Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - Members of a governing body at a school for children with special needs in Mpumalanga have criticised Parliament’s portfolio committee on basic education for wasting taxpayers’ money on assessment visits that produce no results.
The committee members visited Tsakane Special School in Acornhoek as part of its week-long oversight work at schools around the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality.
However, Tsakane community members who spoke to the Pretoria News yesterday revealed that the committee was not visiting for the first time and there had not been feedback on their grievances raised previously.
“We were concerned as the SGB (school governing body) that our elected leaders seem to visit us as a fulfilment of their diary. They want to appear to have worked when there is no feedback. They last came here a few years back, around 2015 and 2016,” said a governing body member who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We have a problem of teacher absenteeism, late-coming and dodging. Imagine dealing with physically impaired children who need round-the-clock care but you have teachers who either don’t show up to work or who knock off before the school is out.
“Remember that at this school one child equals six children when compared to a normal school. Therefore, one absent teacher causes problems for all of us.
“The committee came here years ago and these issues were ventilated but they are back here without anything to show,” said the member.
The community members said a hostel would be helpful because some children had parents who also suffered from physical impairment.
The community members acknowledged that the members of the portfolio committee could have changed since the last visit.
“We don’t care if the committee consists of new members. That would be like saying President Cyril Ramaphosa should not provide a community with water because the promise was made by (Nelson) Mandela, (Thabo) Mbeki or (Jacob) Zuma. These committees belong to the same Parliament and hold the same government accountable,” said the member.
Tsakane Special School has 206 children who use 21 classrooms. Seven of these are mobile classrooms, with only four having ramps for those using wheelchairs.
Committee chairperson Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba acknowledged challenges facing schools in Bushbuckridge in general, but said she would respond to the issue of the previous visit to Tsakane.
Earlier, the committee released a press statement in which it decried overcrowding at schools in the municipality and highlighted the need for a hostel to accommodate children at Tsakane.
Provincial Education Department spokesperson Gerald Sambo was not available for comment.
Pretoria News