LET THE EXPERTS DECIDE UITSIG HIGH’S FUTURE

(EDUCATION MEC) Debbie Schäfer’s letter in the Cape Argus yesterday requires a response on the facts.

The WCED, which MEC Schäfer heads, has been trying to close down Uitsig High for the last four years.

They have posted flyers in the community saying the school would close and advised pupils and parents every year that they must find themselves new schools, without following legal procedures. WCED removed security from the school so the criminals can come and vandalise the facilities. It underfunded and under-maintained the school, so it looks run down, and removed teachers for key subjects.

These actions were designed to plunge the school into disrepair and reduce pupil numbers to justify the school’s closure. All seemed constructed with an agenda of Uitsig High’s closure because when neighbouring Tygersig Primary School became vacant a few years ago, the WCED did not want Uitsig pupils to move there, even though the building was in a much better state. This is what Schäefer and her cronies were doing over the years.

The legal process currently under way is to define what the best actions are for Uitsig pupils, in the light of the attack by Schäfer against the pupils, and the fact that their parents are going to defend their children’s right to education.

The previous high court decision dealt only with whether procedure was followed, only one aspect of what is referred to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The legal process and procedures are clear that the school must stay open, until the legal questions are resolved. Schäfer refused to comply with this legal process in the hope that she could break the spirit of the pupils for 2019, thus forcing them to other overcrowded schools in the area. At the start of 2019, Schäfer showed her disregard for Uitsig High by locking the gates, denying pupils access to the toilets and classes, as well as refusing them water, while the court outcome was pending.

The pupils and the parents stood firm, coming to school every day, and won another battle over the dictatorial baasskap of the WCED.

The false news provided by the MEC in the media is an insult to all involved. So we put the following challenge to the WCED:

Let a panel of educational experts draft an educational plan for the area, independent of the views of the MEC or those concerned about the pupils. This plan must only take one thing into account – what is best for the pupils taking their economic and social conditions into account, thus giving them the same educational facilities and opportunities as Schäfer’s kids in white schools.

It has to look at the fact that there are three primary schools in the Uitzig area, there is a need for a no-fee school, given levels of poverty, there has to be an audit of the number of pupils in the area that needs school facilities. Forcing all pupils into the neighbouring schools will increase those schools’ class sizes and social tensions and reduce learning outcomes, while increasing dropout rates, which Schäfer has no regard for. The bickering of Schäfer about Tony Ehrenreich assisting the school in a small way is not providing leadership or a solution. There are wonderful people working towards improving the educational prospects of Uitsig pupils. Supporting the pupils’ right to education are Cosatu, Sadtu, churches in the area, educational experts like Brian Isaacs, eminent lawyers like Norman Arendse, governing body, parents and individuals across the country.

So Schäfer’s attempt to reduce this important principle about education and its role in uplifting our communities to an issue of Ehrenreich is to add insult to injury.

Penny Vinjevold had given Uitsig High five new classrooms in 2017.

This is in part the reason why Schäfer fired Vinjevold, who was her head of department.

TONY EHRENREICH Uitsig Community member