Publications
Schools in QwaQwa in the Free State will be closed on Monday following a weather warning for heavy rains in the region.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Free State education department called on pupils and teachers to exercise caution amid heavy rains in QwaQwa.
"The Free State Department of Education has suspended schooling in QwaQwa [on Monday] due to heavy downpours that [may] damage a large part of QwaQwa, limiting the movement of residents, including learners and teachers," said Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe.
Makgoe said the department and stakeholders will assess the situation on Monday morning and "accordingly advise schools in QwaQwa whether we will continue within the suspension of schooling or not".
READ | Hundreds of families left destitute following heavy storms in Pietermaritzburg
"We are painstakingly taking this decision to protect our learners, teachers and non-teaching personnel at our schools," Makgoe said.
Last month, eight people drowned amid heavy rain in different parts of the Free State, and a 13-year-old teenager went missing. The Free State police's Water Wing recovered the bodies of eight people who drowned in different rivers, News24 reported.
The bodies included those of a 21-year-old priest and a 41-year-old woman who were washed away during a baptism.
Never miss a story. Choose from our range of newsletters to get the news you want delivered straight to your inbox.
