DA to lodge HRC complaint over abandoned learners of Carmon Primary School

DA to lodge HRC complaint over abandoned learners of Carmon Primary School

The DA will lodge a formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) following the department of education’s continued failure to acknowledge and support the learners of Carmona Primary School.

The primary school was ear-marked by the department of education as one of 120 small and non-viable schools that were due for closure. Learners of these schools supposed to integrate into neighbouring schools or sent to one of the three newly built boarding schools, in the province.

The department states that they held a public hearing on 6 November 2011, informing parents that the school closed by January 2013, yet, during a constituency visit last year, we were shocked to find that it was still operational 10 months after its supposed closure.

Last week, we visited the school again and found it open with only one teacher teaching about 22 learners.  The teacher had not received any payment from the department or any indication as to when the learners moved to a functioning school.

The learners were transported to and from Carmona using the department of public work’s scholar transport system even though the school’s paper budget and feeding scheme had been merged with that of another school. The school received a partial delivery of their support materials, indicating that that the circuit manager and the department of education were aware of its existence.

Carmona Primary School is functioning with little to no support resulting in an environment that is not conducive for learning. This grossly undermines the learner’s basic right to education. As such, we will submit this case to the HRC, asking for a full investigation in the matter. We will also write an urgent letter to education MEC, Reginah Mhaule, asking her to intervene and ensure that these learners granted access to quality education.

The future of these learners cannot hang in the balance because of the department’s confusion about the status of the school. The department must ensure that they placed in a functioning school where they can have the best chance of succeeding.