Premier Mabuyane must be called to explain HOD suspension
April 11th, 2022
Premier Oscar Mabuyane must be called before the Education Portfolio Committee to explain his reasoning for suspending the EC Head of Education, Dr Naledi Mbude. Based on the documentation provided to the Eastern Cape Portfolio Committee on Education, Dr. Mbude has in fact given substantive representations to the Premier as to why textbooks orders could not be completed and why the Education Infrastructure Grant funding was not spent. Dr Mbude, …
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Suspension of Education Head raises serious questions
April 6th, 2022 The decision by Premier Oscar Mabuyane to suspend the Head of Education, Dr Naledi Mbude, reportedly for the delay in textbook deliveries and failure to spend the infrastructure grant, raises serious questions. In response to questions posed by the Democratic Alliance during a portfolio committee meeting on Monday, Dr Mbude revealed several concerning issues taking place within the Department. Dr Mbude said she had discovered that the Department had been …
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No textbooks for EC learners, despite court order
April 1st, 2022
Hundreds of thousands of learners across the Eastern Cape are still without textbooks, despite a court order compelling the provincial Department of Education to make sure that the books are delivered by the end of March. The court order stated that ECDOE had to “ensure that every learner at every public school in the Eastern Cape is provided with a full complement of stationery and textbooks for the 2022 school …
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Kariega school turns away learners on their doorstep
January 27th, 2022A flawed admissions process being applied at Gamble High School in Kariega (Uitenhage) is seeing learners being forced to go to school over 10km away, despite living within walking distance from Gamble HS. This came to light during an oversight inspection earlier this week by myself, Shadow Minister of Basic Education, Baxolile Nodada, MP, and constituency leader Marshall von Buchenroder, MPL. See photos Our visits, prompted by complaints from …
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SIU shows how deep the rot goes in EC Dept of Education
January 26th, 2022 The damning Special Investigating Unit’s report into Covid-19 corruption, released by President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday, shows just how rotten the Eastern Cape Department of Education has become. Premier Oscar Mabuyane can no longer continue to give lip-service to the fight against corruption, he must ensure that immediate action is taken against Department officials implicated in the SIU report. Mabuyane need not twiddle his thumbs, he only has to read the …
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EC Real Matric Pass Rate just 47,4%
January 21st, 2022 The Eastern Cape’s real matric pass rate is just 47,4%, as the final result of 73% – announced by Education MEC Fundile Gade – does not take into account the high dropout rate between grade 10 and 12. Of the 140 936 learners who started their senior years together in Grade 10, only 47,4% have secured a matric pass. There were 49 436 learners who dropped out. That’s a dropout rate …
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DA seeks Human Rights Commission’s intervention to ensure every learner receives a textbook
January 19th, 2022 Learners at 4 703 out of 5 451 public schools in the Eastern Cape have started the school year this morning without receiving textbooks. This is because these schools have not yet received their Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM). The Democratic Alliance will be referring the matter to the Human Rights Commission, as textbooks are crucial in fulfilling a learner’s Constitutional right to education, and the failure of the Department …
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MEC fails to deliver on promise of internet access for schools
June 22nd, 2021 Eastern Cape Education MEC, Fundile Gade, has failed to deliver on a promise he made in April to connect 1 000 rural schools to broadband internet by June, as part of the Department’s programme to improve education in far flung areas of the province. The Democratic Alliance will be monitoring the rollout closely, as it is simply unacceptable that it is taking so long. In response to a parliamentary question …
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How many mud schools are there, MEC?
June 7th, 2021 Serious questions need to be asked about the Eastern Cape Department of Education’s (ECDoE) commitment to eradicate mud schools in the province. It is going to be very difficult to eradicate these structures, which have been deemed unfit for education purposes, if the ECDoE does not even know how many there are! Based on a recent response from Education MEC, Fundile Gade, to a parliamentary question, the number of mud …
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Latest arrests reveal an Education Department in crisis
May 20th, 2021 The shocking report of four senior officials, who allegedly defrauded the Department of R59 million meant for purchasing textbooks for pupils, has revealed an Eastern Cape Department of Education (EC DoE) in crisis. The charges, dating back to 2014, have revealed just how deep and far back the rot within the Department has spread, with top leadership, including the former Superintendent General (SG) Mthunywa Ngonzo implicated in the fraud. Alongside …
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