The DA in Limpopo has submitted comprehensive written questions to the Education MEC, Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya to determine the level of preparedness of the province’s schools when municipalities fail to provide reliable water and electricity services.
This follows growing concerns that schools are increasingly becoming victims of municipal service delivery failures. Recent reports of a school being forced to close after losing both water and electricity demonstrate that these failures directly disrupt teaching and learning, placing the constitutional right to basic education at risk.
The DA’s questions seek a detailed district-by-district breakdown of:
– Schools that rely solely on municipal water and electricity,
– Schools with alternative water and electricity sources,
– Schools that have no contingency measures in place,
– Schools that have been forced to suspend classes due to service delivery failures, and
– The Department’s plans and budget to improve the resilience of schools across Limpopo.
The purpose of these questions is to identify vulnerable schools before a crisis occurs. Learners should not be sent home or lose valuable classroom time because a school has no access to potable water or electricity.
The DA believes that every school should have practical contingency plans to ensure that education can continue, even during prolonged municipal outages. While there are resource limitations, the department should explore alternative and practical water and energy solutions to ensure the most vulnerable schools are protected against water and electricity outages.
The DA remains committed to ensuring that every child has access to a safe, dignified and uninterrupted learning environment. We will carefully assess the Department’s responses and, where shortcomings are identified, continue to advocate for practical solutions that protect learners, educators and the quality of education in Limpopo.