The Select Committee on Education, Sciences and the Creative Industries has called on the provincial Department of Education in the Eastern Cape to proactively determine infrastructure damage and the number of learners affected by the weekend floods.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Makhi Feni, said the floods happened just when mid-year exams were in full swing and children should be allowed access once schools have been thoroughly cleaned.
The committee sends its heartfelt condolences to families and friends of the deceased. “It hurts to realise that no circuit or district decision was made with regards to closure of schools on Monday when warning of two cold fronts across the country had been issued by SA Weather Service. This calls for proper and proactive leadership from circuit level right up to the province.”
The provincial government revised the number of the deceased due to floods to be around 49. A number of young learners were affected when their school transport was swept away by the floods.
Mr Feni said the Department of Education must attend to school infrastructure and the cleaning of affected schools. “Parents should be bold and refuse with their children when these kinds of warnings are issued. We want empowered parents who are aware of their surroundings and the debates around such matters as the climate change and its impact. But young children cannot make these decisions.”
Mr Feni said if children writing exams were from the impacted schools they should be provided with all the support they need, including catching up of the lost day. “But before children are allowed back in schools those should be allowed only once the schools had been thoroughly cleaned and are conducive to learning.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.