It’s back to school for learners in the Cape Town metro, West Coast and the Eden and Central Karoo Education Districts on Friday. This after schools were closed on Thursday as a safety precaution due to ongoing disruptive heavy rains and strong winds. Schools in the Cape Winelands and Overberg districts will however remain closed on Friday and reopen on Monday.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) says this decision was made following a meeting with Provincial Disaster Risk Management.
Only specific individual schools in the Cape Town metro, West Coast and the Eden and Central Karoo Education District that have been granted approval by the Head of Department will remain closed.
“This decision is based on the interests of learner and teacher safety in the Overberg and Cape Winelands Education Districts, particularly with regard to travelling to and from schools.”
In a statement, the WCED said extensive rainfall has caused widespread damage to roads and flooding, affecting school transport routes in the Overberg and Cape Winelands. A number of schools have also reported flood damage to their premises.
Parents or caregivers with learners who attend schools in these districts can use the department’s “Find my School” search finder to confirm if their school falls under these two districts: https://wcedemis.westerncape.gov.za/wced/findaschool.html
School damages due to adverse weather
According to the provincial education department, 217 schools across the province have now reported some form of damage to school infrastructure or disruption. Thursday night’s heavy rains and strong winds unfortunately contributed towards this figure.
86 cases are regarded as serious and require immediate attention. The WCED’s infrastructure teams are addressing these cases as fast as possible. MEC David Maynier says he is grateful for their continued commitment in these adverse conditions.
“I am also very appreciative of the support received from school principals and their management teams in implementing the decision to close schools in some of our districts. Thank you also to all the parents and caregivers for their support.”
Maynier says the decision to schools was not taken lightly, but they had the best interests of learners and teachers at heart when making these decisions.
