Hon Speaker, with regard to the closure of the schools, perhaps to just share with the House, there were 27 schools that were earmarked for closure. We understand that the process that was then followed was a consultative process. To what extent the consultation took place, we are not certain, but 20 schools were thereafter earmarked for closure. Seven, the MEC had decided, would remain open. We have also received information to the effect that in some instances, where the children are going to be displaced from one school that is going to be closed to another, they would have to move or travel through gang-infested areas and their security would be at risk.
There is also information that has been made available to us that in some instances children are going to be relocated to a school further away, whereas between the further school and the school that is being closed there are places available in historically advantaged areas.
Our position, in fact, is that when the Minister spoke about it, she had been making a statement in relation to the preparations for the examination. She was then asked in relation to the closure of the school and she set out the generic principles that apply. That is to say that there must be a rational and legitimate basis for the closure of the school - in other words, it must be rationally informed by circumstances that prevail - and that there are instances where schools might have a learner population of only five learners, which basically gives it a legitimate and reasonable basis for closure. The Minister, under no circumstances, had evaluated and assessed the closure of each and every school in the Western Cape. What she spoke about is the legal responsibility that an MEC has in terms of closures and mergers of schools.
I think what is happening now is that we are attempting to spin it in a particular way to suggest that the Minister is endorsing the decisions of the MEC. That is definitely not the case. What she spoke about were the generic principles, and indeed if there is a legitimate and a rational basis to close the school, then so be it. We will support it. But if there is no legitimate and rational basis to do so, if the consultative process wasn't intense enough, then we would certainly have to engage with it. [Applause.] [Time expired.]