Johannesburg - “I will resign if I'm provided with proof that there are still pupils in Gauteng who walk long distances to school,” Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi told the legislature on Tuesday.
Lesufi was replying to allegations by the EFF that there were pupils in several parts of Gauteng who still do not have scholar transport which was budgeted for by the national and provincial departments of education.
The EFF’s Patrick Sindane also claimed some of the affected pupils had to wake up in the early hours of the morning to ensure they reported to school on time. According to Sindane, the pupils were living in Midvaal and some parts of the Vaal.
But Lesufi would have none of it. He was quick to point out that he was ready to resign if provided with such evidence. He said scholar transport was given to all pupils in Gauteng.
Lesufi said his department had also made sure that pupils were attending schools closer to their homes.
Earlier, Lesufi endorsed a decision by Randfontein High School’s management to lock out more than 400 pupils who came late to school on August 25. Sindane, in his main questions, had asked Lesufi whether the action of the school was a “deprivation of the constitutional right to education” for these pupils.
Lesufi was adamant that the decision to lock out latecomers was his decision and he stood by it. “I fully endorsed that decision,” he said, adding that pupils should ensure they were punctual to school, and no special provision should be made for the latecomers.
The MEC said those who arrived at school early also had the right to be educated in a safe environment.
“It is for that reason we had distributed a circular to all our schools in Gauteng saying they should ensure the gates were properly locked during school hours.
“This would enable us to account for any pupils at the schools. It would also protect the kids against any form of harm and prevent the disruption of schooling.
“We also wanted to ensure people selling drugs to pupils did not have access to our schools,” Lesufi said.
According to him, the closing of gates had spin-offs for the schools. This, he said, was because schools were able to determine the number of pupils bunking school and notify their parents.
“Ever since that decision was taken, the number of children coming to school has increased remarkably. The closing of the gates has assisted us in dealing with those kids,” Lesufi said.
The differences between Lesufi and Sindane boiled over when the EFF introduced the issue of transport, which led to Lesufi's vow to resign if it were true.
The Star