Today: Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure published in South Africa!

Today, South Africa's Minister for Basic Education published the final Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure! I recently posted about Equal Education's campaign on this. The final Norms and Standards can be seen here.

Equal Education published the following statement on its facebook page: 

Equal Education's General Secretary Brad Brockman has released his initial thoughts on the Final Norms and Standards For School Infrastructure 

You can find them here (https://twitter.com/BrockmanBrad) and here (https://twitter.com/equal_education)

In summary:
1. There are shorter timeframes in the final regulations; and better prioritisation of the worst off schools. 
2. The draft stated that MECs must provide implementation plans for improving school infrastructure in line with norms and standards in 6 months, the final version gives them a year. Why the delay?
3. Its also problematic that these implementation plans are not required to be public, communities have a right to know this information; particularly when targets are aimed to be met by and what is planned for their school.

Review of the final version is still on-going and a more in-depth analysis will follow in the coming days.

For now this is a time of reflection on a ultimately successful campaign to have the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga pass legally binding school infrastructure regulations.

Congratulations, to all our members who have campaigned with focus, discipline, and without tire for the last 3 years. We did it! (You can read a full recap here: http://www.equaleducation.org.za/campaigns/minimum-norms-and-standards/overview).

Thanks also to the Legal Resources Centre and the Equal Education Law Centre for all their work in getting us to this point.

Forward with the struggle for equality in education!

#BuildTheFuture #FixOurSchools

It is great that the Norms and Standards were published on the date promised! It will be interesting to continue to follow Equal Education's work, to see their full reaction to the final Norms and Standards.