campaign against what it has described as the complete collapse of the Eastern Cape Department of Education.

The call was made on Friday after 850 Equal Education organisation members and pupils from 10 schools in the King William’s Town area marched to the Eastern Cape provincial legislature to hand over a memorandum of demands.

However, no official was there to meet the group.

Equal Education Eastern Cape senior official Luzuko Sidimba said: “We were told that there was no one inside and that the staff had knocked off at 1pm.

“There were also no cars coming in or out. Our people were angry that there was no one to address them.”

Sidimba said the organisation had been campaigning for better quality education in the province for years but to no avail.

“We need to mobilise more teachers, more pupils and more parents,” he said.

“We need the teachers especially because they are the ones most impacted by having to teach in terrible conditions.

“How are they expected to produce good results when they are not receiving textbooks?

“We need to mobilise more people now to put more pressure on government. We need the support of the community,” he said.