DA to hold MEC Kgetjepe to his promises on improving education in Limpopo
The DA met with the education MEC, Ishmael Kgetjepe on Wednesday to discuss pertinent issues affecting Limpopo's education system.
LIMPOPO – The DA met with the education MEC, Ishmael Kgetjepe on Wednesday to discuss pertinent issues affecting Limpopo’s education system.
At the top of the agenda was the schools’ nutrition programme, which recently plagued Limpopo when learners were fed poisonous food stuffs.
The MEC conceded that there was a need to continuously vet all those who received tenders to ensure they maintained acceptable standards of food nutrition.
He added that there was a need to regularise the manner where food was stored in order to improve the quality of food.
“We cautioned that the renewal of the existing contracts with the current school feeders is likely to lead to yet another negative outcome from the Auditor-General. Urgent steps must be taken to correct these irregular tenders whose sole aim is to benefit close political allies at the expense of learners,” said Jacques Smalle, provincial DA leader.
Smalle said the department of education shortchanged poor schools with the provision of norms and standards funding.
“The current national provision is R1 116 per learner per term, whereas Limpopo gives learners a meagre R320 per learner per term,” he said.
The MEC further agreed that there is an urgent need to evaluate the skills capacity of our educators so that they are fully and regularly equipped to meet the curricula competence in the subjects they teach.
The scholar transport was another issue under discussion with the MEC.
“We will keenly monitor the MEC’s undertaking that all will be put in place to improve the safety of our learners to and from school,” said Smalle.
“We welcome the MEC’s open door policy. The DA takes the education of learners very seriously and we will continue to monitor and engage with the MEC to ensure the quality of education is improved.
Our Vision 2029 envisages the provision of a quality education through which individuals are given the opportunity to get themselves out of the grip of poverty and unemployment.”
