More than 128,000 pupils missed school because of taxi strikes
According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), over 128,000 school pupils missed school while the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) held a two-day taxi strike. The department reported that on Monday, 128,699 grade 1 to 11 pupils were absent from school, and on Tuesday the number of absentees was 128,747. These numbers reflect that 11% of grade 1... Read more → The post More than 128,000 pupils missed school because of taxi strikes appeared first on CapeTown ETC.
According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), over 128,000 school pupils missed school while the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) held a two-day taxi strike.
The department reported that on Monday, 128,699 grade 1 to 11 pupils were absent from school, and on Tuesday the number of absentees was 128,747.
These numbers reflect that 11% of grade 1 to 11 pupils in the Western Cape were not at school for the first two days of the week.
Adults working at schools were also affected, with 2,435 employees missing work on Monday, and 1,965 absent on Tuesday.
Also read: Taxi Strike: City condemns violent protest as SAPS confiscate petrol bombs
David Maynier, the Western Cape MEC of education said that many schools have had to reschedule exams because of this, in turn affecting end-of-year marking and administration.
In reference to matric exams, Maynier said that although the taxi strike impacted grades 1 to 11, there were no reports of grade 12s missing an exam on either day.
“Two major exams were written: 32 490 candidates were registered for life sciences paper 2 on Monday, and 27 055 were registered for geography paper 2 on Tuesday,” Maynier explained. On Monday, 354 pupils writing life sciences were affected by the strike, but all managed to write through attending an alternative exam venue (297 pupils) or arriving late (57 pupils).
Pupils who arrived late were given the same amount of time to write their exams as their peers.
On Tuesday, 415 pupils writing geography were affected by the strike, with 358 writing at an alternative venue and 57 arriving late to write.
“The fact that the exams went ahead as planned is a testament to the preparations our schools and districts have made to ensure that our candidates could get to their exams safely,” Maynier said.
“I want to especially thank our principals and teachers for the way in which they took charge in developing and executing contingency plans for their pupils to reach their exams with great success,” he added.
“While we respect the right to strike, other options should have been explored that would not have had such a disruptive impact on our pupils. The best interests of the children of the Western Cape should always come first.”
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