Regular loadshedding is negatively impacting the basic education sector according to the Basic Education spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga who says that electricity is needed for teaching and learning especially for schools of specialisation where equipment is needed during class time.
"But also just for lighting, you need learners to be able to learn with lights on," Mhlanga told eNCA.
Schools also require electricity for administration work which includes data capturing in the school system.
Mhlanga says computers at schools are also used for a system which manages the schooling system as a whole and allows the department to capture information from schools. This system reports on all the information coming from around 25 000 schools across the country.
The power cuts are also causing delays in finishing the school curriculum and the topics which are not covered in the classroom learners have to catch up with at home but they are also impacted by the loadshedding at home, this results in schools falling behind on the school curriculum.
Many schools and education departments are having to redirect their budgets in order to find alternative sources of power so that schooling is not disrupted.
Mhlanga says that the department is concerned that matric learners who are not well prepared for their final examinations due to power cuts may be involved in irregularities such as copying or bringing notes with them into the exam venue because they are afraid that they might not have covered all the content.
He says that matric learners are being provided with venues to study at which have generators when there are power cuts outside of school hours and over the weekends.
"We are trying to find innovative ways to keep learning and teaching going through our learner support programmes but it is unusual and not sustainable. We need power." said Mhlanga.
The department has approached Eskom with the proposal to keep the power on at schools during power cuts but Mhlanga says that due to schools being spread all over communities Eskom said that it won't be possible to do so.
Mhlanga has appealed to parents to ensure that there are as little disruptions as possible at home for students so that they can study when the power is on at home.
