Cape Town - The impact of the Santaco-led taxi strike and related violence on learners and teachers in the Western Cape was evident, with approximately 70% of pupils being absent from schools as a result of the taxi strike.
Education MEC David Maynier said 852 259 pupils were absent from school on Tuesday, which represented 71% of its pupils. On Tuesday, 92 schools had to close. The number of staff members unable to get to schools was 17 725 on Tuesday.
“The metro districts were again hit hard, with attendance rates of between 10% and 20%. Disruption to the Learner Transport Scheme in the Cape Winelands and West Coast education districts also contributed to reduced attendance,” Maynier said.
When reached for comment on Wednesday, spokesperson to Maynier, Kerry Mauchline, said there were still no reports of vandalised/attacked schools, despite the many rumours.
The Western Cape Education Department said it would not hesitate to turn to the court to prohibit the taxi associations from keeping pupils and staff from attending schools.
On Monday, 456 020 pupils and 17 449 staff members were stopped from attending school. Twenty-seven schools had to close and a number of others let pupils leave early, Maynier said.
Western Cape Teachers Forum founder Lee Hoffmann said: “This means that learning and teaching came to a grinding halt, whereas in other instances, quality teaching and learning could not continue due to the anxiety and stress experienced by teachers who were worried about making a safe passage home.”
Hoffmann said schools were now forced to develop catch-up plans to make up for learning time as a result of the strike.
“This places an additional burden on an already pressurised teacher workforce, and as leaders we need to be cognizant of the mental health of our members of staff.”
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union in the Western Cape (SADTU Western Cape) has said that it is greatly perturbed by the ongoing violent taxi strike.
“While we understand the cry for the reversal of the draconian laws against the taxi industry by the City of Cape Town, these must not impact on schooling for the poor working-class learners who still experience the learning losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The ensuing strike once more shows the great divide between the previously advantaged white schools and the poor working-class schools, where the teachers and learners from townships must bear the brunt of the strike,” SADTU Western Cape’s spokesperson Sibongile Kwazi said.
“The union cannot understand how some circuit managers are putting pressure on principals to ensure that teachers and education workers report to school when conditions are unsafe, and workers fear to leave their homes.
“The employer is reminded that education workers are not on strike and schools must not be used in the political power play...”