Schooling has resumed only for matric learners at Relebogile Secondary School, while the rest of the learners have not been attending since February when a sinkhole appeared at the school.
This was discovered today, during the DA and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) oversight inspection at the school. The DA reported this issue to the SAHRC and requested that they investigate MEC Chiloane for violation of the rights of Relebogile Secondary School learners to access basic education.
The MEC has been aware of the situation and failed to timeously provide alternative accommodation to ensure that learning and teaching resumes for all learners at this school.
We note some interventions by the department since our last oversight visit at the school, however, there has been a slow progress in constructing an alternative structure to accommodate all the learners.
Please see the photos here, here and here.
The department has assured us that all learners will be back at school by next week Tuesday.
The DA demands to know what plans are in place to ensure that all learners will attend school to avoid a high dropout rate in the province. These learners have not been at school for three months, and we fear some will not return, adding to the Gauteng high dropout rate.
Furthermore, the department states that the Geotechnical Scientists report indicates that the sinkhole damage may take nearly four years to fix.
The DA will pressure the department to make the Geotech report public to ensure that all affected parties understand the impact. We will continue to monitor the investigation by the SAHRC to ensure that the MEC is held to account for depriving learners of access to education for three months.