ANC shows hypocrisy with Eastern Cape school closures

This week it was announced that the Eastern Cape government will close down 310 schools in the Eastern Cape.

For months, the ANC has been waging a calculated campaign to discredit the DA government in the Western Cape for closing 20 schools in the Western Cape.

The Western Cape government took a decision to close these schools based on an assessment of the best interests of the learners and the availability of suitable schooling elsewhere in the system.

What is more, since 2009 the DA government has built 49 brand new schools with a further 72 new school structures to be built in the next three years to ensure that every child in the Western Cape is afforded the quality of schooling they deserve.

Yet the ANC has engaged in a calculated smear campaign on this issue. So the question now is whether the ANC will be as vocal about the closure of more than ten times as many schools in the Eastern Cape - a province with a well-documented education crisis.

It is extremely unlikely that the closure of 310 schools has been taken with the best interests of the learners in mind. Given the shortage of teachers, equipment, textbooks and schools it is likely that these schools are simply defunct. Our Education Spokesperson in the Eastern Cape is currently assessing on what basis these 310 schools were closed and whether or not it was justifiable.

The Eastern Cape is not the only other province closing schools.  The South African Institute of Race Relations estimates that since 2000, 1 116 schools have been closed in the Free State, 648 in North West, 590 in the Eastern Cape, 215 in Mpumalanga, 173 in Limpopo and 111 in the Northern Cape.

The ANC's silence on these closures in these provinces is rank hypocrisy. We trust that the public will see this politicking for what it is.