adminschools. Most of them wore Sadtu T-shirts.
A police contingent with a water canon kept an eagle eye on things on the route of the march.
Standing atop a truck with a booming sound system, Costu’s Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich said the union confederation supported the teachers “without reservations”.
“There’s no doubt that those who want to say that our pupils and parents can’t be part of this protest march, are wrong.
“If there’s one thing we know, it’s that the teaching and educational resources on the Cape Flats are half those of the schools and resources in the shadows of Table Mountain,” he said.
He said pupils and fellow unionists had to back teachers in their fight with the education department.
Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said no pupils were forced to take part in the march.
“They were not forcibly taken out of class. They came to support the march. Even my child must march [in support of teachers],” he said.
Walter Luckett, who has been a teacher for 33 years, said conditions at his school in Piketberg, like many others in the province, was “pathetic”.
“We have overcrowding with more than 50 in a classroom while the furniture is falling apart and there is no playground for the children,” Luckett said. – Sowetan.
Online Reporter