Tsakani – The MEC of Education in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, urged learners not to allow anyone to disrupt their schooling.
He was speaking during a meeting on Wednesday afternoon with members of the SGB, parents and learner representative bodies to address the disruptions in the area of Reshogofaditswe Secondary School.
This comes after different student bodies in the area disrupted schooling when they learned about the death of Nhlanhla Shabalala (15), a Grade Nine learner who was assaulted by a teacher and caretaker at Tsakani Secondary School last Tuesday. He later died at Pholosong Hospital.
Lesufi said he is concerned about the number of school disruptions in the district.
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“When we do a risk analysis, this is the only district where schools are disrupted regularly whenever a disgruntled group of people want to raise their grievances.
“Last year, we experienced a lot of school disruptions, which led to a concerning number of learners failing,” he explained.
The MEC explained he fears that if he doesn’t intervene now, a lot more learners will fail the year.
The department has committed to channelling the resources, especially for Grade 12 learners to recover lost time.
He explained he cannot allow learners to sit for a paper they are not ready to write.
“We can’t surrender to people who want to disrupt your future and entertain lawlessness,” he said.
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Lesufi urged any formation that feels they have legitimate reasons to disrupt schooling to utilise the channels.
He added there is no need for any formation to disrupt schooling over Nhlanhla’s death.
The department has received a full report from the school and parents and has identified that there are areas where there are conflicting reports.
“For us not to point fingers, we have appointed an independent investigation through an independent law firm. We also depend on the police to provide us with the relevant information from their side.
“The findings will assist us in identifying who was wrong and, as the department, we will know who to hold accountable,” he explained.
Nhlanhla will be buried on Saturday morning.
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