The Eastern Cape department of education is now ready to resume its scholar transport programme, the suspension of which has left thousands of pupils stranded since schools opened a week-and-a-half ago.
The Eastern Cape department of education is now ready to resume its scholar transport programme, the suspension of which has left thousands of pupils stranded since schools opened a week-and-a-half ago.
This was announced yesterday by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga at a media briefing in East London, following her visit to the province. "I am indeed pleased to announce that the province is ready to lift the suspension of scholar transport in certain categories of schools, especially in outlying rural schools," she said.
She said her visit, along with that of her deputy, Enver Surty, acting director-general Gugu Ndebele and senior officials of the Treasury was "a fact-finding mission". "[We came] to assess the state of education in the Eastern Cape, identify those problems that we can address immediately and pledge our support where it is needed."
Motshekga's team met with Eastern Cape education MEC Mandla Makupula and his senior management in the morning, noting some "structural problems" which, if not attended to immediately, would "pose a potential of crippling the entire system".
She said the provincial department had assured her that a process was in place to address the termination of contracts of temporary teachers. "The province will present the report to the next Exco by Wednesday for a final decision," she said.
