Teachers and learners have been placed in a predicament, unable to determine which learners can progress to the next grade and which learners can’t. 

OFM News spoke to the Headmistress of Koffiefontein Combined School, Susan Nieuwoudt, who says her school is one of the four schools in the mining town that currently has no matric class, as well as no space for incoming grade 1 learners due to the situation. 

Schools were forced to shut down since October due to unrest in the town over service delivery. Community members were up in arms calling for Mayor Thandi Reachable’s head. 

Nieuwoudt says the current confusion experienced by learners and parents is due to conflicting messages from the Provincial Department of Education regarding the way forward. 

OFM News previously reported that Education MEC, Tate Makgoe, stressed at the announcement of matric results that no student in the town will be progressed to the next grade without qualifying to do so. Nieuwoudt said that there initially was a decision that stated learners from grades 1-9 would not write exams and their year averages would be used to determine if they progressed or not, while grades 10 and 11 would write exams. However, conflicting reports state the Department indicated that the majority of the learners should write exams, instead resulting in confusion.

Officials of the Department of Education are meeting with parents at schools in Koffiefontein this afternoon, as they did yesterday. It is here that parents and teachers will be briefed on steps to be taken to remedy the situation.

OFM News/Katleho Morapela, Sazly Hartzenberg and Olebogeng Motse