'Teachers' on strike standby

Johannesburg - The Western Cape education department is prepared for the stayaway by teachers unions on Tuesday, the provincial minister of education Donald Grant said on Friday.

There were a number of contingency plans in place, he said.

District officials were determining which schools would be most affected by the industrial action and they were arranging for extra support personnel to be made available at those schools, said Grant in a statement.

"We have systems in place to monitor absenteeism levels of educators and will deploy, at short-notice, [education department] officials, wherever possible to help supervise classes," he said.

"Should a class be without an educator, learners are encouraged to continue to read, write and calculate, using their textbooks and any other material available, for example, crosswords in newspapers, or a book from their school or local library."

Grant said Grade 12 pupils should use this time for revision, consulting past examination papers and go through their 'Tips for Success' booklets.

Parents were urged to send their children to school.'

Schools were only into their fourth week of the term after a long holiday during the World Cup and further disruption to learning needed to be avoided, he said.

The department had also informed principals that no school could be closed without notice or permission from the department's district officials.

 - Sapa