Kimberley - With just seven weeks left before matric learners in the Province sit to write their final examinations, pressure is mounting to urgently reopen the schools that have been closed by ongoing violent protests in the Kuruman area.
Yesterday reports emerged that Northern Cape Premier Sylvia Lucas is expected to lead her entire cabinet to the troubled area today, to yet again engage with parents and leaders of the various forums in an effort to persuade them to reopen the schools.
“Lucas is expected to announce a groundbreaking deal tomorrow which could see the children going back to school immediately. One of the things that she will announce at that meeting is the name of the contactor who will build the required road network (which has been at the centre of the protests).
“It is also expected that the date for the commencement of the project will be made known,” senior officials in the Premier’s administration said.
“Lucas has been working tirelessly with members of the community, forum leaders and various bodies such as the Public Protector’s Office in the Province to ensure that the children return to class as soon as possible, so that work to prepare them for the mammoth task ahead can start in earnest,” the officials added.
Although Lucas’ spokesman, Mafu Davids, confirmed that the Premier and her cabinet will meet with the Kuruman residents at the offices of the John Taolo Municipality, he said that he was not aware whether she will make any “groundbreaking” announcement.
“I’m not privy to the announcements that the Premier will make at that meeting, but what I do know is that she is pulling out all the stops to ensure that that situation in that area is resolved. She has always been committed to engaging with the residents and various stakeholders to secure the future of the thousands of children that are affected by the school closures. So we urge the people of Kuruman to have faith in their government and give this meeting a chance,” Davids said.
A total of 469 matriculants in that area have been prevented from attending classes by both their parents and some members of the various forums that are leading the three-month-long protest action that has closed down more than 50 schools in the area.
The total number of learners that are affected by the closures is close to 20 000.
Various interventions by government leaders – including the Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters, and her peer in the Department of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga – have failed to get the residents to reopen the schools.
Deregister
The Northern Cape Department of Education at one point made it clear that if the schools did not reopen with immediate effect, the government would be forced to deregister the affected matriculants.
The ramifications of this would be tragic for Kuruman as it could mean that learners would have to repeat Grade 12 next year while some of them could even drop out of school.
Meanwhile, the DA in the Province said on Tuesday that “the ongoing crisis in Kuruman proves how incompetent the provincial government is”.
The DA MPL in the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature, Safiyia Stanfley, said that instead of taking responsibility for the situation and getting children back to school, the provincial government passed the buck from one department to another.
“There are conflicting statements as to when the schools will be opened, with nobody seeming certain as to when or if the schools will be opened this year. The Department of Roads and Public Works has committed to start construction this week. Other reports indicate that schools will be reopened ‘early next week’ or ‘sometime this month’. Queries at the Department of Education, who should surely know when schools will be reopen, get referred to the Office of the Premier. Since the schools shutdown began in June, the statements from the Department of Education and the Office of the Premier have often contradicted one another. Why can’t the provincial government work together to end the crisis,” Stanfley asked.
Cosatu in the Province earlier this week raised a similar complaint that statements on the Kuruman crisis from Lucas’ office and that from the Department of Education often contradicted each other.
Davids, meanwhile, accused the DA of resorting to armchair criticism when it was supposed to assist government in resolving the crisis.
“The work to resolve the crisis in Kuruman should involve everyone in this Province, including the DA. It’s unfortunate that the party has resorted to criticising our interventions without helping us,” Davids said.
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