GDE rules out school nutrition programme as cause of primary school pupil's death
On Friday, a grade two pupil at the Thabisile Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto died, allegedly of a foodborne illness.
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane visited the Thabisile Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto on 25 November 2024 following the death of a grade two pupil of allegedly of a foodborne illness. Picture: @EducationGP1/X
JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng Education Department said it could comfortably rule out school nutrition as the cause of death of an eight-year-old learner.
On Friday, a grade two pupil at the Thabisile Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto died, allegedly of a foodborne illness.
The department visited the school on Monday and was told there has been no incident of a child getting sick on their premises.
Education MEC Matome Chiloane said the department was confident that the school nutrition programme was not the issue.
"It can’t be one child when we are feeding the whole school. If there's something wrong, it should have been at least even five kids who said there is something wrong with the food we giving our children. So, in the school there is no child that experienced any of the side effects at all and even today they are still being fed. So as a department, our school nutrition programme, we are very thorough. We monitor, we inspect randomly every time, the food we give our children."