Some Northern Cape pupils still staying away
2012-10-08 14:24
Bloemfontein - Schoolchildren have not returned to three schools in Olifantshoek after the September holidays, the Northern Cape education department said on Monday.
Education spokesperson Sidney Stander said all three schools in Olifantshoek, which included a primary school and a secondary school, did not open.
Children in the province stopped attending schools in June when residents in the Olifantshoek, Kuruman, and Kathu areas protested over the lack of tarred roads and other municipal services.
Olifantshoek residents also want the ANC Mayor Maria Diniza to resign.
She has refused and would not step down unless the ANC asked her to.
Stander said schools in the John Taolo Gaetsewe district municipal area, in Kuruman, were open and schooling continued through the September holiday.
"They stayed open right through the holidays to give children schooling."
Stander said discussions with the Olifantshoek community and other role players were continuing in an effort to get the schools to open.
On Monday, several local residents confirmed that the Olifantshoek schools had not opened, but declined to discuss the situation further.
Various national leaders have visited the area in the past two months in efforts to broker a deal with the community.
These include Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, who pleaded with the community to re-open the three schools.
The National and Professional Teachers' Organisation of SA (Naptosa) in the Northern Cape also called for the protection of teachers and pupils subjected to intimidation by the protesters.
- SAPA
