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Johannesburg - Residents of Davidsonville, in the West Rand, say the Gauteng Education Department has yet to implement a catch-up plan for pupils at the controversial Roodepoort Primary school following its closure earlier this year.
Ronald Dyers, a spokesperson for the Davidsonville Community Forum, told reporters at a briefing outside the school on Tuesday that residents and parents were waiting to hear from the Gauteng Education Department about when the "catch-up plan" would be implemented.
Department spokesperson Phumla Sekhonyane said an audit of curriculum backlogs had been conducted and a plan developed.
Dyers said that during the school term, the school still ended at the usual time.
"The idea was that we should extend... the schooling hours... like for instance Saturdays for special classes. We've seen none of that," Dyers said.
He said the forum held a meeting with the SA Democratic Teachers' Union regarding the extension of school hours.
"It is holiday time for most of the schools and you find the school [is] closed. [It] should have been open because kids should be taught so that they can catch up for the weeks they lost out."
The school, based in Davidsonville, has been hit by allegations of corruption and racism. It was temporarily closed for nearly a month following a spate of violent clashes between residents and police.
In the interim, some students were moved to Lufhereng Primary School in Soweto, while others went to churches and nearby halls for classes. The school was reopened on September 9.
Sekhonyane said teachers had agreed to dedicate an additional hour in the mornings for the learners to catch up. She said the catch-up plan was implemented from September 14.
Mondays and Tuesdays were dedicated to catching up on maths, Wednesdays and Thursdays for English, and on Fridays assessments were done, she said.
With regard to catching up lessons during the school holidays, Sekhonyane said the department had discussed the matter with both the teachers and the unions.
"The view by educators was that the extra hour allocated for catching up would be sufficient," she said.
