Cosatu vows to fight school closures

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Education MEC Donald Grant. Photo: Sam Clark

Cosatu in the Western Cape vowed on Friday to fight the province's plan to close 27 under-performing schools in the province.

“Cosatu will not allow the schools to close,” the provincial Congress of SA Trade Unions said in a statement.

It would call for education MEC Donald Grant to be dismissed.

“He is an example of cadre deployment in the DA, incompetent and insensitive to learners' needs.”

ANC provincial leader Marius Fransman challenged Grant to attend a debate at a mass meeting on Sunday to discuss the issue.

Equal Education, the SA Democratic Teachers' Union, religious organisations and school governing bodies would attend the meeting, Cosatu said.

Grant said in a statement school closures had to be decided on a case-by -case basis by the provincial minister for education, after considering all representations from the school and concerned community.

“Based on recommendations made by the (provincial education department), I have notified 27 schools of my intention to consider them for possible closure at the end of this year,” he said.

“As required by the applicable legislation, the governing body of each school concerned has been given an opportunity to make representations in relation to the proposed closure.”

Given the legal requirements of the process, he had to refrain from discussing the matter outside of the formal public participation process.

“It would therefore be inappropriate for me to participate in a public debate regarding the schools currently being considered for closure,” he said. - Sapa