Build One South Africa (BOSA), Mmusi Maimane, has criticised the government following reports that learners in the Eastern Cape will be carrying or dragging their classroom plastic desks that convert to school bags.
Maimane accused the government of ignoring problems, such as damaged school supplies and deteriorating facilities, while making children pay for its mistakes.
About five schools in the province’s rural areas have benefited through a donation of modern foldable desks.
“Instead of fixing broken desks, instead of fixing schools, the government is now forcing children to break their backs carrying desks to school,” he said on X.
Maimane continued to say “No government minister would put their child through this, so why put our children through this?.”
Significant criticism has been directed at the Eastern Cape's dispute involving the distribution of desks that can be converted into wheeled school bags in response to ongoing furniture shortages.
Although designed as a workable alternative, these tables have drawn criticism for being heavy and physically demanding, adding to the challenges already encountered by communities dealing with years of educational neglect.
Maimane's comments highlight a more profound problem of inequality and the growing disconnect between public servants and the problems that civilians face daily.
The vocal leader has presented the episode as a glaring illustration of how a system fails to provide for the needs of its most vulnerable members.
Parents and teachers have expressed their worries about the move.
The insufficiency of the method is further demonstrated by the SABC footage that shows kids dragging bulky desks along rocky roads.
The Eastern Cape Department of Education has yet to respond publicly, but growing public pressure is forcing officials to confront Maimane's pointed out structural concerns as well as the desks' immediate challenges.
What started as a dispute about classroom supplies has now turned into a demand for more responsibility and change in a province that has long struggled with education.
However, the Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has defended the government’s decision, saying this was approved by authorities.
“Firstly, these desks have been approved by UNESCO, they are 2 kilograms heavy and UNESCO has indicated that these are absolutely appropriate and not every child has to take these home.
“But what is important for me is that there are children in this country who go to places and homes where they don’t even have an area to do their homework,” she said.
She added the desks were innovative.
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