Latest news with #GautengEducationDepartment
Eyewitness News
02-06-2025
- Eyewitness News
Lukhona Fose's family says community last saw her with friends on day she vanished
JOHANNESBURG - The family of a slain teenage girl from Roodepoort, Johannesburg, Lukhona Fose, says community members last saw her walking with a group of friends the day she vanished. Her family reported her missing to the police when she didn't return home on that day. Lukhona's body was later discovered in a veld a day later, brutally mutilated. Her uncle, Mthobeli Fose, says she was found naked from the waist down, with cuts on both her lower and upper body. ALSO READ: Police probing murder case after missing teen girl's body found in Roodepoort veld He says two boys have approached the family, saying they can identify the group of friends she was last seen with. "Police have gone out to search for her group of friends she was last seen with, with the help of the two boys. We are still waiting to hear what happened. They have not gotten back to us yet. We want to know from her friends what really happened and when they separated from each other." Meanwhile, the Gauteng Education Department is providing counselling and trauma support to learners and teachers at Ikusasalethu Secondary School in Braamfischerville, Johannesburg. Fourteen-year-old Fose, a Grade 8 learner from the school, was reported missing over the weekend. Spokesperson Steve Mabona says the incident is devastating, especially during Child Protection Week. "The Department stands with the nation in the condemnation of this barbaric incident. The MEC has indicated that the young girl learner who had a bright future in her life is now finished because of brutal activity that occurred in the hands of people that we don't know."
Eyewitness News
26-05-2025
- General
- Eyewitness News
GDE says repairing Riverlea High classrooms gutted by fire to cost around R2.5m
JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng Education Department said that repairing classrooms gutted by a fire at Riverlea High School would cost around R2.5 million. In April, a blaze broke out at the Randburg school, damaging 11 classrooms, including a block of toilets. While the cause of the fire is still being investigated, the department has since provided four mobile classrooms, as repairs are set to take a while to complete. Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said they were also improving the school's safety infrastructure. "And the school is currently in a better place to be in a position to fight any fire that might be, or rather, occur in the school. We noticed that the last safety inspection, rather the fire safety inspection, was not recorded prior to the incident. But plans are afoot to make sure that the City of Johannesburg assists us, you know, in the second quarter."
The Citizen
09-05-2025
- The Citizen
What were you doing at 11? Not setting fire to a school, I hope
Discipline may begin at home, but it is refined in the community, including in schools. At least eleven classrooms have been destroyed after a fire gutted the Riverlea High School. Picture: Gauteng Education Department. Children will be children … until they set fire to a school. The Riverlea community was recently rocked by alleged arson at a high school in the area, destroying 11 classrooms and a bathroom block. The fire broke out just days before the school would welcome students back for their second term. As mobile classrooms were delivered to the school, so learning could continue this week, three 11-year-old boys came forward and were questioned over the fire. While police and the Gauteng Department of Education could not confirm whether the boys admitted to setting the school on fire, it has thrown the state of oversight and discipline at schools back into the spotlight. Questions need to be asked about security and infrastructure at a school that allows any arsonists, whether 11 years old or not, access to the premises. There may always be a 'hole in the fence' that kids can sneak in and out of, but that should not be accompanied by a blind eye and indifference. Education MEC Matome Chiloane has rightly raised concerns about the ill-discipline of students and the poor state of teaching at some schools, admitting that this has often led to vandalism by pupils. ALSO READ: 24 Gauteng schools vandalised during December holidays Discipline may begin at home, but it is refined in the community, including in schools. The village that once raised a child has been decimated by poverty, absent parents, and selfishness. Instead of actively disciplining and developing children, jaded neighbours turn away when they hear trouble, saying it is none of their business. Even police are known to be selective when responding to incidents. The most heartbreaking is when this attitude penetrates the classroom, with teachers absent or disinterested. Students, impacted by the world beyond the school gate and unable to get the help they need, carry their emotional and social baggage along with their school bags. When they leave school, they are often in the care of transport drivers whose only motive is to squash as many children in a combi as possible, no matter the state of the vehicle. Many of these drivers, as The Citizen reported this week, are not vetted against the Child Protection Register (CPR). It is a potent cocktail that not only puts lives in danger but kills the green shoots of hope education provides. ALSO READ: A VIEW OF THE WEEK: We're counting on the wrong GNU The fight to get an education at school The Riverlea community is already plagued with gangsterism, addiction, water and electricity issues that have seen them take to the streets and shut down roads. The only way out of the daily crises they often found themselves in is through education. But even the most dedicated student faces a near-impossible fight to stay motivated when schools are closed because of failing service delivery, apathy, and then fire. It is one of many communities across the country where education is earned the hard way. The Department of Basic Education revealed this week that more than 390 schools across the country are in 'very poor' condition. Only 12% are classified as being in 'excellent' condition. Among the challenges are overcrowding, unsafe buildings, and missing infrastructure. It will take collaboration between the government, parents, teachers, and the community to overcome these struggles. Otherwise, all efforts will go up in smoke. NOW READ: A VIEW OF THE WEEK: It's a warzone and we are not prepared
