NO EXAMS IN VUWANI
Matrics might have to repeat R4m needed for 160 students
MORE than 2 000 Grade 12 pupils from Vuwani in Limpopo may have to repeat matric if they do not return to classes soon, the Department of Basic Education said.
Schools in the area have been shut for about two months since violent protests by the community over a demarcation dispute.
More than 20 schools were burnt down during the protests.
The 2 600 matric pupils from the area did not write their midyear exams as schools remained shut in the area, and they might also miss out on the preliminary exams scheduled to be written in September.
In a statement on Wednesday the department said it was concerned that teaching and learning had not resumed in the area.
“If schooling does not resume soon the vital time lost may result in all of these learners having to repeat the year.
“For the learners who have been at school for at least 12 years and should be preparing to enter tertiary institutions or ready themselves for the world of work. This is an unfortunate situation,” reads the statement.
Spokesman for the department, Elijah Mhlanga, told Sowetan this week the situation was out of their hands and there was nothing they could do if parents do not allow for teaching and learning to commence.
“Our hands are tied and we don’t know what to do, to be honest, because our teachers are intimidated. Schools are still deserted and the gates are locked and we tried to open schools but they increased intimidation levels as well – to the extent that some of the people decided to lock the schools again,” Mhlanga said.
Sowetan reported on Wednesday that a principal from Vuwani has called for secret camps in the area to assist Grade 12 pupils.
However, Mhlanga said the problem was bigger than secret camps and parents should allow pupils to go back to class. IN FOUR days, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University vice-chancellor Professor Derrick Swartz and a team of 20 hope to raise R4-million for students who are unable to finish their studies due to lack of funds.
The team will embark on a four-day journey on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu in Peru in September to raise funds for bursaries. The money would assist 160 students unable to return to the university to complete their final year and graduate.
The students, most of them from rural Eastern Cape, each needs R25 000 to finish their three-year and four-year studies towards degrees or diplomas.
According to the university, government funding is far below the university’s annual operational costs. The institution received R780-million government funding this year for its operational costs of approximately R1.8-billion.
The university said: “For every student [who] does not complete their three- and four-year qualification, the university loses R20 000 and R30 000 respectively in government output subsidy per student. The government only pays this once a student graduates.”
The university had already raised R770 000 from donations by big corporates, alumni and individuals.
Last year, Swartz raised more than R1million when he climbed Mouth Fuji in Japan to raise funds for students.