It is that time again, for the School Governing Body elections. As a parent and community member, will you be taking part in the elections? Will you nominate someone or be nominated yourself to ensure the smooth running of the school your child is in?
There is an African proverb that says: “It takes a village to raise a child” and it simply means that the whole community needs to ensure that children are raised in a good environment that nurtures and shapes who they will become in society. This is also true for School Governing Bodies.
At its opening meeting for the year, FEDSAS, the Federation of Governing Bodies of South Africa, called upon parents and all who belong to the school community to participate and get involved in this year’s School Governing Body (SGB) elections which will take place from 1 to 31 March 2024. These elections take place every 3 years.
As a national representative organisation for governing bodies since 1993, its focus is on the development of capable school governing bodies of public, independent and Early Child Development (ECD) schools.
“FEDSAS informs, organises, mobilises and equips its members to achieve and uphold the highest recognised international education standards,” its website stipulates.
James Ndlebe, Director for Education Management and Governance Development at the Department of Basic Education says the community, but more especially parents, need to understand that they must play an active role in their child’s education.
“That is why we play around with terms like education is a societal issue. The state builds the schools, they pay teachers and provide funding and resources. The day to day running of what happens is not up to the state,” Ndlebe explained.
“We need parents to come and work with teachers to run the funds that the government has provided. We need them to also work on raising funds to supplement those provided. They need to develop policies and guidelines. That makes the SGB the drivers of the school far more than the department,” he said.
Jaco Deacon, the Chief Executive Officer of FEDSAS says communities need to take ownership of what happens in schools.
“It’s important to launch these elections because there are still people in our communities who believe the state will take care of everything and that there’s no need for them to do anything,” Deacon said.
Ndlebe also said that the role of the SGB is to educate the community on issues of vandalism and for them to instill the issue of ownership among one another.
Visit fedsas.org.za for more information and guidelines on the SGB elections. Learn about how to submit nominations and vote electronically.