Education Crisis In The Eastern Cape: Part 2 (29 October 2009)

Written by Tashi from the blog Cutting Edge Teasers on 29 Oct 2009
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Coming up on Cutting Edge:

Episode Title: Education Crisis In The Eastern Cape: Part 2
Broadcast date: 29 October 2009

Cutting Edge takes another look at the education crisis in the Eastern Cape - this time with a focus on money.

The show highlights the repeated failure of the Department of Education in the province to use the budget allocated to it appropriately to eradicate mud schools in the province.

In the 2006/07 financial year, the department returned about R124.9 million which was meant for the school building program to the treasury.

During this financial year the department set a target to replace 100 mud schools with proper structures. However, the deputy Director General Sithembele Zibi, says the department failed to meet the target. He cited financial problems.

However, contrary to this, the 2007 report of the auditor general for the Eastern Cape Department of Education reveals that the province channeled funds that could have been used to build proper schools to corrupt endeavors.

These include the payments of salaries of employees who died or were no longer working for the department, employees of the department receiving tenders from the department as well as allowances unaccounted for.

Cutting Edge visits a school that was hit by a storm four years ago and despite a budget of R100 million allocated for the school building program in the 2008/2009 financial year, the school still hasn’t been built.

The show also investigates the effects of the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for a feeding scheme about three years ago.

The documentary is written and produced by Zinhle Dlamini, edited by Fatima Modise and filmed by Sam Msibi.

Cutting Edge is on SABC1 on Thursdays at 21h30.

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8 Comments

Mathaz
29 Oct 2009 08:31

The situation is seriously dire...I can't believe the Premier went to one of the schools to wish the matrics luck for the exam and found only teachers. The teachers had to look for them in the village. Can you believe it?? Clearly the whole community i.e. parents, teachers and the pupils are to blame for the lack of interest.

Tholi
29 Oct 2009 08:41

((In the 2006/07 financial year, the department returned about R124.9 million which was meant for the school building program to the treasury.))
Why?? is it because they want to look like they saving money? so they can get big fat bonuses from that money?? nxa!

The education in the EC is very poor, because of the Department's carelesness.
teachers don't do their work because they angry with the Education Department, they don't see that they make Learners sufer even more.

Learners are bunking schools @ this time of the year! who's gonna pass Matric if no one bothers to teach matric students. if learners don't come to school, noone cares as long as teachers get their salaries its fine by them.

I hope EC premier Noxolo Kiviet will do something about what she found yesterday. Kids are not going to school because they dont want to learn, but its because nobody want to teach them!!
http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1082836

cleve
29 Oct 2009 09:05

Exaclty sometimes it makes me sad how we put our fates in other peoples hands. There are pupils who excel and do not come form the best schools. How did they manage to do it? Because they worked hard.

These kids are damaging their own futures thina we won't be there when someone decides to add an extra shach at diepsloot to shelter thier family.
STOP BLAMING THE TEACHERS KUPHELA!!!!!!!

Sims
04 Nov 2009 13:00

When I saw those pupils at Egqumeni School I was horrified at the conditions that they are made to learn in.I can't even begin to imagine what its like for them in winter.

My main worry though is the kids coz they are the ones who are in a predicament of wanting to and are eager to learn however the proper resources are not available to them.They remain voiceless in a situation where even the adults (Teachers and Parents) seem incapable of properly handling the situation as it seemed more like the teachers are going with the flow and probably the situation works to their advantage .

The reason I'm saying this is because the teachers get to have more free time on their hands like when the weather is bad ,they stay away from school.So I dont think the teachers have lifted a finger or have done anything to remedy this mess that the school and themselves are in.

I would not even be surprised to know that the reason why there was a full compliment of staff at the school was probably because they must have heard through the grapevine that cutting edge crew was coming coz Its very hard to believe that all those people wake up every morning and go to an open field to teach all day and not see anything wrong with that or even do anything about it.

Sure the government must take the blame for promising to fix the school and then failed to do so within a reasonable period but I am of the opinion that if the teachers with the assistance of the parents ,whole community,Province of the Eastern Cape and South Africa as a whole stood up to the Powers that be at the Department of Education it would not have taken all this time for the school to get funds for the building to be built.

I would like to congratulate the crew of Cutting Edge for the good job that they are doing in uncovering such issues and addressing them head on..Keep it up guys,your hard and dedicated investigative journalism does not go unnoticed.

My wish though is if you could be aired on an earlier slot so that a lot more people would watch.You are truly and eye opener.

Cheers!

Zamo nondumiso
13 Jan 2010 10:21

The cutting edge team do amaizing work congratulations guys.
anyone who knows their e-mail address please please help me zama@life2day.co.za

Keep up the great work

gcibla
18 Mar 2010 13:00

i wold like to congragulate about a good work that you have done.i also have the problem about my scholarship,im the student i study at the FET College at WEST COAST college in Cape town i Atlantis.the problem that im facing even previouse year when i was diong my level 2 electrical. After i pass my level 2 i experience that there was outstanding subjects were as i wrote all my 2009 november final examination and we never submit the terms results as all west coast college.can you please help me and others because this can cause aproblem in our future.i don't want even mention about the bursaries,less information that we knw about our bursarie we don't have tools for our education but the NAFSA provide us with the bursary .............its not fare......from Gcobisa Nkohla my email adrss is gnkohla@gmail.com my number 0833922770 PLEASE HELP......

myname
18 Mar 2010 13:51

Hey Gcibla i will call u now dear......(just joking)

PS, U must never put ur number sana.

Bt sori i cant help u nhe.

Juanpbotha
30 Nov 2010 13:39

Good day all

I am a teacher in Port Elizabeth at an ex-Model C school. But I have a big dream. My dream is to build a private school in rural Eastern Cape funded by corporations. Learners will come from all over the rural are to stay in the hostels of the school and receive good education.

My problem however is to build contracts with someone in the rural area to purchase land. The land should be situated as central as possible in the Transkei.

Please provide me with some advise or contacts.

Thank you
Juan Botha

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