Dying diggers of Namaqualand need saving
| by Priscilla Isaacs MPL – DA Northern Cape Spokesperson for Education |
| Date: 03 December 2019 |
| Release: Immediate |
| Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Priscilla Isaacs MPL. Pictures can be downloaded here and here. The Democratic Alliance in the Northern Cape (DA) will be engaging with the provincial department of Education to prevent further dumping of much-needed learning and teaching support materials (LTSM).Recently, DA councillor Johan Mattee from the Umsobomvu Local Municipality was alerted to the suspected dumping of schoolbooks. Upon investigation, he found a treasure trove of textbooks, schoolbooks, and teacher guides at the municipal dumping site in Colesberg.It is particularly outrageous that the books include current textbooks prescribed for grade 5 to grade 11 and intended for use in critical subjects such as Mathematics, Physical Science, Afrikaans, English, and Accounting. Some of the dumped books are still wrapped in plastic in bundles of ten per packet.Almost 50% of schools in the Northern Cape are underperforming. A shortage of handbooks is quoted as one of the main contributory factors towards underperformance. Year in and year out, schools complain that deliveries of LTSM are made too late or that they do not receive the necessary amount of books at all.Aside from the fact that children are being done a great disservice by this inexcusable service delivery failure, the Democratic Alliance is also concerned about the financial ramifications and the monetary value of these wasted books.It not uncommon that parents are required to send up to four reams of paper to school with their children so that photocopies can be made of books which are ‘delivered’ to the dump instead of the school. Like many other areas in the country, parents in the area live in impoverished communities who cannot afford to pay for the mistakes made by an indifferent government.Financial pressures like these can compel children from poorer households to drop out of school before completing their education and further limit their potential for future employment or studies. As it is, nearly 37% of the people in Umsobomvu have not completed their secondary schooling while 14% have not completed their primary education and a further 10% have no schooling at all. We cannot afford to keep children trapped in a cycle of limitation and deprivation.We appreciate the efforts made by councillor Matthee to ensure the recovery and distribution of some of these books to schools in need.We cannot build a properly functioning education system without a strong foundation of textbooks and handbooks. |
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