GroundUp Highlights Challenges faced by Children
The issue of overcrowded classrooms is alarming and has become a major challenge at schools as it compromises the quality of education in South Africa[1]. In some cases, up to 80 children can sit in one classroom and such poor conditions violate their right to education.
The article titled, “There are 90 learners to a class in this Limpopo school” (04/09/2024) by GroundUp receives a GLAD[2] for highlighting an important issue in schools and accessing learners for their views. The article which is written by Bernard Chiguvare reports on the challenge of overcrowded classrooms in Limpopo in-depth. The article also accesses a variety of stakeholders from SGB’s, parents and department representatives.
According to the article, a public school in Musina called Renaissance High has an average of 90 learners in its four grade 8 classes and an average of 50 learners in its eight classes making it difficult for teachers to monitor and pay attention to all the children in the classroom.
The journalist interviews pupils on their experience at school and captures their views well in the article. The journalist includes voices from both adults who are better equipped to highlight the effects of this challenge on the educational process, and the children who are the main victims of such state failure.
One pupil says, “We are not all gifted the same. Some learners need more attention than others, but my experience while in grade 8 was that teachers would not attend to all learners as we were over 90 learners in one class. Some learners will make noise every minute making it very difficult for the teacher to control all learners.”
The journalist must be commended for interviewing the children and giving them the opportunity to speak out on matters affecting them without compromising their identity. Such an effort by the journalist to interview children could help increase the number of children’s voices in the media. A recent media monitoring report[3] by MMA on coverage of children showed that children’s voices in the media has decreased to 7% in 2023.
Furthermore, the right of the child to participate in matters involving them is defined in the South African Constitution[4], which states in section 28(2) of the Bill of Rights that “A child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.” It is therefore up to journalists to ensure that children could speak out about their concerns.
For this reason, MMA applauds GroundUp and its journalists for their ethical work. We encourage GroundUp to continue such good reporting, always putting first the best interests of children.
Written by Jacques Ndong
Edited by Ntombifuthi Kubeka
[1] https://lrc.org.za/without-rhyme-or-reason-why-we-must-confront-governments-lack-of-action-on-overcrowded-schools/
[2] A GLAD is awarded to the media for reporting on children where the children are accessed etc.
[3] https://www.mediamonitoringafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-Childrens-Report.pdf