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No-fee schools stationery demand to be probed

The Gauteng department of education will charge no-fee paying schools that are making parents purchase stationery for their children.

This came after Sowetan reported about the plight of parents whose children go to no-fee schools who were made to buy a long list of stationery items.

Some of the parents who spoke to Sowetan were unemployed, others relied on their children's social grants, some weredomestic workers. Even the parents who earn salaries said they felt the pinch of buying stationery.

Some of the things parents were made to buy were pens, pencils, exercise books, rulers, erasers and sharpeners. In some schools parents were also expected to purchase toiletries such as toilet paper rolls, tissues and soap.

Sowetan spoke to parents whose children attend at PJ Simelane in Dobsonville, Refalletse Primary in Orange Farm, Welizibuko Primary in Klipspruit, Vukuzenzele Primary in Mofolo, Khauhelo Primary in Naledi, Molalatladi Primary in Rockville, Lulama Primary in Klipspruit and Montshiwa Primary in Naledi.

The schools are all no-fee paying schools and fall under quintile one, two and three, and are categorised as poor schools.

On Thursday, head of department Edward Mosuwe asked Sowetan to provide him with a list of the schools and said he would "charge" them.

"Bring me the list of those schools, and the SGBs [school governing bodies] and principals must then account for what did they do with the money because it may suggest an element of financial investigation that we need to look into in respect of that particular matter," said Mosuwe.

He said schools that asked parents to buy stationery were affluent schools which were quintile four and five. He said learners at these schools only get R500 from the department.

"All public schools are funded by the state. We have what we call norms and standards for school funding.

"So learners in quintiles one, two and three were funded in the current financial year to the tune of R1177 per learner, so that's the money we transfer to each of the schools. And in that money there is a component for LTSM [learning and teaching support materials] which is the overall teaching and support material."

macupeb@sowetan.co.za

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