Media Statement by Mr Yongama Zigebe, Secretary General of the United Democratic Movement
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has noted the action taken by Equal Education and the Equal Education Law Centre to launch an urgent court application to ensure the immediate placement of all unplaced learners in the Western Cape’s Metro East Education District.
The UDM strongly condemns the persistent issue of learner placement in the Western Cape, which has become a systemic problem. Under the leadership of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has repeatedly failed to adequately address this issue, resulting in many learners being deprived of their constitutional right to education.
It is horrifying that thirty years into democracy, parents are still struggling for the placement of their children in schools in the Western Cape. It has been more than two weeks into the second school term, but there are still learners at home without access to education.
The UDM is disappointed in the WCED failure to take action after the Equal Education’s numerous attempts to engage the department through letters, meetings, protests, including handing over memorandums, in quest of resolving the problem.
Unfortunately, there is no specific policy or rather an effective plan to curb the challenges brought about by this new online system of applications, resulting in many learners being out of the classroom for an unacceptable period. It can be argued that parents are not as negligent as the Department think they are, many parents and guardians have no access to online systems, some have no money to go to internet cafés for applications and sometimes learners have crucial reasons to be moved from one place to another due to death of parents or abusive situations.
The UDM is deeply concerned that Equal Education has expressed that majority of these learners, who are affected by non-placement, are black children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, meaning that the lack to education for these learners worsens the inequality in education in the province, which is no surprise since the DA has proved to be comfortable with the suffering of black people in Western Cape. Also, the UDM believes that submitting a late application does not necessarily mean that learner/parents should lose their right to access education.
The UDM pleads for the Court to rule in favour of the Equal Education to ensure that the WCED places those learners in schools with immediate effect. We also call for the South African Human Rights Commission to investigate and hold the Department to account and ensure that all learners are given their right to education as stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.  Imagine the pain of a learner with potential, wondering in the community whilst other kids are at schools, that is an absolute emotional abuse, and action must be taken to resolve that.