MEC Grant outlines plans for Tuesday's public service stayaway

6 Aug 2010

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is prepared for the
upcoming stayaway by educator unions this coming Tuesday and have a
number of contingency plans in place.

Currently, our district officials are, as far as possible, determining
which schools will are likely to be most affected by the industrial
action and are arranging for extra support personnel to be made
available at these schools, where at all possible.

On Tuesday morning, we have systems in place to monitor absenteeism
levels of educators and will deploy, at short notice, WCED officials,
wherever possible, to help supervise classes.

Should a class be without an educator, learners are encouraged to
continue to read, write and calculate, using their textbooks and any
other material available, for example, crosswords in newspapers, or a
book from their school or local library.

Our Grade 12 learners should use this time for revision, consulting past
examination papers and their "Tips for Success" booklets.

We urge parents to send their children to school. We are only four weeks
into the third term after a long June and July holiday period; therefore
any further disruption to learning time is discouraged. We ask parents
to also ensure that their children bring extra learning materials to
school in case they find themselves in a supervised class that day.

The WCED have informed principals that no school can be closed without
notice and/or permission by WCED district officials.

Media enquiries:
Bronagh Casey
Cell: 072 7241 422
Tel: 021 467 2377

Issued by: Western Cape Education
6 Aug 2010