Note to Editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Sergio Isa Dos Santos MPL.
With all public schools reopened, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng wishes all learners a safe and successful academic year.
To all the Grade 1s commencing their new academic journey, we wish you well. As we enter the 2025 academic year, we acknowledge the difficulties faced in 2024, a year marked by significant loss of life for far too many of our children.
We urge MEC Matome Chiloane and the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to prioritise the safety and well-being of our learners this year. Past experiences call for us to remain vigilant and fight against any threat to the safety of our learners and teachers.
We also call upon parents to take an a more active role in their children’s education. Parents can support learners’ academic success by fostering a positive learning environment, teaching children to respect their educators and peers, and collaborating with the school to protect them from criminal activities that jeopardise school safety.
The DA in Gauteng believes that quality education is essential for unlocking opportunities and reducing poverty. We welcome Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube’s announcement that there will be an urgent strategic reorientation of the education system towards strengthening the foundation of learning. This will undoubtedly improve the quality of learning outcomes from a foundation phase level.
As the school year commences, we will continue to monitor the state of readiness at schools across Gauteng to ensure that every learner receives the quality education they deserve.