'Angie' joins the march

Basic Education Minister "Angie Motshekga" was dolled up to take centre stage at an Equal Education Youth Day march yesterday.

Motshekga's double - a 7m-high and 3m-wide blow-up doll - joined about 1500 protesters marching in Pretoria.

Thousands attended marches in Durban and Cape Town too.

The larger-than-life "Motshekga" listened silently as several pupils in uniform spoke out about their disappointment over the minister's failure to tackle issues around standards for school infrastructure.

Brad Brockman, general secretary of Equal Education, said: "We have the utmost respect for the minister and it was not our intent to insult her. We got the balloon as a way to represent her because she declined our invitations to attend today's march."

Earlier this year, members of the South African Democratic Teachers' Union brandished a large pair of panties with the words "Puluma ya Angie" (Angie's panties). Their act has been taken to the Equality Court.

But Motshekga's spokesman, Hope Mokgatlhe, said he doubted she would take similar action against the blow-up doll.

"The minister has not seen it yet but I doubt she will take any action because this is just a PR stunt. Equal Education is one of the country's biggest NGOs and they should know better," he said.

The NGO is taking Motshekga to court next month because she failed to meet the May 15 deadline to sign infrastructure regulations into law.

High school pupils from across Gauteng spent yesterday in front of the Department of Basic Education offices in Pretoria to demand a set of norms and standards for school buildings.

Fortunate Matsha, 15, of Tembisa Secondary School, said: "My school has broken chairs and some of the classrooms don't have ceilings."

Lucia Sonti, 16, of Ingqayizivele High School in Tembisa, said: "We learn under harsh conditions.

"Some children still learn in mud classrooms and then they expect us to become pilots and engineers," she said.

The Department of Basic Education has asked for more time to refine its draft norms and standards and contends that Equal Education has acted in bad faith by taking the ministry to court.

It said: "Equal Education is aware of these processes and the time frames, hence the minister's request to allow at least six months for the process to take place.

"It is disappointing to note the bad faith in which Equal Education is dealing with this matter by going to court and causing unnecessary media frenzy considering that they are privy to all the processes required to finalise the norms and standards," the department said.