About two weeks ago, fifteen-year-old Avethandwa Nokhangela was caught in a rip current while swimming at a beach near East London and her body was discovered washed up the following morning.
Fifteen-year-old Avethandwa Nokhangela got caught in a rip current while swimming at a beach near East London last Thursday and her body was discovered on the beach the following morning.
Avethandwa Nokhangela (15) got swept out to sea while swimming at a beach near East London on Thursday and her body was discovered washed up the following morning.
Equal Education activists staged a picket outside the department’s offices in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday and called for the release of a finalised learner transport policy.
Earlier on Monday, Eyewitness News reported on how the school has been fighting for six years to get the provincial Department of Education to address the problem.
Infrastructure projects to ensure water supply and safe sanitation at schools had to be halted as government made tough decisions due to COVID-19.
According to the regulations, all schools should be provided with enough classrooms, electricity, water, and internet by Sunday.
Equal Education’s Noncedo Madubedube said they had received the plan and they were not impressed by it.
The High Court in Pretoria has ordered the department to resume the national schools’ nutrition programme to all eligible pupils with immediate effect, regardless of whether they are back in class.
The basic education department said it's consulting all role-players in the sector before meeting with cabinet over the weekend to make a final decision.
On Monday, grade R, 6 and 11 pupils across the country returned to school after spending months at home under lockdown.
The department has come under fire for not continuing with the initiative after schools shut their doors due to the coronavirus lockdown back in March.
Equal Education Law Centre deputy director Robyn Beere says one of their concern has been provisions for special needs schools.
Since the closure of schools in March, civil society groups raised serious concerns around the halting of the programme during the national lockdown.
Minister Angie Motshekga is on Monday expected to present the sector’s final plans regarding its so-called phased-in approach to allow the resumption of teaching and learning in the country.
The group said that over the past two weeks, inconsistent and contradictory information had been communicated by the Basic Education Department, leading to confusion and anxiety.
The department presented a tentative plan in Parliament on Wednesday that may see schools reopen from as early as next month. However, education groups have rejected the proposal, saying that it lacked direction and was a recipe for disaster.
The group says its recommendation should be implemented urgently as hunger and malnutrition compromised children's immunity.
