DURBAN - Education Minister Dr Angie Motshekga will visit KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday as part of a fact-finding mission to establish the extent of the damage at the province’s schools after last week’s floods.
This was revealed by the KZN Department of Education on Monday in a statement which also gave a snapshot of the number of schools affected by the heavy rains which battered mostly Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
A number of learners from KwaZulu-Natal are likely to be negatively affected by the recent floods with as many as a hundred schools set to stay closed.
“Minister Motshekga together with KZN Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu accompanied by senior officials will visit affected schools in the various districts,” the department’s Muzi Mahlambi said on Monday.
The department further revealed that:
- At the last count 630 schools were affected.
- 101 were inaccessible.
- 124 have suffered extensive damage.
“It has been reported that 57 learners have been confirmed to be deceased while five are still missing. Rescue and recovery processes are still ongoing. One educator and one food handler have also been reported to have passed away,” Mahlambi continued.
There are fears that as the rain continues, rescue efforts and mop-up operations would be severely hampered. According to the weather service, rain is expected in different parts of the province throughout the week.