Pretoria - The Western Cape Education Department has appealed to parents and caregivers to continue sending their children to school, despite today's industrial action by teachers.
Provincial Education MEC Donald Grant said that while the department expected that some of the schools will be affected by the strike, the provincial government will ensure the protection of learners and that teaching and learning continues under current circumstances.
"In terms of learner safety, we will provide, where possible, supervision for learners, utilising district staff and parents," Grant said.
Grant, however, warned that unlawful behavior would not be tolerated and government would do its utmost to ensure the safety of learners, teachers and schools.
He further urged parents to ensure that their children bring extra learning materials to school including library books, textbooks, crosswords and past examination papers and ensure that learners continue to read, write and calculate.
"The department will, wherever possible, provide teaching alternatives and ensure that as many resources are directed to our Grade 12 learners, who have 55 days to go till their first practical National Senior Certificate examinations.
"Our objective is to ensure that the system functions as effectively as possible despite the disruptions, therefore, everyday, we will be monitoring very closely absentee levels of educators in all our schools.
"This will be communicated to the Provincial Head Office in order to identify where there are large-scale stay aways so that we know which areas and schools are in need of assistance and where to direct our resources," he said, urging parents and learners to remain calm and focused during this period.
