LIMPOPO – This followed the stakeholder meeting addressed by President Jacob Zuma in Vuwani on Sunday.
“The education stakeholders including learners, teachers and parents welcomed the move to see all learners in schools,” Department of Education Spokesperson, Dr Naledzani Rasila, said. “The department will assess the backlog and come up with strategies to make sure these learners are on par with other learners across the province and the nation.”
He urged all learners and teachers to be at schools on Monday when lessons resumed.
“The department and learners themselves cannot afford to lose any more time. Education is a societal matter and therefore need all participants to work together,” he said.
Zuma visited Vuwani on Sunday following a meeting with Venda king Toni Mphephu Ramabulana last week. Zuma met with the king and other stakeholders including church leaders, business owners, youth, and the Pro-Makhado group on Sunday.
The meeting accepted the king’s proposal that the Vhembe District Municipality will deliver services to the people while a solution for the demarcation issue is sought, but that did not mean that the LIM 345 Municipality was disestablished, a media statement from the presidency stated. The president, king, and stakeholders called on everyone in the community to work towards bringing normalcy to the area, and urged learners to return to school.
Zuma did not meet with the community as was planned, and this led to renewed violence in the area after people waited more than six hours to meet with him.
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According to the media statement, the presidency, after an assessment of the situation on Sunday, concluded the whole community affected by the establishment of the new municipality was not represented at the meeting, which was allegedly composed by those who oppose the new municipality.
“President Zuma wishes to meet everybody and benefit from the diversity of opinions. He believes the solution to the Vuwani issue should be inclusive,” the statement reads.
Six vehicles, three belonging to the SABC, two privately owned and one belonging to the police, were damaged in the violent protests that followed.
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