MEC for Education visits local school following death of learner

Following two events of suspected food poisoning that occurred in within a week in Diekloof, the Gauteng MEC of Education, Matome Chiloane, recently visited Thabisile Primary School to extend his condolences after a grade two learner (8) died.

This comes after Sibongile Mnsi (5) who is a leaner at Dumezweni Primary School also died from a suspected food poising incident days before his school graduation ceremony.

ALSO READ: Diepkloof family lays son (5) to rest after dying of suspected food poisoning

Residents in the area have also went on to raise their frustrations regarding the increasing number of learners who die or fall ill from suspected food poising, resulting in some of the unregistered spaza shops in the are being shut down and expired food being confiscated.

The Gauteng department of education has also dispatched a psycho-social support team to the school to assist learners and the staff in coping with the loss.

“These spaza shops must be close, for me this is a principal stance. It has nothing to do with one case or many, there are too many cases for us as a department to keep quite and they are too regular.

“We are certain about closing the spaza shops and ensuring that owners comply.

“We stopped vendors that sell outside the school premises and we are going to teach our children not to buy from them anymore up until the vendors are able to demonstrate responsibility and trust with the schooling community because our job as the department is to protect our children,”Chiloane said.

He added that in protecting children they will go to unbelievable and extra ordinary lengths like the decision they took of closing the shops util there is a municipal and departmental approval.

ALSO READ: Food Poisoning: Gauteng MEC offers condolences to family

”At the end of the day we will be expected to take responsibility of any child if anything happens within the school premises and these are the decisions we have made.

“The sad part is that its only our children in townships that are experiencing this, in the suburbs its not happening. We feel attacked as a department that we are losing our children, especially at this rate.”

”We are currently waiting fir the postmortem results of the grade two learner here since it was also alleged that the child has also ate at the school but that one has been verified with officials, the department of health was at the school today and they did not find anything.

“I asked if there was any other child that is showing symptoms and there was not, so it becomes difficult for me to stand here and say the child was allegedly poised at the school because this means more children would have experienced something of this nature, we are however allowing the family time to conduct a postmortem and communicate the results with us.”