The number of schools that had to close due to safety concerns or low attendance due to the taxi strike on Tuesday more than tripled from Monday, with 92 schools closed.
Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier said 852 259 learners stayed home from school on Tuesday, which was 71% of learners.
“The number of staff unable to reach school remained roughly the same as on Monday, with 17 725 staff absent (on Tuesday).
“While some of the learners were not able to reach school due to transport disruption, others were kept home as their parents feared for their safety, given the violence associated with the strike action.
“A large amount of fake news spread on social media (on Monday) further heightened fears.”
Maynier said the lost teaching time was a blow to learning in the province at a time when attempts to reverse learning losses from the Covid-19 pandemic were still in play.
“The metro districts were again hit hard, with attendance rates of between 10% and 20%.
“Disruption to the Learner Transport Scheme in the Cape Winelands and West Coast education districts also contributed to reduced attendance.
“The fact is that Santaco-Western Cape’s minibus taxi strike is destroying teaching and learning in the Western Cape.
“This is a devastating blow to teaching and learning in our province at a time when we are still trying to reverse learning losses from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Cape Times