South African security fights make parents in Cape Town to look for former schools for white only

The fears of crime and violence in gangs in the infamous settlements on the outskirts of the South African city of Cape Town make some parents make difficult decisions to send children for long daily trips to former schools that are only white.

“The Tamans would go to school that were transporting weapons that threaten the teachers, forcing their laptops in front of the students,” said Sibahle Mbasana BBC about the school, which her sons attended Haelites, Kapetovna’s largest town.

“Imagine that your child is experiencing it regularly. It is unlikely to be security at school, and even if there is, they are powerless to do anything.”

This is more than three decades since the completion of the White Minority rules in South Africa, but there are still black students who have to endure great inequalities, which were the basis of the racist apartheid system.

Mrs. Massan believes that her three children – the heritage of this heritage – especially affecting her eldest son, who studied at a city school between the ages of six and 10 years.

One of the main laws of the apartheid era was the Law on Banto 1953, which was aimed at preventing black children to complete potential. This created segregated schools with less funding and smaller resources for those in poor areas that are still overcrowded and often suffering from high -crime loss, drug and violence.

Mrs. Massan, who grew up in the Eastern Cape province and moved to Haielitsh, when she had 18, she decided that she had nothing left to translate her life now 12, and her other son, 11, to a state school about 40 km (25 miles) in Simon, located on a colorful bay.

The boys were joined by their seven -year -old Sister Bullet at a school, which has the best rooms and smaller classes.

“I told myself (that) Bull wasn’t going to this (local) school because I had already experienced so many things with two boys when they studied at this school,” – – Note 34-year-old clothing designer.

She and her husband would like to completely take her family from Hayelites.

“We do not want to live in the town, but we have to live here because we can’t afford to move,” she said.

“Talk to anyone in the town, and they will tell you that they will leave at the first opportunity if they could.”

Undoubtedly, there are schools, led by directors of visionary and hardworking teachers who have made miracles despite the obstacles of poor infrastructure and large grades.

However, safety and safety were irresistible for some when, for example, gangs require teachers for protection.

The News Groundup website reports that the Zanemfundo elementary school in the East Philippi, near Haelites, allegedly ordered to pay 10% of their earnings, who seemed impunity.

“It’s not safe. We are in great danger,” one teacher said.

“These gangs come to school weapons. Our life is at risk. Teachers at school are asking for translations because they do not feel safe.”

According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), a private security campaign should be placed at school and the police are patrolling nearby.

But such incidents reportedly occurred in five other schools in the surrounding areas of Nenji, Philippi and Machel Samara.

“My husband Sifa works in the fleet in Simon, and he travels there, so I thought for my children it would be safer and comfortable to go to this school,” said Mrs. Mbassan.

But longer routes that are often on a bus or minibus, for safer schools come with their dangers and stress.

“My kids get up about 4.30am and leave at 5.50 am when Sipho transports them. If they go on the bus because Sipho can work elsewhere, they leave up to 5.30 and they return home up to 4.30 days,” said Mrs. Mbban.

“They are always tired and want to sleep. They are strong because they do homework, but sleep much earlier than other children.”

Last year, WiFalethu made national headlines when a fierce search for it after he was forced to go home from Smimon’s city to Hayelitz when the bus he regularly refused because he couldn’t find his ticket.

After that, the driver was rejected for violating a company policy, which requires staff to assist schoolchildren in the form who lost tickets.

With the darkness that fell, it was Mrs. Mbassan The worst nightmare when Anel urged to say that his older brother was not allowed on board.

But he followed the great frantic social media, and he was found by a few strokes of happiness – at one stage the boy was raised by a good Samaritan, who threw him at the gas station about 5 km from the house.

From there, he was accompanied by a security guard who lived in his area before picking up and taken home to his relief by police officers who joined his search.

His case emphasized the difficult situation of thousands of students from cities, some of whom make a trip up to 80 km a day either in public transport, or on previous trips with minibuses to attend school in suburban urban areas – hosted only white students in the apartheid era.

Wealthy residents of these suburbs often choose private education for their offspring, which means that there are usually spaces for those who come from the further field in public schools.

Donovan Williams, Vice -Principle of the State Elementary School in the fashion observatory of Cape Town, says about 85% of his school consumption about 830 students come from the village – many of whom are exhausted by their long days.

“Some parents work in the area, while most spend a lot of money on transportation for their children to access schools with the best infrastructure,” he said BBC.

“Sometimes they fall asleep in the class.”

According to Amnesty International, South Africa has one of the most unequal school systems in the world – with the result of the baby very dependent on the place of birth, wealth and skin color.

“Children in the top -200 schools reach greater differences in mathematics than children in the next 6600 schools.

State schools are subsidized, but parents still have to pay school fees that can vary from 60 (45 pounds) and $ 4,500 (3350 pounds) per year.

Of the almost 1,700 schools across the province, more than 100 are not designed by the government for students living in economically depressed areas.

The province’s Department of Education explains that it should often cover the lack of government funding – and schools in more middle -class areas turn to the parents to cover the costs.

Recently, 2407 teaching positions were lost in the province because the government allocated only 64% of the national wage agreement with teachers, WCED said.

The decrease in messages meant that some contracts were not intended when their contracts ended in December, while some permanent teachers were proposed to move schools.

“We are in an impossible position, and this is not from our creation, and the Western Cape is not the only province,” the WCED added.

The National Organization of Professional Teachers of South Africa (NAPTOSA) states that the decision was particularly devastating to schools in impoverished and heartfelt areas.

“Schools that feel the real impact of this are your typical urban school. They cannot afford to replace these teachers with body management, which in the case of higher resources where parents can afford additional fees,” said NAPTOSA BSBC Basil Manuel.

“They feel the incision, they will have large grades, they will have teachers who are more emphasized.

“Children, especially those who are not too prone to academically, slip through the cracks.”

Experts accuse the continuity of the debt in education, the Government of the African National Congress (Ann) the Nelson Mandela government inherited in 1994 from the apartheid regime.

“Anc had to confront that he couldn’t provide as he said” Asla Fatoar, Professor of Higher Education Transformation Research at Stelebosh University. said BBC.

Faced with the financial economy: “Poor schools have never allowed you to develop a sustainable platform for teaching and learning,” he said.

“Political interest in what is happening in schools in urban cities was lost 20 years ago.

Professor Fatar is equally gloomy in the future: “I do not see, forbidding a miracle as we can increase finances for poor schools.”

Parents, like mbana, were stuck in the towns and often at the gangs, ended with patience.