By MKHULULI NDAMASE and LULAMILE FENI
Eastern Cape education MEC Mandla Makupula yesterday warned that all schools vandalised or burnt would not be prioritised when it came to building infrastructure.
Makupula also announced that a task team of education department officials, trade unions, traditional leaders, the religious sector and the ANC had been set up to visit all vandalised schools in the Libode education district.
The MEC’s announcement came after pupils from at least 10 schools in the district went on the rampage, setting classes alight, chasing teachers away and causing millions of rands of damage last month.
Their grievances varied from demanding better buildings, wanting to go on matric farewells and calling for an immediate abolition of corporal punishment.
After a closed meeting in Ngqeleni with members of the newly established task team, Makupula later told journalists his department would not promote a culture of vandalism by providing the schools with new infrastructure.
“There’s a long line of schools that have been waiting for their infrastructure to be attended to. Now the question is: where is my morality when a school is burnt for a farewell?
“Wouldn’t I be creating a dangerous precedent to say for this to be right, let’s burn schools? That school is going to be built but it will be last in the current line,” he vowed, adding that the department would be in constant consultation with communities so teaching and learning did not stop.
Despite the widespread vandalism no arrests have been made.
Makupula said individual schools had opened cases with the police. Local police officials did not attend the meeting.
The damage to school property is an added headache for the province, which recently failed to spend all its infrastructure grant funding.
Makupula conceded that the vandalism was an issue that needed to be rooted out. He called on communities to take pride in their schools and guard against damage.
“Yes, we do have a backlog but it will not be solved overnight. Please let’s not allow our schools to be used as soft targets.”
Last month, Mhlanganisweni Technical High, Chief Henry Bokleni, Nogemane, Vulindlela, St Patrick’s, Sandi, Vakele and Tombo high schools – all within the Libode education district – were at the receiving end of pupils’ wrath.
Irate pupils set schools alight, pelted teachers with stones and damaged classrooms.
Some schools have not been able to write their trial exams because of the ongoing unrest. There have also been fears of the Eastern Cape again coming in last in the matric pass rate because of the disruption to teaching and learning.
Libode alone has 42 public schools – most of which are high schools.
A concerned Makupula said while there would be extra classes and holiday catch-up classes, the province’s matric pass rate might take a knock.
“Children are back in classes but the problem has not yet been addressed. Surely this will have a negative impact as one hour without teaching is too much – you cannot recover that time.
OR Tambo ANC regional secretary Lulama Ngcukayithobi condemned the vandalism, describing it as anarchy that would not be tolerated.
Western Mpondoland King Ndamase Ndamase’s spokesman Prince Mlamli Ndamase pledged the kingdom’s support in working towards a lasting solution. — ndamasem@dispatch.co.za / lulamf@dispatch.co.za