FS academic year starts off on the wrong foot
16 January 2019
The DA will submit questions to the Free State Education MEC, Tate Makgoe, this is after the DA randomly sampled 20 schools within the province – out of 10 primary schools, and 10 secondary schools sampled. 4 out of 10 schools have received textbooks and 4 out of 10 are yet to receive their subsidies. 8 out of 10 schools remain overcrowded.
Similarly, within secondary schools - 7 out of 10 had not received textbooks, 8 out of 10 had not received subsidies, whilst a further 8 out of 10 remain overcrowded. This shows that the Free State Department of Education has failed to adequately plan and restore the state of our basic education.
The Department experiences financial constraints, service-providers are unwilling to take orders without advance payment.
The DA maintains that the financially stressed department cannot fulfill its obligations towards schools in the province. In Koffiefontein, schools do not know which learners will be forced to rewrite the 2018 end-of-year examinations and the department continues to compromise the education process.
The DA has been inundated by phone calls from parents, with complaints surrounding textbooks and school subsidies. Some schools have requested parents to purchase the textbooks consequent to not having received the requisite subsidies. Considering the current economic climate, it is highly improbable that parents are able to cater for these unbudgeted expenses, which will leave many learners facing the daunting prospect of attending classes without textbooks.
Schools are unable to fund their day-to-day operations. Perhaps if MEC Makgoe began to attend the portfolio committee meetings when reports are tabled, he would become more “hands-on” with current affairs.
The failing ANC must be voted out. They have clearly demonstrated that they don’t care about the well-being of people who voted them into power and as such our children’s future will be negatively affected. Only the DA has the plan to build a one South for All where the delivery of quality education is a priority.
Issued by Mariette Pittaway, DA MPL, 16 January 2019
