COSATU Free State held a very successful meeting with our alliance partners as well as the progressive stakeholders to discuss education matters. We also laid a firm foundation for the formal launch of the Alliance Education structure which would be later this month.

We have acknowledged that education is faced with a number of challenges which needs to be tackled holistically. Most of these problems emanate from our communities and they reflect the challenges we have in our society.

The Education Alliance would assume that responsibility to lead a united front of progressive forces pushing for the radical transformation of all the levels of education.

We would like to welcome the support from the stakeholders. We are committed to work with all the stakeholders to drive for a better education system, which would be working class biased.

We are already concerned that in few months when the registration process starts in higher learning, Bloemfontein which is the hub of higher education institutions would be swamped with students who had just passed grade 12.

We are acutely aware of the type of conditions which those learners would be subjected to as they arrive in Bloemfontein. Some will even be struggling to get somewhere to sleep.

Ordinarily one would expect the parents to accompany their children and to ensure that they are safe but the cost of transport and shrinking wages will make that impossible.

This means that many young girls and boys some of whom would be leaving their homes for the first time would find themselves in dire straits and predisposed to all forms of bad elements.

We believe that the government and institutions of higher learning should provide a temporary measure to mitigate the effects of young people coming into the city finding them without a place to sleep.

We shall be taking up campaigns to deal with issues that affect the learning process ,as we strive to build a better nation after our official launch on 24 October 2018.

The struggle continues.

Issued by COSATU Free State

Enquiries Provincial Secretary Monyatso oa Mahlatsi @ 010 219 1373 or 076 115 9923