Africa-Press – South-Africa. The DA in Gauteng is worried that a sinkhole that swallowed parts of Relebogile Secondary School in Khutsong might contribute to the escalating number of dropouts in the province.
The party’s provincial education spokesperson Khume Ramulifho claimed that Gauteng’s dropouts were high.
“We are concerned by the number of pupils dropping out of school. We have observed that more than 110 000 pupils dropped out of school in 2022. Chances are some of these pupils who are now at home will never go back to school when learning resumes at this school,” Ramulifho said.
“What is more alarming is that 53 000 of those who dropped out of school are… aged 6 to 15. They can’t be employed anywhere. Child labour is not allowed in this country.
“They will be forced to loiter around the streets. Why do we allow that as leaders? There is no school-going child who should be sitting at home. It shows a need for more leadership from the department. Something radical must be done to save our children from the unemployment, poverty and inequality our country faces.”
Ramulifho said the education department was not handling the matter with urgency.
“During our committee meeting, I challenged the department to apply the same approach they used when issuing PPE tenders. These pupils are not at fault. They didn’t cause the sinkhole. The department should have acted quickly to prevent them from losing contact teaching.”
He said that on 9 February, after being told about the incident, he informed Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane.
“The MEC promised that he would find alternative space for the pupils. I thought by now or during the Easter holiday. They should have erected mobile classrooms to ensure these children are not left behind when school resumes for the second term. The MEC doesn’t understand his portfolio and its responsibilities. He is letting down the pupils of this area.”
According to Ramulifho, he has conducted oversight since the sinkhole emerged on 9 February.
He said:
“Pupils are being denied access to compete with their peers at other schools. At the end of the year, these pupils will be expected to compete and write the same exams. The solution is to bring geoscientists to establish the extent of the sinkhole.
“We can’t risk asking everybody to return to school. We need professionals to advise if the school is safe. The school must be closed and use an alternative if it is declared unsafe. Temporarily, there must be mobile classrooms.”
Ramulifho said the sinkhole could impact pupils’ future.
“We can’t allow our pupils to sit at home when there are options that the department can explore. We are going to approach the SA Human Rights Commission for an intervention. We are dealing with the denial of the basic rights of our children. These children are likely to be lost to the system. We are playing with their future. We need urgent intervention and to force the authorities to act on their mandate,” Ramulifho added.
Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona acknowledged the high number of dropouts but denied that the figure for last year was 110 000.
“That is our statistic. When he questioned us, he focused on the number of pupils who didn’t sit for last year’s matric examinations. He was looking at where the group started in Grade 1. The number starts from those who dropped out of Grade 1 until 12.
“Reasons for dropouts vary. The number looks alarming. When you look at the years in between, there are many reasons. Some failed, others relocated from public to private schools… and others changed provinces and country. In the end, you won’t have the same number as those who started in Grade 1.
“It is rare to have dropouts. We provide resources for pupils to be in classrooms. We also provide them with food and transport,” Mabona added.
He said the department was finalising supplying water and ablution facilities to the containers erected outside the school.
“The insinuation that there is no school is a lie. There is a primary school where we platooned Relebogile (Secondary School) pupils from 12:00 until 16:00. We want those mobile classrooms to be supported and pupils to occupy them.
“We are implementing a recovery plan. There is catch-up that is assisting our pupils. We encourage the community to refrain from disrupting schooling in the area,” Mabona said.
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