Cape Town — Following the devastating floods that have hit the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said 400 matriculants were unable to sit for their final exams.
The areas of Gqeberha and Kariega were among many towns in the Eastern Cape to be hit by foods that have forced residents to evacuate their homes and seek shelter in safe places.
As homes, roads and infrastructure were affected by the weather, it not only impacted residents but also the learners. Gwarube said a decision was made to prevent the learners from sitting for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams today (22 October 2024), SABC News reported.
“We usually have the SANDF on standby in certain situations, whether it is too early for our learners to be on the exam venues may be due to protest actions. But a decision was made this time because regardless of the fact that they would have been transported to the schools but because of the storm damage to the power lines they will not be able to write their exams in a fair manner today in Gqeberha. This is affecting about four hundred learners,” she said.
According to IOL, the Eastern Cape Education Department confirmed that the Computer Applications Technology (CAT) paper for matric pupils in the Kariega area have been suspended. Department of Education Malibongwe Mtima said the suspension is due to power outages caused by flooding after torrential rains.
Mtima said officials were dispatched to attend to the issue and an update would be provided.
Gift of the Givers chairman and founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said teams have been in contact with disaster management and Nelson Mandela Bay municipal manager, Mandla George, from Sunday.
He said in the early hours of Tuesday, calls were received from disaster management for assistance.
“Gift of the Givers teams have been activated in NMB with support teams arriving with food, blankets and new clothing from East London and Knysna,” he said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
