As a country we’ve been wondering what exactly it means to describe something as a “crisis”. This past week myself and Prof Bhekizizwe Peterson entered into conversation with 2 High Schools in Ivory Park. I’ll post the outcome soon – in sum, it won’t make for comfortable reading. If G.K. Chesterton is right in maintaining that, “Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another”, then our collective soul is in desperate need of substance and sustenance. The reality is that we are the people with the capacity to provide this substance and sustenance. Whether we regard the situation in Ivory Park (and similar settings) as a ‘crisis’ or ‘challenge’ is largely irrelevant, what matters is how we respond.
In this regard, Ikamva Youth is a partner organisation of Siyakhula operating in Khayelitsha, Western Cape. Last year, their tutoring and learner support programme enabled 76% of those who attended weekly classes to access post-school study and learnership opportunities. Is this not something Siyakhula should be actively trying to replicate? What is our response?