Pretoria - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga stirred up a hornet's nest yesterday by encouraging boys to get educated so they did not become rapists.
The minister was at Nellmapius Secondary School when she told the group of learners that educated, civilised men did not rape. Schools reopened yesterday for the new education year.
She said: “This government prioritised education because it knows that it’s only through education that we can deal with some of our challenges, because an educated man won’t rape.”
A storm erupted after she spoke, with different sectors of society – from gender specialists to ordinary people – asking what one had to do with the other.
Those who criticised Motshekga’s statement said rape in schools was at times perpetrated by teachers or caretakers.
The Education Department said, however, that the remarks had been taken out of context and the minister had made them in relation to gender-based violence.
“Rape is indeed about power, hence the department has programmes to educate the boy child to appreciate the importance of how to deal with power relations between men and women from a young age,” she said.
Her remarks had to be taken in this context in order not to confuse people and the learners, Motshekga said.
At St Francis Primary School in Soshanguve Block P, tears ran down the cheeks of 6-year-old twin brothers as they waited anxiously to start Grade 1.
Thando and Olwethu Matlala held on tightly to their mother's dress, not willing to let go, as their fellow learners took turns to make their way into their new school.
A long snaking queue of learners, with masks covering their mouths and noses, formed outside the school entrance.
They were accompanied by their parents, who watched as the gatekeepers sanitised their children’s hands and checked their temperatures, using scanners.
Boys were immaculately dressed in their colourful uniforms of yellow shirts and blue trousers, while girls had on blue skirts and yellow shirts.
Both Thando and Olwethu broke into tears when their mother Ouma Matlala begged them to join the queue.
Matlala said: “They were happy to go to school when we left home this morning. I am surprised at why they suddenly broke into tears.”
She said the twins had been happily counting down the days to the school reopening.
“They were in cloud nine last night and could not wait for this day,” said Matlala, while Thando cried hysterically.
There were, however, not all first-time learners who were overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
Siphezihle Mokoena, 6, was among the happy Grade 1 learners, who were looking forward to getting on with their first day at school.
He smiled from ear to ear while in the company of his father Mandla Ntlatlane.
“We never slept last night because he has been looking forward to this day. I think he is going to enjoy being part of his 12-year journey of education," Ntlatlane said.
He said it was not difficult to get his son admitted to the school. "We went to register online with the Department of Education last year and we came here to verify if he had been placed. We found that he was already placed at the school.“
It was, however, not all smooth-sailing welcoming learners at Ratlala Primary School nearby.
There was a hive of activity outside the main gate, where parents were queuing to submit forms for late admission applications for their children.
By 8.30am teaching had not yet started as learners waited to be allocated seats inside classrooms.
The school principal refused to speak to the media because she was not authorised to do so.
One parent, who refused to be named, said she was there to submit application forms for a Grade 6 learner.
She went to the school in December, but she was apparently told to return when the school reopened.
A parent, Mandla Ratau, said: “I have a child who is doing Grade 2 at this school and I am here to ask whether he should also attend for classes today or not, according to the school's timetable.”
Schools were initially scheduled to reopen on January 25, but this was postponed to yesterday to minimise the spread of Covid-19 infection at the peak of the second wave.
Education MEC Panyasa Lesufi said on Friday that Gauteng was ready for the reopening. He said there were still 2 404 learners waiting to be placed in schools.
At least 33 480 applications were received from parents, who did not submit supporting documents such as birth certificates, immunisation cards, IDs, among others.
“We have amassed a team to individually call these parents and check how fast we can assist them,” Lesufi said.
At Dr FF Ribeiro Primary School in Mamelodi learners who mostly relied on a feeding scheme at school lined up – three at a time – to collect their rice and soup and went straight back to their designated eating areas outside the classrooms.
The head of department for Foundation Phase, Rekwile Bapela, said teachers had a tough time containing the 80 new learners because they were used to being physical and playing.
Bapela had to tell them several times to sit down and ensure they sat apart.
At Glenstantia Primary School in Constantia Park it was no different, as most pupils quietly had their lunch on the grandstands, sitting metres apart with two teachers regulating their every move.
Most schools in Pretoria East got off to a successful start, including Waterkloof, Lynnwood Ridge and Brooklyn Primary school, with elaborate procedures in place to ensure physical distancing and forms being filled out to acknowledge procedures were in place.
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