Latest news with #FundileGade
The Herald
20-06-2025
- The Herald
Education MEC condemns heinous attack on teenage girls
The Eastern Cape department of education has condemned the murders of two teenage girls whose charred remains were discovered in KwaNobuhle on Wednesday. In a statement on Thursday, education MEC Fundile Gade expressed deep sadness at what he described as a heinous and senseless double murder. Though their identities have not yet officially been made public, Gade said they were both pupils at Nkululeko Secondary School. He extended the department's condolences to the victims' families, friends and peers. 'The department can confirm that the SA Police Service is conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident,' Gade said. He urged anyone with information about the incident to come forward and assist the authorities, adding that the safety and wellbeing of all pupils was a priority. He said they would provide support to the families of the deceased and work closely with law enforcement to ensure a comprehensive investigation. 'We are deeply troubled by the heinous crime committed against two of our schoolgirls in Kariega. 'Daily, I am convinced that there is a silent war being meted out against women and young girls. 'We empathise with the families, their colleagues and the community of Kariega at large. 'We urge law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned and to provide clarity about this tragedy. 'We wish the affected families strength, courage and resilience during this difficult time. 'Updates to our community of Nelson Mandela Bay will be provided as more information becomes available,' Gade said. The Herald
News24
08-05-2025
- News24
Eastern Cape launches audit of independent schools after alleged rape of girl, 7
Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade has ordered an audit of all independent schools in the province. This after the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl at an independent school in Matatiele. The department described the incident as a 'wake-up call' for provincial education authorities. Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade says an audit of all independent schools in the province has begun, following the alleged rape of a seven-year-old girl at an independent school in Matatiele. The incident, believed to have taken place in October, surfaced on social media in late March, prompting Gade to write to Bergview College to revoke the school's registration certificate - an action he quickly rescinded - after the school approached the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda to challenge the decision. In a media briefing at the department's Mandla Makupula Leadership Institute offices in East London on Thursday, he said the alleged rape was an 'eye-opener' for the provincial government. 'That is why we established an inter-ministerial committee led by Safety MEC (Xolile Nqatha) in the province and (Police) Minister Senzo Mchunu at national level,' Gade added. The Eastern Cape has 309 independent schools of which the provincial education department subsidises 117. The department's deputy director general for institutional operations and management, Thembani Mtyida, said the incident in Matatiele was a 'wake-up' call. 'We need to strengthen the monitoring systems of all operations at independent schools. The department has established multidisciplinary teams to visit each independent school for compliance.' Mtyida added: Our approach is to target those schools that receive [subsidies] from the department, which are 117 in total. We have completed the process of auditing them. In the next week, we will start with the next phase where the rest of the 192 [independent schools] will also be visited. He said issues like pupils' safety, infrastructure, police compliance, curriculum implementation and staff vetting form part of the auditing process. Gade added he still believed the decision to write to Bergview College to revoke its registration was needed at the time. 'We don't have regrets. We are still firm that we were correct. We wanted the school to take actions regarding the incident,' he said.
