The Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, has committed to working with provinces to ensure that education services are restored in areas affected by ongoing school disruptions in parts of the country.
“We are extremely concerned because those candidates who are writing [mid-year] matric exams now are those who previously didn’t perform well and now wish to upgrade their marks.
“Those who were out of school without a matric certificate are having their lives disrupted yet again through no fault of their own, even as they try to pass matric,” Motshekga said on Tuesday.
In Zebediela, Limpopo, learning and teaching have been disrupted by protesting community members allegedly aggrieved by lack of basic services, mainly a tarred road, connecting the village to the main road.
In KwaZulu-Natal, protesting members of the community have also prevented candidates from writing mid-year matric exams in parts of the province, including Ugu and Mgungundlovu districts.
In Ratlou Municipality in the North West, learning and teaching was also disrupted due to service delivery related protests.
Motshekga said she is in the process of making contact with MECs of Education in the affected provinces to find an immediate solution and implement a recovery plan for the learners to catch up on lost time and write their mid-year examinations.
“These learners are missing out on critical examinations, which are very key towards their final National Senior Certificate (NSC) coming up in a few months.
“It saddens me that their future is compromised by service delivery issues that have nothing or very little to do with them.”
The Minister went on to appeal to communities to assist the department in ensuring that the children’s future is not jeopardised by protests. – SAnews.gov.za