26 August 2020

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Western Cape Province is appalled by the illegal extension of the contract of Brian Schreuder, the Head of Department for Education in the Western Cape. There is no reasonable justification for the appointment of a 68-year-old pensioner who has been leading the failing Western Cape Department of Education.

The extension of Schreuder’s contract is a flagrant violation of the Public Service Act (as amended), which stipulates that people older than 65 may have their contract extended if it is done with the approval of the provincial legislature. The DA therefore has no respect for the existing legal framework.

This extension is an indictment on the DA that overlooked many younger administrators who are more capable than the pensioner whose contribution was only to preside over a failing administration. Perhaps insisting on appointing a pensioner, whose record of being a failure is evident to everyone, is a demonstration that Schreuder has been a useful tool of the DA. It is also a confirmation that the DA is not committed to any transformative changes but rather more interested in maintaining the status quo that condemns the working class to sub-standard quality of education.

If left unchallenged, the education standards of the Western Cape will remain in shambles. Currently, Western Cape schools in the township are overcrowded, dilapidated, with chronic shortages of infrastructure and educators alike.

With people like Brian Schreuder at the helm, it is not surprising that inequality and racism has become endemic within the Western Cape Education system. Further, he has been part of a team that failed to improve the matric results and at the centre of such poor outcomes was his unwillingness to direct support to poor schools.

The SACP in the Western Cape rejects the extension of Brain Schreuder’s contract and calls upon Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, to act against the MEC for Education, Ms Debbie Schafer, on this matter.

ISSUED BY SACP WESTERN CAPE

Contact:

Benson Ngqentsu
SACP Western Cape Provincial Secretary
Mobile: 0827966400