2006年VOA标准英语-South Africa's Human Rights Commission Criticiz

By Rowan Reid
Johannesburg
16 June 2006
 
 
Students attend classes at the Meadowlands High School in Soweto (2000 photo)
  
South Africa's Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says many of the country's school children are unable to receive a quality education in a safe environment. The report says many schools are dysfunctional and students are often victims of crime and abuse.

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The SAHRC's investigation¹ found the education system in South Africa has been unable to overcome many of the legacies² of Apartheid, with children in the townships and rural areas hugely disadvantaged by poor quality schools. They said the right to basic education is still far from a reality.

Last year, the Commission held hearings across the country to determine whether schools were meeting the educational needs of their pupils in a safe environment. What it found was two starkly³ contrasting scenarios⁴; the former Model C or white schools in the suburbs had adequate resources and performed effectively, but those in the townships and rural areas were generally dysfunctional, poorly managed, under-resourced and plagued by vandalism and theft.

Commissioner⁵ Tom Manthata says many schools are spiraling out of control.

"You find that our SGBs, that it school governing bodies, themselves cannot match, the school principal cannot match the teachers, let alone that, in some cases they cannot match the very children that they are supposed to help or assist, so its that kind of free for all scenario," he said.

The commission says nearly one third of teachers are inadequately⁶ qualified⁷ and many do not understand the curriculum. Manthata says many lack passion and are shirking their responsibilities.

"The teachers are playing truant⁸, teachers will play sick, and teachers so know how many days they are entitled to for leave that the principal or the school governing body are unable to deal with them," Manthata said. "But fortunately the teachers some of them will know that they have to be at work. The question is what do they do, do they have the capacity? [...], so let the government assist the teachers. The government has not engaged them in development projects at all."

But the Commission says it is not just the fault of teachers and the government, parents must also take responsibility for the failings of their schools.

"These schools where there is no order where there is no accountability, these are the schools where parents do not match up the demands of their children," said Manhata. "Parents do not visit schools. Sometimes even where the schools have occasions where they want the support of the community they are just not there at all."

To address the problem, Manthata says all stakeholders must take an active interest in what is happening at schools.

"Let the ward⁹ councilor, let the church people, let the professional in and around the school show interest in the schools not the school governing body only," he said. "Until we do that we are unable to understand what we need or expect of children."

South African Education Department is yet to comment on the Commission's findings

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 legacies   

n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症

参考例句：

• Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind. 书是伟大的天才留给人类的精神财富。 来自辞典例句
• General legacies are subject to the same principles as demonstrative legacies. 一般的遗赠要与指定数目的遗赠遵循同样的原则。 来自辞典例句

3 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

4 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 inadequately   

ad.不够地；不够好地

参考例句：

• As one kind of building materials, wood is inadequately sturdy. 作为一种建筑材料，木材不够结实。
• Oneself is supported inadequately by the money that he earns. 他挣的钱不够养活自己。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

8 truant   

n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课

参考例句：

• I found the truant throwing stones in the river.我发现那个逃课的学生在往河里扔石子。
• Children who play truant from school are unimaginative.逃学的孩子们都缺乏想像力。

9 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。