'Please do not attack schools during protests,' MEC begs communities

KwaZulu-Natal education MEC Mbalenhle Frazer has urged the community not to use schools as “fields” to voice their anger about basic services.

“I appeal to [the] KZN community, whenever they’re disgruntled, having problems of shortage of water or power-cuts/load-shedding, not to close schools or prevent learners from going to school.

“They’re treating our schools as grounds to voice their dissatisfactions. It affects us, the department in the province, as we are heading towards trial examinations that are in progress.”

Frazer said her department received reports from the Zululand, Umgungundlovu and eThekwini districts where some schools were closed as communities demanded basic services.

“We are appealing to our communities to help us make sure if they need clinics, electricity or water, are urged not to go and destroy schools as it interferes with their children's future.”

Frazer was speaking during the handover of donations of learning material to schools affected by floods at Amandlethu High School in Amaoti.

The event was attended by deputy minister of education Reginah Mhaule, deputy minister of social development Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu and former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede.

“I would like to state there are schools that we have started with the renovations, we are fixing them.

“We are also trying to bring mobile classrooms to those schools that were washed away by floods. As the department we are trying to speed up the process so our pupils will have proper classrooms that will suit their needs,” said Frazer.

Mhaule said 1,800 pupils affected by floods will receive school uniforms being made by local tailors to boost the township economy.

“We also bought sanitary towels for girls. While we didn’t single out the boys we also bought underpants, vests as well as toothpaste.”

Mhaule said government cared about adolescents and young people because it had focused more on Covid-19 during the past few years, but HIV/Aids and TB were increasingly affecting the youth.

“HIV/Aids is still there in our community affecting our young children ranging from 15. Before, it was mainly the girls who contracts the virus from early age, but now it has perpetrated to younger boys as they also date these 15, 16, 18 and upwards girls who got the virus from older men.”

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