MATLOSANA GRADE 12 PARENTS TO BE REIMBURSED

The North West Education MEC, Mmaphefo Matsemela emphasized that parents who have paid for the Grade 12 study camps in Matlosana Sub – District, Klerksdorp area will be reimbursed after the department has conducted its own investigations on the matter.

This follows an agreement by School Governing Bodies and parents of Grade 12 learners of Kanana, Khuma and Jouberton who initiated study camps as a safety measure for their children due to the high prevalence of gangsterism in the area which threatened to disrupt the proceedings of year-end examinations.
Parents approached their school principals and volunteered to pay a total of R1500 per learner for study camps to cater for accommodation and meals for the learners.

The department was concerned of this initiative and came up with an immediate intervention of providing adequate standard of the camps in which it paid R11 million to cater for the 2135 learners for the three camps held at Milner Secondary which housed four schools, Vaal Reefs with ten schools and Camelot with four schools.

The North West Education MEC, Mmaphefo Matsemela emphasized that learners are taken good care of at the camps.

“As the department upon hearing that parents have initiated the study camps for the Grade 12 learners, we intervened and took over in order not to expose learners to danger. The department has paid R11 million for the camps of Matlosana Sub – District. In these camps we cater learners three times a day and there are teachers who assist learners with problematic areas on subjects written by learners. We have increased the number of the security personnel at the camps to 300. The department is going to conduct investigations to find out the parents who have paid for the camps and reimburse them their monies”, said MEC Matsemela.

MEC Matsemela further explained that “in our study camps we have an equipped clinic on site, sufficient exam halls, a fully fledged kitchen, dining area, sports facilities and on site canteen. There is a full time technical team on site which attends to maintenance and any other issues as they arise at the camps. I want to urge our communities to give learners space and not disturb learners as they prepare themselves for the examinations”, said MEC Matsemela.

Learners will spend 37 days at the camps and will vacate after writing the last examination paper on 28 November 2019.