If it works for a shower, it should definitely work for social justice

On the 3rd of July 2017 Stats SA hosted the two yearly ISIbalo CRUISE Conference at the Stellenbosch University – there was also a non-significant issue of open showers in the halls of residence that tended to impacted us significantly as senior government executives. We were not prepared for privacy statistics. Open shower aside, the strategic contribution of Stats SA was to make value of the nascent substance and ethos of regional science and planning in South Africa visible. In 2009 Stats SA cosponsored the Centre for Regional Innovation and Statistical Exploration (CRUISE) at the University of Stellenbosch for purposes of training statisticians in regional science - making the value of statistics and evidence valuable in planning.

A year and a quarter later on Saturday the 27th the former Public Protector Professor Thuli Madonsela, the Law Faculty Trust Chair of Social Justice at the University of Stellenbosch convened a round table discussion on Social Justice M-Plan. I was then back at Stellenbosch as part of a multi-dimensional team to make inputs to the plan. There were compelling lines from different angles that reflected the size of the challenge. Most importantly for me were the following crucial question first the extent to which the constitutional imperatives on the one hand link to policy frames, laws, regulations and practice notes that guide implementation, second the environment and contexts within which the body of frameworks are executed and third and finally the capacity and capability of those who execute the mandates to harvest and apply evidence. Fundamentally therefore the question is that of praxis.

The intervention by Professor Nuraan Davids was very instructive in how distant practice and theory are and the extent to which the education crisis is far from over. I could not help but think of the insights Madiba shared on education exactly twenty years ago that capture the essence of Davids discussions. She asks the question of what are we going to do about a democratization of education project gone awry.

In October 1998 Madiba captured the essence of the Census 96 results as a knowledge base and said “the fundamental difference which ought to be taken into account, is that in all previous governments, the incumbents were trained in governance - they were able to go to school, universities, technikons, teacher training institutions and acquire knowledge, skills and expertise. So, they are proficient, because of that training! What is more, you were dealing with a white minority where the environment at school is exactly the same as the environment at home, because you have parents who had a high level of academic qualification and a child when he or she comes back home, is able to get a professional assistance from their parents in an environment of relaxation - knowing that I have parents who love me! They ate well, they had ample accommodation, where the child has a room and facilities for studying and concentration. But what is the position with the blacks in this country with Africans, coloreds and Indians? In most cases they were excluded from schools, even less so in tertiary education, and because you did not have the facilities, you could not go to the best schools in the country (which are well equipped to enable you to grasp sophisticated concepts fully) and the environment between the school and the home was totally different.  You come to parents, some of whom have never seen the inside of a school - housing facilities where about 5 children share one room, sleeping on the floor, where children have to study on the floor with candle light as somebody has said here.” 

Against this background which Madiba articulated Davids’ point is this - a one size fits all school governing board approach to education cannot work in South Africa. She goes on to argue convincingly using evidence that in fact the government has washed its hands from governing education at the school level. The space now is ripe for those least qualified to preside over the education of the most disadvantagedmaking decisions including on appointments of teachers.  This is tragic, a double jeopardy. 

Back to the 3rd of July 2017 I had raised a minor complaint through this column about how the open shower system became a worrisome but an entertaining subject amongst StatsSA executives who were terrified by the prospect of openness in the shower. But somehow they each managed to have a shower on their own in the open shower for all three mornings they were there without any statistics on privacy taken. Unbeknown to me last Saturday, the chair of the proceedings Dr Leslie van Rooi surprised me with the matter I raised in my column to my a year ago. He said to me your article on the open showers at students’ halls of residence caught the attention of management and changes were implemented to the satisfaction of students who by the way have been complaining about the policy and practice of open showers. 

Thus if policy can respond to a small matter of the one open shower fits all system then it is imperative for policy to respond to the burning platform of education and schooling amongst others in South Africa. Professor Thuli Madonsela’s M-Plan should catalyse society to take action.

Dr Pali Lehohla is the former statistician-general of South Africa and the former head of Statistics South Africa