South Africa Civil Society Unites for Public Education: 1Goal-PPEN

Join the growing voice of civil society for quality public education for all. Come and join the peaceful march for Quality Education for All. Meet at 11h00 at Pieter Roos where we will walk to Constitutional Hill.

One of the most exciting national developments for education has been the coming together of civil society organisations into an energetic coalition united by the 1Goal-PPEN Coalition call for public education for all. Parents, teachers, students, labour unions, faith-based organisations and other concerned South Africans have come together to promote public participation in education and the realisation of quality education for all children.

The coalition includes the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), student organisations, the South African Council of Churches (SACC), networks of school governing bodies, the Public Participation in Education Network (PPEN), the June 16 Coalition, and a growing number of youth and educational NGOs representing well over 1-million South Africans.

The Coalition is united by the 1GOAL-PPEN campaign – seeking to ensure that global energies directed toward the World Cup are used to mobilise public support for the educational rights of all children.  72-million children have no access to schooling across the world. While South African children have formal access, the experience is deeply divided and unequal, and dehumanising for the majority of our children.

The Nelson Mandela Institute has long been convinced that government working alone is not in a position to achieve quality education for our children. Quality education requires all of us to “step back in” to the agenda of public education. The Institute played an active role in supporting the emergence of this civil society coalition. We believe it is a profound and exciting development for the nation.

As part of the campaign, the coalition is planning a peaceful march to Constitutional Hill on June 10, the day before the opening match of the World Cup, to coincide with the “Education Summit” for world leaders, announced by South African President Jacob Zuma. It calls on all South Africans and visitors to South Africa to join in expressing to the world our commitment to achieving quality education for all.

With no explanation, the march has been denied permission by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police, saying that no “gathering” will be tolerated during the World Cup period.

We join the coalition’s deep concern about this development. The World Cup has come to South Africa in celebration of our growing democracy.  We are concerned about the possibility that constitutionally based rights could be suspended in the name of the World Cup. The lack of support for this peaceful march suggests a concerning lack of unambiguous commitment to the right of all South Africans to peaceful expression.

In a meeting of the 1Goal-PPEN Coalition at Cosatu House on Monday, the coalition remained united in the commitment to achieving quality education for all. They reaffirmed the ongoing campaign, and committed to strengthen the campaign over time. The coalition will continue to call on all South Africans to join the peaceful march on June 10, seeking both political and legal solutions to the impasse in the meantime.

Show your support for quality education by joining the coalition march. See the coalition’s press statement and details of the walk.

Click here to download the most recent press release from the Coalition:  1 Goal Press Release

Organisations in the coalition