It's a hollow victory, MEC tells reopened Elsies River school with three teachers

Five grades, eight subjects, 91 pupils... and three teachers.

That’s the reality at a Cape Town secondary school that reopened on Thursday pending the outcome of an appeal against its court-ordered closure.

Western Cape education MEC Debbie Schäfer issued a statement on Friday blaming Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich for using pupils and parents at Uitsig Secondary School, near Elsies River, as “pawns in his attempts to try to remain relevant”.

She said Ehrenreich and the school governors applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal after the Cape Town High Court decided Schäfer’s decision to close the school in 2017 was valid.

“It is only until that petition — which I fully intend to oppose — is determined that this order now applies.

“I decided to close the school due to decreasing learner numbers, the total state of disrepair which the main building is in and relentless vandalism and theft,” she said.

“In addition, learner performance at the school is very low, with the school only achieving a 15.4% pass rate in 2018.”

Schäfer said arrangements had been made to transfer Uitsig’s pupils to Ravensmead High, 1km away, where the matric pass rate was 94%.

“Educators and learners at Ravensmead teach and learn in a safer school environment, with better infrastructure and extra-mural activities and facilities. It remains a beacon of hope and is literally around the corner from Uitsig.”

On Thursday, Uitsig principal Charlene Faroo told pupils and parents: “We are going to prove to those who believed our school should close that we can make this a success,” GroundUp reported.

Grade 11 pupil Justin Khan, 16, said transferring to another school, such as Ravensmead High or St Andrew’s Secondary in Elsies River, could pose a safety risk.

“It’s too dangerous for me to go to St Andrew’s because the gangsters that side target you just because you come from Uitsig. I want to finish school and go to college to make a better life for myself,” he said.

Parent and governor Sharon Koeberg said the matriculants’ poor performance was a result of the tension and uncertainty over the school’s closure.

“We want this school to be rebuilt and more teachers to be hired,” she said. “The department did not respond to any of our requests for help when it came to our matriculants. As a parent I am not happy about this.”

Another parent, Marlene Philander, said her daughter would be left stranded if the school closed. “My child was in Grade 8 at Parow High last year, but I can no longer afford the school fees and travelling costs,” she said.

“I am unemployed and a single parent, at least if she’s here I know she won’t have to walk alone to the taxi rank anymore.”