Jane Sithole, MPL – spokesperson on Education, said the DA received complaints that learners from Platorand had to be sent home as there was no food at the school’s hostel.

The DA was informed that the Mpumalanga Department of Education allegedly failed to pay the supplier’s previous invoice; therefore, the supplier had no other option but to stop supplying food until the department paid the outstanding account.

Based on the allegation, the DA has written to both the Mpumalanga MEC of Education, Bonakele Majuba, and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) asking them to urgently intervene.

“We requested MEC Majuba to ensure the service provider for Platorand Special School is paid with immediate effect so the learners can return to the hostel. We reminded the MEC that his department is in violation of the learners’ Constitutional Right to access to food and education. MEC Majuba was also reminded that these special needs learners are the most vulnerable and need the ongoing therapy received at school, and sending them home is doing more damage than good.

“In our letter to the SAHRC, the DA requested them to investigate possible human rights violations based on Sections 27, 28 and 29 of the South African Constitution. These sections speak about the right to access sufficient food and water; and the right to a basic education and further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.

“One of the reasons the DA requests the SAHRC to intervene is because Platorand Special School caters to learners with special needs, and such learners are often neglected by this government.”

This is not the first time the Mpumalanga Department of Education has been in hot water concerning Platorand School.

They are currently facing a R10 million lawsuit after a nine-year-old boy was allegedly gang-raped by eight boys on the premises of the school in 2021.

The boy’s mother accused the department of failing to protect her child on the school premises. She has also reported that the child has suffered trauma, and emotional and psychological shock because of the gang rape.

The Middelburg Observer reached out to the Department of Education for comment, and their spokesperson denied these allegations, stating that no learners have been sent home due to a lack of food.