By Johnathan Paoli
With the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams starting later this month, the Democratic Alliance has accused the KwaZulu-Natal education department for not intervening at some of the worst performing schools in the province.
The DA is on a state of readiness tour across the province ahead of the critical exams which start on 21 October.
According to its provincial education spokesperson, Sakhile Mngadi, the delegation was seriously concerned about the effectiveness of interventions implemented by the department in addressing persistent issues affecting academic performance.
“After just one day of the DA’s tour, it is clear that issues around maintenance, crime, parent apathy and departmental support and strategy are at the heart of why some schools continue to underperform,” Mngadi said.
The DA’s tour has revealed significant challenges at some of the worst-performing schools in the Umlazi District.
During a visit to Witteklip Secondary School in Chatsworth, which recorded a dismal 47% pass rate in the 2023 NSC exams, the delegation identified a lack of parental involvement as a major contributing factor to students’ poor performance.
Principal Gopi Naidu reported that a recent parent-teacher meeting aimed at discussing academic progress was attended by only two parents out of 138 learners.
In addition, Mngadi said the DA’s visit uncovered serious management issues at both circuit and district levels, including corruption, misuse of funds, and irregularities in the promotion of educators and selection of school principals.
Parents Association of KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Vee Gani highlighted systemic corruption, alleging that principals have “bought” their positions for as much as R120,000, and that some School Governing Body members faced intimidation in decision-making processes.
The delegation then moved to Chatsworth Secondary School, where the impact of gangsterism and theft has severely hindered academic success, resulting in a 55% pass rate.
Despite a R3.5 million renovation project in 2017, the school has suffered from rampant theft, including the loss of all aluminium windows.
Principal Arthur Luckhan revealed that classrooms have been without electricity for over two years due to ongoing vandalism and theft of copper wiring.
Luckhan said with only 7% of students paying school fees, the school lacked the funds necessary for repairs, and many classrooms were unused.
Mngadi said the safety of educators also emerged as a pressing concern, with teachers feeling unsafe after hours, impacting their ability to prepare lessons effectively.
With only 11 permanent teachers remaining, he said absenteeism has become a critical issue, forcing the principal to take on teaching responsibilities himself.
Once a thriving institution with an enrolment of 1,200 and a history of 100% pass rates, Mngadi revealed that the school now struggled to retain even 400 learners.
The spokesperson said that the findings highlighted the urgent need for intervention from education MEC Sipho Hlomuka and the department in the lead up to the NSC exams.
He said his party planned on submitting a comprehensive report outlining the various challenges faced by these schools. It would also seek immediate solutions to improve teaching and learning conditions.
“The DA in KZN has consistently spoken about the good quality triad in education. This includes sound leadership at the apex, good parental involvement and well-built and maintained school infrastructure,” Mngadi said.
KwaZulu-Natal department spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi has said in the past that despite the department doing everything in its power to improve conditions for learners, criminal activity had a severe impact on schools.
Asked to comment on the DA’s report on the state of schools, he said that the MEC would brief the media soon on the state of readiness of the province to hold the NSC exams.
INSIDE EDUCATION
