Don't involve schools in your community protests pleads Education MEC

Durban - COMMUNITIES should stop involving or affecting schools when protesting, KZN MEC for Education Kwazi Mshengu said.

He said people should stop protesting near schools and burning school property and infrastructure.

Mshengu was speaking during oversight visits to schools in the province, accompanied by Deputy Minister of Basic Education Dr Reginah Mhaule.

His remarks come in the wake of a a school in Sebokeng in Gautend went up in flames in the early hours of Wednesday morning just before pupils were to arrive for their 2020 academic year.

It was the second school to go up in flames in January after Tokelo High School in Evaton, also in Gauteng was set alight at the beginning of the year.

The pair visited Havenpark Secondary School in Phoenix, which achieved a 98% matric pass rate last year despite infrastructure problems that affected preparations for the final exams.

Mhaule and Mshengu visited the school as part of an operation to assess the readiness of schools at the beginning of the academic calendar.

KZN education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the visit also focused on aspects such as the provision of teaching aids and material.

“The visit was to ensure that the school was ready for teaching and learning The deputy minister and the MEC had to ensure a super start and ensure that the challenges the school experienced are being addressed,” he said.

Mahlambi said Mhaule had raised the issue of immigration from rural areas to cities, which posed a problem for the department, as fewer enrolments resulted in good infrastructure being unused and wasted.

Mshengu said the department would continue to ensure that education remained a priority.

“We will continue to support our educators and schools with every available resource at our disposal to enable them to discharge their responsibilities more efficiently and more effectively,” he said.

Daily News