Underfunded Northern Cape schools shut down – DFA

The Northern Cape Department of Education is seeking an urgent interdict after 13 schools in the Phokwane and Magareng municipalities were shut down in protest over insufficient funding, with the department condemning the disruptions as unlawful and taking legal action against the group responsible.

THE NORTHERN Cape Department of Education will obtain an urgent interdict to prevent disruptions after schools were shut down in the Phokwane and Magareng municipal areas on Monday in protest against insufficient allocations.

Principals in the Phokwane, Magareng, and Vaalharts regions were informed on February 7 that the closure of schools was unlawful and that the actions were executed by an “unrecognised forum”.

The School Governing Body (SGB) Forum stated that pupils did not attend school while teachers were unable to enter the locked gates.

The forum said that only 70 percent of the allocation was paid to schools from the R100 million sourced from the Provincial Treasury at the end of January.

A forum member stated that schools did not have the necessary resources to pay their bills to keep the lights on or fund their school nutrition programmes.

“Pupils will not attend classes until the necessary funds are paid over. No one has offered any feedback to our list of grievances that was handed over on January 30 to the Office of the Premier and the MEC for the Department of Education,” the forum member added.

Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said the department was addressing a serious issue involving an illegitimate group known as the “SGB Forum”.

“They have been disrupting schooling in the Phokwane and Magareng municipalities. Despite principals and educators reporting for duty, 13 schools were forced to close due to the actions of this group. These actions have been deemed unconstitutional as they prevent learners from accessing their right to education, even going so far as locking school gates and removing educators from their school premises,” said Van der Merwe.

He explained that in response, the department sought assistance from the South African Police Service (SAPS) to manage the situation in certain areas.

“The department is taking immediate legal action to secure an interdict against the SGB Forum and will withdraw the functions of certain school governing bodies (SGBs) in accordance with the law. This disruption is seen as a violation of education rights. The department is adopting a zero-tolerance approach to these events.”

Van der Merwe added that the allocation of resources to schools would proceed as scheduled.

“The disruptions have no justifiable cause. It is suspected that other, unspoken motives may be behind these actions. The department expects normal schooling to resume in the affected areas starting from tomorrow (Tuesday),” he said.