Schools’ culture of inclusivity

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday September 1, 2025 06:00

Only half-hearted attempts were made to assist learners with special needs to access education. Such learners were underserved as the schools lacked the technical expertise and physical resources needed to meet their peculiar learning needs. Today’s schools are primarily student-driven, and the learner is the epicentre of all activities of a school.

The diversified curriculum, which includes sports and external excursions, has placed a heavy burden on the taxpayer. Pressure on public funding is also exacerbated by the need to refurbish dilapidated buildings while also catering for the construction of additional specialised buildings aimed at expanding educational opportunities to all eligible students while striving to raise student achievement levels.

The demand for increased funding continues to grow, yet public funding is shrinking. Schools are increasingly feeling the consequences of overreliance on public funding. This dependency syndrome, if not addressed, threatens to compromise the quality of the teaching and learning process.

From time immemorial, public primary schools endured and lived with the challenge of underfunding. Public funding continues to be skewed in favour of secondary schools and tertiary institutions to the detriment of primary schools.

This explains why a culture of fundraising is much more entrenched at the school foundation stage than at upper levels. While the overall coordination of fundraising activities falls within the responsibilities of the school principal, in most schools, it seems the deputy principal is the champion of fundraising. Primary schools deserve a pat on the shoulder for the wisdom of realising a long time back the risk associated with over-dependence on public funding. In the light of shrinking public funding, primary schools can only intensify and perfect the art of fundraising they have embraced way back, while secondary and tertiary publics should catch the fever. And catching the fever, they must do so with a sense of urgency.

The days of looking to the government for all the financial needs of learning institutions are over. Consistent with the spirit of self-support, many schools are now able to embark on successful self-funded external education expeditions.

They raise funds to cater for all travelling expenses, which include accommodation and food. One can say with a sense of pride that the spirit of self-reliance is gathering momentum in our schools.

This is the way to go. Given the decline in public funding of schools, it is important for school principals to accept fundraising as an integral part of their key responsibilities. Fundraising is no longer a luxury but a necessity to keep schools afloat.

A school principal should be a true ambassador of a school, responsible for maintaining sound and mutually beneficial connections with parents and the business community. The success of fundraising activities heavily depends on the able leadership of a school principal.

Fundraising campaigns rest on the ability of a school principal to share the school vision and its educational needs with potential sponsors. Most business entities, through their social corporate responsibility policies, are keen to support noble school initiatives. Schools should leverage on the generosity business.

The quest for alternative streams of school revenue is compelling, and schools should strive to excel in this endeavour. The government, for its part, should create an enabling environment allowing schools to ultimately stand on their feet. Education is too important a service to be left in the hands of the government alone. Public funding is no longer sustainable. This calls for a radical approach that would allow the community, through Parents - Teachers Associations, to increase their involvement in the running of schools.

Communities given space and time can generate their own revenues to sustain the management of schools. Furthermore, schools require a flexible funding programme, which could respond timely manner to emerging needs.

Public funding comes with its bureaucratic red tape, and this is a limitation, making it difficult for a sufficient and immediate response to manifold challenges bedevilling schools. It is also risky for the fate of schools to be left in the hands of tenderpreneurship. Tenderpreneurship necessarily involves long-winded and protracted processes of procurement, which stifles a quick response.

All in all, schools should brace for a future with minimal public funding. The government should also prepare to step back and allow the spirit of community enterprise to thrive and flourish.

The government should restrict its influence to matters of policy rather than participation in the day-to-day affairs of schools. Increased community participation in schools would enhance stability as disaffection with the government can disrupt the teaching and learning process. School principals under the present economic climate should go beyond instructional leadership, but embrace fundraising as a matter of life and death.