Courts told the WCED to fix Uitsig High
THE LETTER from Paddy Attwell about Uitsig High School needs a fact check.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) tried to close the school last year, without following proper procedures and was stopped by the courts. The agreement in court was that the WCED should address the problems to make it functional, in terms of the legal obligations of the School Act.
The WCED had tried to close it by not investing any funds into maintenance and services or pupil’s facilities over the past few years. It was another school outside the area that was built and some Uitsig pupils had to leave to go there.
But besides increasing the class sizes at the better school, which also drives down results, it cannot accommodate all of Uitsig’s pupils. This is unfair and not in keeping with the School Act’s obligation, to provide educational opportunities.
This action of closing the high school also does not reflect a consideration that the pupils from the three primary schools in Uitsig need to go to a high school in the area.
There have been many volunteers concerned about the pupils’ futures who have been assisting Uitsig High School pupils.
The Concerned Education Forum and Norman Arendse, the lawyer who is fighting pro bono in court to defend the pupils’ rights to education, are some of the volunteers.
The WCED broke down a relatively good empty school in the area last year that the Uitsig pupils wanted to move to, so it’s not about the state of facilities but about closing the school. TONY EHRENREICH Uitsig