Hundreds of children have gone hungry for weeks as more than 2000 schools in the province battle without the money due to them from the education department.
The technical glitch has meant some schools have allegedly not been given money since September, making it difficult for principals to buy food, let alone keep up general maintenance.
Some schools have hundreds of pupils whose only meal of the day is the one at school.
At Mpindweni Senior Secondary School near Mthatha, Grade 10 and 11 pupils have not received a meal since the fourth term began on October 12. The school has only managed to supply bread and juice for Grade 12 to “ease the pressure” of exams for its pupils. The school has had to buy this food on credit. Just a stone’s throw away is Mpindweni Junior Secondary School, which is also battling with food shortages for its pupils. Last Friday, a teacher said there was no money to pay the school’s cooks. The school has been using its own money to buy food. “The department said they would pay in the first week of November,” said school governing body chairwoman Nonkanyiso Combo.
Ntaphane Primary School in Corana is in the same situation – no money to buy food, and the school having to fork out from its own coffers. Principal Noxolo Pohlwana said the food was so important for the pupils that some of them even hide the food they are supposed to eat at school and keep it for supper. “We are struggling to pay meal servers,” said Pohlwana. “I had to inform them that we would have to see what happens on Monday; maybe things will change.”
Provincial education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said the department’s payment run had been on Tuesday last week but the finance section detected a technical glitch, leading to some schools not receiving their funds, as expected, today.
“Unfortunately Mpindweni is one of them. Only 2276 schools out of more than 5000 successfully received their money but the departmental finance section has informed our districts about this to minimise confusion and anxiety, and while that is the case, they are attending to it so that these schools are paid as soon as possible.”
Glitch blamed for schoolkids’ hunger
The technical glitch has meant some schools have allegedly not been given money since September, making it difficult for principals to buy food, let alone keep up general maintenance.
Some schools have hundreds of pupils whose only meal of the day is the one at school.
At Mpindweni Senior Secondary School near Mthatha, Grade 10 and 11 pupils have not received a meal since the fourth term began on October 12. The school has only managed to supply bread and juice for Grade 12 to “ease the pressure” of exams for its pupils. The school has had to buy this food on credit. Just a stone’s throw away is Mpindweni Junior Secondary School, which is also battling with food shortages for its pupils. Last Friday, a teacher said there was no money to pay the school’s cooks. The school has been using its own money to buy food. “The department said they would pay in the first week of November,” said school governing body chairwoman Nonkanyiso Combo.
Ntaphane Primary School in Corana is in the same situation – no money to buy food, and the school having to fork out from its own coffers. Principal Noxolo Pohlwana said the food was so important for the pupils that some of them even hide the food they are supposed to eat at school and keep it for supper. “We are struggling to pay meal servers,” said Pohlwana. “I had to inform them that we would have to see what happens on Monday; maybe things will change.”
Provincial education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said the department’s payment run had been on Tuesday last week but the finance section detected a technical glitch, leading to some schools not receiving their funds, as expected, today.
“Unfortunately Mpindweni is one of them. Only 2276 schools out of more than 5000 successfully received their money but the departmental finance section has informed our districts about this to minimise confusion and anxiety, and while that is the case, they are attending to it so that these schools are paid as soon as possible.”
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