Media Releases

Another learner abduction reported, in the Southern Suburbs

28 August 2018

Earlier this month, we received reports of 2 kidnappings in the Zonneblom area and one attempted abduction in Rylands. We have now received another report of a Grade 9 learner from a Southern Suburbs school who was reportedly abducted and allegedly sexually assaulted while travelling to school on ...

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Womens month: MEC Schäfer donates a year's worth of stationery to One Plek Shelter for Girls

27 August 2018

This afternoon I visited Ons Plek Shelter for Girls to donate one year's worth of stationery to assist the learners' with their education. The girls who live at Ons Plek are there for a variety of reasons, mainly because they have been removed from abusive homes or because they have become street ...

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1 policeman to 521 residents in Khayelitsha - how are the police supposed to protect and serve our schools?

21 August 2018

Nine Khayelitsha schools were shut down yesterday by illegal protest action - co-ordinated by SANCO and COSAS in the main. This affected almost 9 000 learners. While I fully support calls for safer schools, I condemn in the strongest possible terms protest action during school hours, especially ...

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Raise your voice - not your phone

16 August 2018

This morning I visited Beacon Hill Secondary School to launch a campaign to address the effects of bullying in schools. We chose Beacon Hill Secondary for this event, as it recently experienced its own incident of bullying - both in school and on social media. Singer, songwriter and Season 13 Idols ...

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Minister Schäfer concerned regarding reports of learner abductions in the Zonnebloem area

15 August 2018

I have received reports from our District Officials that two separate incidents of abductions have reportedly taken place in the Zonnebloem area over the past two weeks. Learners are reportedly being targeted while travelling to and from school. Reports indicate the perpetrators are drugging ...

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Poverty and under-nutrition affect large percentages of our population. As a result, many learners arrive at school hungry. As part of Mandela Month celebrations, I donated funds to two schools in Khayelitsha, Luleka Primary School and Isiphiwo Primary Sc

15 August 2018

Today, we visited the new R10.2 million Barkly House Pre-Primary School in Newlands. The project is a conversion project that saw the former Newlands Clinic converted to a fully functional pre-primary school for the learners of Barkly House Pre-Primary School which had previously been accommodated ...

Read more about Poverty and under-nutrition affect large percentages of our population. As a result, many learners arrive at school hungry. As part of Mandela Month celebrations, I donated funds to two schools in Khayelitsha, Luleka Primary School and Isiphiwo Primary Sc

School nutrition plays an important role in improving education outcomes

2 August 2018

Poverty and under-nutrition affect large percentages of our population. As a result, many learners arrive at school hungry. As part of Mandela Month celebrations, I donated funds to two schools in Khayelitsha, Luleka Primary School and Isiphiwo Primary School to assist them in improving their food ...

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Bring in the specialised gang units and the army in to protect our communities now

31 July 2018

Recently there has been a flare up of gang violence in communities within Cape Town as a result of ongoing gang warfare. This has had a direct impact on our schools, our teachers and learners. The safety of our learners and educators is paramount and we ask that all schools take the necessary ...

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Incidents of burglary and vandalism during winter school holidays concerning

24 July 2018

At the start of every school term, one of my main concerns is that teachers and learners will arrive at a school that has been badly vandalised or burgled during the winter school holidays. Unfortunately this was the case when schools opened last week. While many schools were hubs of activity over ...

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Assistance for parents still requiring placement in schools in 2019

23 July 2018

It is that time of the year again when parents/guardians start to panic if their children have not been accepted into any schools for the 2019 school year. Schools were to inform parents/guardians by the last day of the 2 nd term, 22 June 2018, if their child or children had been accepted into ...

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