Attacks, flooding, cold and vandalism rock return to school

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) welcomed the opening of schools on Tuesday, marking the beginning of the third term after a three-week holiday.

In a statement, the country’s largest teachers’ trade union said it noted the challenges many faced in the first week of school, including flooded roads and homes, severe weather, damaged infrastructure and attacks on staff.

Despite this, the union especially commended the grade 12 teachers and learners who sacrificed their winter holidays to participate in study camps ahead of end-of-year exams.

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Hurdles on the first day

“We would like to see effective teaching taking place on the first day of the beginning of the term and we trust our members to ensure that this happens,” Sadtu’s statement read.

“However, we are aware that the first day is likely to have hurdles due to adverse weather conditions with the Western Cape being the most affected. Even though we have not received information on the state of schools’ infrastructure, we are aware of the damage to the roads which may prevent the learners as well as teachers from accessing schools.

“The homes of learners and teachers, more especially in informal areas, were flooded and damaged, and as a result school uniforms and books were either soaked or swept away.”

Furthermore, theft and vandalism may affect the functioning of some schools.

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This includes four schools in Limpopo that were robbed and vandalised, resulting in damages costing thousands of Rands.

According to police reports, Gidela Secondary School in Ximausa village was torched and looted over the weekend. An undisclosed amount of money was stolen, and the school was set alight resulting in damages worth R341 700. Stationery, furniture, and sports equipment are some of the items that were damaged by the fire.

The incident saw Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba pay a visit to the school on Tuesday to urge learners not to let the damage deter them from their studies.

Three other schools – Ximausa Mpembelani Secondary School, Haaka Primary School and Nobelhoek Primary School – were robbed of laptops and school furniture.

“Such incidents have untold effects on the functioning of schools as they not only rob both the learners and teachers of the resources to teach and learn, but they also have a demoralising effect,” Sadtu said.

“We commend the community members who alerted police when they saw fire at Gidela Secondary School.” The union urged police and communities to work together to bring the culprits to book.

In the North West, a primary school in Moretele saw the roof that covered three classrooms stolen on Saturday.

Attacks on staff

Sadtu noted increasing attacks on school principals and teachers by communities it believes “are either misled or rented by those who are against the revolutionary responsibility of educators as nation builders”.

“We regard any community that promotes lawlessness in learning institutions as counter-revolutionary.

“Education is an enabler and game changer. Any community that is against learning is doing a disservice to the society.”

Sadtu called for all stakeholders in education, whether government, school staff or the community, to play their part to ensure effective learning and teaching takes place in the third term.

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