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By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
Learners at Onkgoptse Tiro Combined School near Zeerust embarked on a protest and disrupt the teaching and learning process. According to information, pupils demanded speedy completion of the school hostels and complained about the conditions of buses which ferry them to school.
The North West MEC for Education, Wendy Matsemela condemned in strongest terms the actions of the learners. Matsemela said the School Governing Body (SGB) was called for an urgent meeting to resolve the protracted protest of the learners who disrupted learning and teaching for four days.
“I am really disappointed and dismayed by the disrespectful behaviour displayed by our own learners. I condemn this behaviour in the strongest terms as something that is highly unacceptable to the department. We are now in the third quarter of the year and this is a very crucial period and we don’t expect any learner to be out of class.
“These complaints are totally irrelevant and misguided because we have already provided them with alternative accommodation and transport. The complaints made by learners are not curriculum-based. The teachers have been waiting at school to teach. We are currently in the process of securing another contractor to finish off the renovations”, said Matsemela.
She said that the SGB resolved that learners should go back to their homes since they were not interested in attending school. Matsemela further said learners should come back to school accompanied by their parents on Tuesday at 10am.
“They will be given an opportunity in the presence of their parents to indicate if they wanted to attend school or not. Late last year the department realized that the school’s hostels were not safe and needed renovations. The department decided to relocate all the 296 learners who resided in the school hostels to Boitseanape and Batswana Secondary school hostels to allow them not to be affected by the renovation process.
“All learners residing in the hostels are provided with meals three times per day and transported to school and back. The appointed contractor could not finish the renovations on time according to the agreed period and ended up leaving the site. The learners eventually started complaining that, renovations were taking a long time,” she said.
On Monday, learners embarked on a full-scale protest by disrupting teaching and learning process. They burned tyres at the gate of the school and did not want to attend classes.
Matsemela added that teaching and learning are expected to commence on Wednesday and teachers will be ready to implement the recovery plan for the lost days. However, learners demand that teachers who occupied school quarter houses be evicted so that they can move in.
The Guardian 