SCHOOL  GOVERNING  BODY  ELECTIONS

The South African Muslim Network (SAMNET) would like the Muslim community to actively participate in School Governing Bodies (SGB) Elections to be held across SA Public Schools from the 1^st of March to the 30^th of April.

BACKGROUND

These elections are legislated to be held every 3 years at tens of thousands of Public schools & there have been proposals to extend the term of SGBs. SGBs’ are critical to the functioning & operation of Public schools. It is our opinion & that of those we have engaged already, that if we can positively influence school education in SA it will directly benefit all of our children’s future & that of South Africa.

It is important for Muslims to be active in the civil structure of South Africa. Our legislation & education systems encourage participation of communities in their schools. We need to take advantage of this opportunity especially now at this critical time that legislation on SGB powers is under review.

BENEFITS

School Governing Bodies have a direct influence on the following, among others:

• Control of financial & operational governance of the school.
• Appointment of principals, teachers & administrators.
• Setting of fees.
• Setting & application of policy.
• Influence the ethos, values & discipline at the school.
• Influence on the way the curriculum is interpreted & applied.

All of the above can be used to influence positively & negatively:

• Access to select groups of students.
• The demographic profile of students.
• The quality of education provided by the school.

PROCESS & IMPLICATIONS

Elections are held early March (any community mobilisation plans must be addressed urgently).

• Candidates must be nominated and accept the nomination as per the schools’ rules & may be needed two days before. (Nominations must be timeous).
• The election requires a caucus failing which a second date is set where a caucus is not required (parents must avail themselves on both evenings). A small number of attendees improves chances of election for select groups.
• Each parent has 1 vote, so a single child in a school has 2 votes. Both parents must attend to maximise the votes.
• The parents must present their IDs before the vote & register at the election.
• Votes are cumulative. To improve the chances of a preferred candidate, vote only for the candidate/s you are supporting. Additional votes may count AGAINST your candidate!
• The votes are counted in the presence of observers.
• The SGB can co-opt unelected/additional candidates but are not obliged to do so.

CONSIDERATIONS

It needs to be noted that the majority of our Muslim students are NOT in Private/Islamic/Majority Muslim schools. In light of this, we need to consider the importance of participation & representation.

When candidates are being proposed by a group in the community there are a number of factors that should be considered:

• Any level-headed person who can work with a diverse team and add value will benefit the SGB.
• SGBs’ and other parents tend to also look to candidates who have beneficial skills like finance, law, education, human resources, building maintenance and fundraising.
• Candidates need to have sufficient time to participate in SGB meetings, subcommittees or projects. This is often minimal but varies by school (some require more input.)

Good candidates with the values & understanding of needs of the community who may NOT be Muslim need to be supported. However, we must caution AGAINST this being viewed as an “Islamisation” of education, where candidates’ efforts may take away from the efficient, non-racial, multi-religious & inclusive nature of public education.

FEEDBACK & GUIDANCE

The following input was received from educators, professionals & SGB members:

• Despite the number of Private Islamic schools, we must realise that most Muslim students in SA are in Public Schools. In most cases they are minorities and in less affluent communities.
• Candidates cannot enforce a view but can influence & lodge objections when within the SGB. The message of participation must be seen in a multi-year or inter-generational context. The impact of this will be gradual but could be for decades if sustainable.
• Parents often seem to believe that getting their children into former Model C schools is the end point, when that is actually only the start.
• Parents can make unreasonable demands of the school discouraging diversity & portraying Muslims as difficult.
• Where candidates are elected, they can be frustrated by being marginalised.
• If we want to build a better SA we need to start in the schools.
• Most parents make efforts/take leave to attend school functions or sports. SGB elections are as important, if not more so.
• Previous generations made sacrifices and they were involved in the development and administration of schools, even under oppressive and adverse conditions. It is our responsibility to make an effort to give some of our time to ensure the education of all future generations is improved.

PAST EXPERIENCES

Over the past few years, SAMNET has assisted and come to know of a numerous instances involving students, parents and teachers where there have been uncompromising or even hostile incidents with schools.

Many of these have been with SGBs or principals. In most cases, a visible presence and engaged parent body would have been beneficial. If parents are not involved proactively, it makes mediation more difficult if it is needed.

There are many instances where Muslims have built a reputation on SGBs or through building relationships for their contributions. Schools have been able to facilitate the reasonable accommodation of Muslims and other communities.

WAY FORWARD

Call to Action & Information:

The challenge of university starts in our schools and SAMNET calls on our community leaders and organisations to use this communication and information provided to engage the public to participate in SGB elections across SA within the next few weeks.

Coordination:

Communities may choose to coordinate and plan over the next few weeks to identify and support selected candidates.

Posters:

SAMNET has drafted a general communication/poster/flyer for the public, to be circulated at Masaajids and other locations.

Speakers and Advice:

We have also identified Educators, SGB Chairpersons and SGB members who can share their experiences and knowledge and are able to advise accordingly. These people available for interviews, teleconferences/meetings. Arrangements can be made via our office.

Feedback and Ideas:

We ask that you provide us with feedback and ideas that could be shared across our Network to make these a successful and inclusive SGB Election year.

To provide your time and skills for the upliftment of others is an Ibadaah.

The following question was received. Due to a high interest on this to, we have decided to share our response with the public. Please find information provided below.

QUESTION:

I just read about a new wave expected to hit in May/June in Cape Town, perhaps someone could shed some light on something that we are curious about. How do they predict and calculate these waves of the pandemic hitting in advance?

RESPONSE:

There is a whole part of Medical Science called Epidemiology, which studies the spread of disease or its prevalence.

Definition: “The branch of medicine which deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health”.

Epidemiologists are people who specialise in this today but it has roots going back to the Islamic Golden Age, when many of these sciences where formalized!  (Al Razhi aka Rhazes, Ibn-Sina aka Avecinna, etc)

Like many others, they are a profession that previously few noticed or cared about, but quietly did a very important but “unexciting” job. Epidemiology uses previous experience, statistical information as well as knowledge concerning how a disease works and differences in human behaviours, to project “what is likely to happen going forward”.

The “smarter” the people, and the more information we know about the disease… the more accurate our projections become. (In addition, SA has many globally recognized experts).

Early Projections

With COVID19 and during the first lock down/wave there was very little information about the disease, as it was completely new. Many things were educated assumptions or ideas. We were fortunate that our lockdown happened when it did as the extra few weeks and months meant there was more info when we did get our first wave.

After the June-Aug peak there was far better information around how COVID19 spreads among communities (human behaviour) and how the virus itself compares to other infectious organisms (the disease profile).

Why are scientists predicting a wave in May/June in South Africa?

There are many reasons and the experts’ use many more factors but the most obvious are time, disease and behaviour.

Time

Looking at the gap between the first wave and the second wave it took around four to five months from June – August to November – January. Assuming that we are able to control the virus and human behaviour will follow the same pattern we should expect another cycle in between four to six months (May/July).

The post-1st wave projections may not have accounted for the SA mutation of the virus, which seemed to have happened/taken hold in the Cape Region. This meant that the expected Jan-Mar wave happened earlier.

People

Looking at how people move in their community, and the country and the high probability of movements during the April holidays, the return to universities, work etc. It is reasonable to expect it could take about another four to six months from the previous peak in January to the next Wave.

Sooner or Later?

Many things can change this:

• Human Behaviour – If people do not behave the way that they are expected to and are more careful it could push out the wave until later or reduce its severity when it does happen BUT if people are not so careful, it may happen sooner!
• Mutation – if the virus mutates again it could be more virulent OR less virulent. (Make you more or less sick)
  This could mean the wave could come earlier or later, OR it is bigger or smaller a wave!
• Treatments – with the first wave and especially in places like Italy, the protocols for treatment were still being developed, and had limited knowledge of the disease.
• Subsequently, better treatment has meant that despite the peak, the effect was actually much better then we could have experienced if we had not locked down and delayed the spread.
• Important: The Vaccine effects will take a Long Time – even if we started a vaccination, program today and somehow rolled out to, e.g. A million people in the next 10 weeks (100,000 per week), It is unlikely that we would be able to prevent another wave.

However, there will be a huge benefit with any vaccinations (especially for those who are at highest risk) as it will reduce the likelihood of them spreading the disease and ensure that we have more people, especially Healthcare workers able to treat those who do get sick.

Why Cape Town? (It is not the mountain 🙂 )

That is where the first and second waves started. However, there is also data showing that Western Cape is more accurate in its COVID19 reporting than other provinces (e.g. MRC Excess Deaths Research). It may start elsewhere or simultaneously in other provinces. This is also why testing and isolation is important, even in mild/asymptomatic cases.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Epidemiology is not very different from using science to predict changes in the economy, politics, growth rates, technology, weather etc. and is never an exact science… HOWEVER, the more variables you use, and the more accurate data becomes, the more likely the predictions are correct.

Can a New Wave be prevented?

The biggest unknown is HUMAN BEHAVIOUR!

Probably not “prevented” but if ALL of us respond better, do what the Scientific Experts, Specialists and Doctors advise and be more vigilant, we could Delay or Lessen the Peak. If we can delay it until we get enough people vaccinated, maybe we could (and I hope) even avoid a third wave!

Most importantly, our Safe Behaviours will SAVE more lives!

Regards

Mr M. Kharwa
Pharmacist