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Premier must personally oversee and monitor faltering Education Department

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Dear MyPE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape is calling on EC Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, to intervene and personally oversee and monitor the work of the Department of Education in the Eastern Cape.

The Eastern Cape MEC for Education, Fundile Gade, continues to fail the learners of the province and is incapable of implementing measures to ensure that they receive a quality education in a safe and conducive environment.

The Premier needs to intervene to ensure the safety of our children during this Covid-19 pandemic.

Schools around the country are expected to open their doors to Grade 7 and 12 learners on Monday, 1 June 2020.

It seems not all schools in the province will be in possession of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when schools re-open on Monday. Schools without the necessary PPE must remain closed.

The Department has stated that the reasons for non-delivery of PPE to schools are protests by SMMEs and issues with the supplier in Nelson Mandela Bay. The topic of schools re-opening has been ongoing at national and provincial government since the implementation of a nationwide lockdown on 27 March 2020. The department has clearly been dragging its feet and has had ample time to sort these issues out.

There are still 756 schools without any source of water and 2 427 schools with no water in their water tanks. Water is a crucial element in fighting against the Coronavirus. Since the announcement of the re-opening of schools by the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga on Tuesday 19 May, no water tanks have been delivered to any schools.

Additionally, a total of 5 024 Eastern Cape schools require school support teams, but only 1563 have been contracted. School transport issues have also not been addressed.

The department has definitely not succeeded in implementing all the necessary protective measures, planning, and logistics to ensure the complete safety of learners to return to school on 1 June 2020.

The DA will, therefore, continue to put pressure on MEC Gade and his department to prioritise the health of our learners.

Regards

Yusuf Cassim, MPL
DA Eastern Cape Shadow MEC for Education

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