Image: Vathiswa Ruselo/Sowetan
Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi did not get much backing from social media users when he expressed disappointment that the homeless could not be accommodated in schools during the lockdown.
Lesufi accused school governing bodies (SGBs) of being self-centred and not showing sensitivity to the plight of the needy during this time. He asked if their homelessness makes them “half human beings”.Questions flooded Lesufi’s post, with some asking what would happen if they refuse to vacate the premises post-lockdown. Others expressed concerns about possible damage to property.
One asked if the government has considered accommodating them in hotels – to which Lesufi responded: “Hotels are costly”.
Here’s a glimpse of the views shared on Twitter:Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas) CEO Paul Colditz denied that schools were being insensitive to the needs of homeless people.
He said the SGB must put the needs of the children first when making such decisions, adding that legal opinion said schools do not provide “for such an eventuality”.
“In terms of section 14 of the SA Schools Act, public schools may only operate as such on private property in terms of an agreement contemplated in that section. Such an agreement should set out the conditions for which the property may be used.”