Another community resists school closures 

The Western Cape African National Congress is worried about the number of schools the DA's Western Cape provincial government wants to close.

At a lively meeting last night to resist the closure of at least three schools on the West Coast, it has emerged that more schools face the chop.

Education MEC Donald Grant published a list to close 27 schools. It does not contain the names of the Berghof Primary School (Porterville) with 104 learners who is the latest school to receive a letter of intent to close the school or the Weltevrede School (Riebeeck West) where a large group of FAS learners get special attention. 

In the instance of the Weltevrede School the ANC has already intervened to save it from closing its gates to special needs learners.

There are three West Coast schools on the present closure list. They are Nuhoop (Porterville), Klipheuwel (Lutzville) and Urionskraal (Vanrhuynsdorp).

Parents, teachers, community leaders and experts converged on Porterville for a public meeting to strongly protest the unilateral intention to close these schools.

Meetings have been held in the Cape Metro (Bishop Lavis and Athlone), Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn where schools are under threat. More will follow this week in the Klein Karoo and Eden district as eleven schools are targeted.

An Education Crisis Committee has been appointed last night in Porterville and the communities resolved that the schools should not close. The meeting's opinion is that the suspect learner transport system of the province is already under pressure and cannot accommodate more children.

This committee joins the Save Our Schools campaign for the Western Cape that is co-ordinated under chairpersonship of Mr. Archie Vergotine. The ANC will support the campaign.

Statement issued by the ANC Western Cape, July 9 2012

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