Learners denied entry to school due to non-rental payment

Learners at Barrage Primary Farm School in the Vaal have been allocated to other neighbouring schools following the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) failure to pay rent.

As a result, the landlord, Barrage Trust Fund, denied teachers and learners entry into the school premises and locked all the entrances.

The incident happened earlier this month.

After the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) in Sedibeng and the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) Vanderbijlpark zone raised the matter, GDE placed learners and staff personnel at a neighbouring primary school as part of its temporary solution.

In the letter issued after the meeting with department officials on April 8, NASGB and SANCO said the sequence of this event was a violation of the South African Constitution in Section 29 (1) (a) and (b).

The organisations have blamed the GDE and said it has failed to take reasonable measures to prevent the loss of contact teaching to the learners.

“A closer scrutiny of the lease agreement that has been in force for a period exceeding 15 years between the GDE and Barrage trust fund. The landlord’s action to restrict access to learners and educators is very unfortunate, a recurrence should be averted at all costs,” read the letter.

The organisations said delayed payments have greatly impacted learners who had to endure “waiting in the rain for scholar transport”.

NASGB added that as a stakeholder, it was deeply disturbed by these unfortunate events.

Both organisations called for an overhaul of GDE lease agreements. They said public schools operating on private land, especially in communities that are living in rural or farms, have become victims of “these unfair farm landlord business practices.”

The organisations requested the department to implement the following interim measures:

– A formal communication be sent out to parents and learners about the resumption of normal schooling on Wednesday.

-The school should equally announce a recovery plan for the lost contact time and request that parents assist the school.

– The District office gives support to the school’s SGB committee to help monitor the recovery plan is adhered to.

– For GDE follow the IGR framework to source land that belongs to the Department of Infrastructure and Development alternatively Municipal owned land to be released to build a permanent school structure.

– The last legal remedy provided for in the SASA act 84 of 1996 chapter 7. The general provisions- expropriation of private land for government public service purposes.

“It’s our concern having been discovered during our regular engagement with the district office director’s management on certain critical issues that involve contract management, they don’t provide the much-needed answers.

“In our view in the future, GDE at higher authority needs to be receptive to bring improvement. The notion of the district offices operating like some form of post office does not help expedite the resolution of serious problems,” the letter further read.

GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said payment processes were at an advanced stage. Mabona confirmed that all learners and staff personnel from the school would be placed at a neighbouring primary school, saying that is where teaching and learning would resume.

He said the department has also ensured that the National Nutrition Programme (NSNP) and scholar transport services were provided to the affected learners.

“Accordingly, necessary consultations were done at the school and community level, regarding these temporary measures. We will continue to monitor the situation and intervene accordingly,” he said.

Questions were also sent to the Barrage Trust Fund and did not respond.

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