‘It’s painful’: Parents demand answers after 110 kids fell ill from suspected food poisoning

Disgruntled parents at Tamaho Primary School in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, demanded answers from the school following 110 learners being hospitalised on Wednesday after they ate samp and beans from the feeding scheme.

The distressed parents gathered at the school on Thursday, demanding answers and insisting that their children not be fed from the School Nutrition Programme.

According to the Gauteng Department of Education, the learners began experiencing symptoms of stomach cramps and vomiting after consuming the samp during their break time.

“Emergency services responded swiftly, and all affected learners were transported to various clinics and hospitals for immediate medical attention,” the department stated.

One of the parents who was at the school spoke to Kaya News and said they could not decide for all parents, especially those who were not present, after being called to the school to state whether or not their child should be fed at the school.

“I also can’t tell my child to not eat from the scheme because the child might end up eating with a friend. Kids will be kids,” she said, adding that they want to know the cause of the sickness.

“We usually saw this [on] TV, and now that it’s here affecting our children it’s painful.

“We want answers and results to determine what is causing this, we are not blocking everything [feeding scheme],” she said.

[WATCH] A group of about 50 parents in Katlehong are calling for the School Nutrition Programme to be halted following an incident of suspected foodborne illnesses.

This after 110 learners of Tamaho Primary School fell sick yesterday.

The GDE has since confirmed that all the… pic.twitter.com/LIVRAJnIq1

— Kaya News (@KayaNews) November 7, 2024

ALSO READ: Food poisoning not coming from school programmes – education minister

Pupils discharged after treatment

Gauteng education spokesperson Steve Mabona initially reported that 110 learners were hospitalised, with 98 subsequently discharged after receiving medical treatment.

However, Mabona confirmed on Thursday that all the children had been discharged by the following morning.

Mabona said samples of the consumed food were taken for testing, with the results to be shared with the parents accordingly.

He appealed to the parents to allow the school to continue with the curriculum delivery.

“We want to appeal to the parents that [they should] leave the school so that we can continue with the process of curriculum delivery.”

While some parents remained adamant that their children not be given food from the feeding scheme, Mabona said the parents were instructed to name their children so as to respect their decision.

“But the school has about 1600 learners and we felt that we would be disadvantaging so many children if we say [all] children must not eat. And more so that we are providing new meals daily, they are not the same as the previous day’s, so we then assured them that we will give children food because they need to eat,” he told Kaya News.

ALSO READ: Food poisonings: Renting out your garage for a spaza shop? You are also responsible – Gauteng Acting Premier

The education spokesperson said the pupils would be given food in their classrooms while being monitored as they ate.

According to the Sowetan, when they arrived on the scene of the protest at Tamaho, one learner was being rushed to the clinic by his parent.

It is said that he was discharged in the early hours of Thursday, but fell sick again at school later in the day.

This incident has raised grave concerns from the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, over the recurrence of such food poisoning cases in Gauteng schools.

“It is alarming to witness such cases of foodborne illness affecting our learners. The safety and wellbeing of our learners is our highest priority, and we are committed to working closely with health authorities to understand and address the root causes of these incidents,” Chiloane said.

Concerns over external food sources

In a previous address, the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, had assured the nation that these food poisoning incidents did not originate from the national school nutrition program.

Instead, she attributed the problems to food and snacks purchased from local shops, particularly those tainted with hazardous chemicals such as organophosphate pesticides.

“As a minister of basic education, learner safety is my top priority, and so we are taking this matter extremely seriously. I want to urge communities, parents, and vendors to exercise extreme caution when handling, storing, and selling pesticides, particularly those that contain harmful substances,” Gwarube stated on Wednesday in Parliament.