Ahead of Youth Day, Equal Education marched to Parliament, saying that 50 years after the 1976 uprising, learners from marginalised communities are still fighting for access to safe and properly resourced schools.
Equal Education has called on the Western Cape government to urgently place all learners who remain out of school before the start of the third quarter, following a Youth Day protest that placed renewed focus on learner admissions, overcrowding and access to education in marginalised communities.
The organisation marched to parliament ahead of Youth Day and handed over a memorandum to Premier Alan Winde and Education MEC David Maynier, demanding that all learners currently without placement be placed by July 20.
The protest was held as South Africa marked 50 years since the 1976 Soweto uprising, with Equal Education saying many Black learners in the Western Cape were still fighting for meaningful access to education, safe classrooms and properly resourced schools.
In its memorandum, dated June 15, Equal Education said that in 1976, more than 2,000 learners from Langa, Nyanga and Gugulethu marched through the streets of Cape Town demanding better education for Black learners.
