Moratorium on Western Cape school closures stays in place

Cape Town - A moratorium on school closures in the province remained in place, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) confirmed on Tuesday, pending a review of legislation.

Education MEC, David Maynier, said no schools would be closed until a report on the way forward was developed.

“A moratorium on school closures still applies.

“Having looked at the Standard Parameters for Closure and Merger of Micro Public Schools, and the Guidelines for Rationalisation and Realignment of Public Schools – A Holistic Approach, we’re not sure this is the best way to approach the unique circumstances of each school.

“We want to develop our own data-driven policy in line with our vision before proceeding. In light of this, I have placed a moratorium on school closures, pending a review of our approach,” said Maynier.

Teachers union, the SA Democratic Teachers Union’s (Sadtu), provincial secretary, Sibongile Kwazi, said they were happy that the moratorium still applied.

“Over the past six months, no schools in the province have closed and this was the approach Maynier took to recover from learning losses during the global Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is a good approach because now it means no children will be placed at a disadvantage and risk losing out on any more academics due to the possibility of permanent closure.

“We know that many factors are a result for schools to close but glad this was the stance taken by Maynier,” said Kwazi.

Kwazi further said while they would only have a clearer picture of unplaced pupils once schools reopened on January 18, they would keep tabs and intervene where necessary.

“We are keeping an eye on it and will especially assist in hotspot areas.

We won’t be able to make an assessment yet and don’t know the depth of the challenge yet for this year, we are committed to assisting as soon as schools reopen to mitigate any challenges for our pupils,” said Kwazi.

Last year, in a report, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga identified six schools in the province as “non-viable”, another six were identified for “rationalisation” and 10 were closed or merged since 2020.

Since 2021, the department confirmed 1 503 schools in South Africa were closed.

Cape Times