On the day Western Cape education MEC Donald Grant announced his plans for the 2013 school year, the ANC was drumming up support in parliament against his decision to close down 20 schools.
Yesterday, the ANC's Rhoda Bazier, who is also the coordinator of the Save Our Schools Campaign, said Grant's decision would have an effect on poor communities, whichwould have to send their children to schools further away from home.
The ANC, SA Democratic Teachers' Union, Congress of SA Students and the affected communities have vowed to sue Grant over the decision.
"Today we had a meeting with the parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education and we are very clear in terms of continuing taking the department to court," said Bazier.
Yesterday, Grant said children from affected schools would be placed in neighbouring schools, where there were better facilities. He said the schools were provided for in the 2013 year plan.
"The protection of teaching and learning time will continue in 2013 and we expect all our pupils and their educators to be in school for all 199 days of the school year," said Grant.
The department had already ordered textbooks, which would be delivered next month, allocated teachers to schools and released the year' s planning calendar, including dates for training , meetings, tests and exam s.
Grant said teachers would attend compulsory training.
This year, the department piloted an online management tool to help authorities monitor the performance of schools.
"One of the most valuable functions on the . programme is the resources page, which will allow us to monitor and assess whether schools have ordered, received, issued, used and retrieved the required textbooks at given dates . their workbooks and the number of pupils who have desks and chairs in their classrooms," said Grant.
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