Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency (ANA)
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) says the Santaco minibus taxi strike has resulted in 852,259 learners not attending school on Tuesday due to safety concerns.
The WCED has highlighted that the number of schools that had to close due to safety concerns or low attendance has more than tripled from Monday, with 92 schools closed on Tuesday.
It further said this is a devastating blow to teaching and learning in the province, at a time when we are still trying to reverse learning losses from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The fact is that the Santaco-Western Cape’s minibus taxi strike is destroying teaching and learning in the Western Cape,” WCED minister, David Maynier said.
Maynier further said that the metro districts were again hit hard, with attendance rates of between 10% and 20%, and disruption to the learner transport scheme in the Cape Winelands and West Coast education districts also contributed to reduced attendance.
“While some of the learners were not able to reach school due to transport disruption, others were kept home as their parents feared for their safety given the violence associated with the strike action,” Maynier said.
Maynier also added that a lot of fake news spread on social media during this period about attacks and violence related to the strike was shared, which further heightened fears, and that people should refrain from spreading unverified information on social media.
“This makes it harder for law enforcement to do their job and presents a risk to our learners and staff. Fake news is generating fear and chaos, and does not serve the best interests of our children,” Maynier said.
He said that the number of staff unable to reach school remained roughly the same as on Monday, with 17,725 staff absent on Monday.
“We have not yet had any reports from our schools of damages or attacks on school properties, but we appeal to the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately,” Maynier said.
IOL