Schools plagued by drunk staff and gangs

TEACHERS come to class drunk and pass out in Eastern Cape schools while pupils are getting high on drugs.

And these are just some of the classroom realities that confronted members of the provincial legislature during visits earlier this year.

They also found high rates of teenage pregnancy, ill-disciplined teachers and pupils, gangsterism, fake qualifications, lack of pupil transport, and taverns in the vicinity of playgrounds.

Members of the provincial education portfolio committee compiled the report and tabled it at a Bhisho legislature sitting yesterday.

One of the worst schools was in the Fort Beaufort education district. Situated in a township in Bedford, the school has obtained a pass rate of less than 40% for the past three years.

When the MPLs visited the school, they were told of parents of children at the school selling drugs in the community.

"The school is faced with behavioural problems involving both teachers and pupils. Teachers at the school are lazy, they do not even finish their class work for the term. There are teachers who come to school drunk to the extent of passing out during school hours," the report said.

At a junior secondary school in the Cofimvaba district, pupils were found using "stubborn chocolate", a glue which they sniff and eat to get high.

One of the biggest schools in the Queenstown district had a problem with gangsterism.

As part of their remedial actions, MPLs urged the department to take disciplinary action against teachers. In other districts politicians found foreign teachers with suspected fake qualifications, illegal schools, hazardous classrooms and a school without water that was forced to buy it from the municipality.

Committee chairman Phumzile Mnguni said the department would have to respond to recommendations made in the report within 30 days.

"They will have to state how to implement the recommendations which essentially carry the force of law.

"The committee expects the department to table plans [which are costed and have timelines] as these are resolutions of the house."

COPE MPL and education spokeswoman Angela Woodhall said some of the issues had been raised with the department in the past.

"We will not take the focus off the issues identified. The department may not be able to answer problems immediately but must try and also have long-, medium- and short-term plans."

DA shadow education MEC Edmund van Vuuren said: "Little or no resolve has been shown to have these constraints removed or unblocked in order for quality education to prevail."

Eastern Cape education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani welcomed and acknowledged the committee's work as important.

"We view the findings in a very serious light."

Pulumani said remedial steps would be considered and integrated into the school improvement plan, which was monitored by oversight teams that undertook scheduled school visits. - Msindisi Fengu