No learner should be left behind

17 January 2023

Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Baxolile 'Bax' Nodada MP.

With the schools opening for the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape tomorrow, the DA wishes grade 1s starting their school careers and returning learners all over the country the very best.

We are sure the coastal learners’ excitement will match those of the learners in the Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West whose schools reopened last week.

The DA welcomes the indication of many provinces of their readiness for tomorrow’s opening. We also note with concern that there are still learners in some provinces waiting to be placed. A week into their academic year, the various provincial Departments of Basic Education should not still be scrambling to place learners, especially in the foundation phases of grade 1 and 8.

And while we certainly understand that late applications would result in administrative difficulties, there are reports of parents who have applied for placement in advance whose children have yet to be placed in a school. This is unacceptable.

Quality education should be a cornerstone of government’s efforts to right the ship.

The DA will request the parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education to review all application systems for all provinces to ensure that programmes are in place for parents to apply timeously so learners can start school on time.

I will be doing oversight at the Nkonka High School in Murchisson, KwaZulu-Natal to check the readiness and smooth operation of the school tomorrow after flooding last year.

As the true matric pass rate will surely show again, our education system are allowing almost half of learners to fall away, which will severely limit their future potential. A good basis – being in class from the get go – is the only way to give every learner the best possible chance to gain a good foundation in numeracy and literacy that will carry them throughout their academic years and whatever future career they envision.

Issued by Bax Nodada, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, 17 January 2023