‘School pupils won’t go hungry,’ says MEC for education
The new R50-billion budget for the 2018/19 year is an increase of seven percent on last year's allocation.
There are high hopes that the provincial department of education’s hefty budget allocation will improve the quality of education in the province.
The new R50-billion budget for the 2018/19 year is an increase of seven percent on last year’s allocation, MEC for education, Mthandeni Dlungwana, announced during his budget speech at the provincial legislature last Thursday.
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The department has been singled out as being in financial trouble after it had apparently failed on numerous occasions to pay service providers in the schools’ nutrition programme last year.
The MEC acknowledged the challenges faced by the programme, which included court battles, delayed payments, and alleged tender irregularities which had led to some pupils not receiving food.
“Problems with procurement processes resulted in the tribunal recommending that it start afresh. We have completed the first step by cancelling the bid. We, however, want to assure the members and the public that pupils will not go hungry. They will continue to receive a meal until the process is finalised,” said MEC Dlungwana.
According to the department, the programme, which receives an annual allocation of more than R1.5-billion, provided meals for around 2.3 million pupils, including those at schools on the South Coast.
The department also made headlines after the National Teachers’ Union (Natu) blew the whistle on allegations of the oversupply of sanitary pads at schools.
Natu alleged that the pads were being used as shin guards by boys during soccer matches.
While this was still under investigation, the MEC said he was happy to report that his department had managed to have sanitary pads distributed to all deserving schools across the province.
He added that the shocking reality was that more than 1 377 schools were still using pit toilets, which posed a serious health risk for pupils, but added that this was being addressed at national level.
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