SADTU LIMPOPO PROVINCE MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE SHOCKING TREATMENT OF LEARNERS DURING THE SCHOOLS ATHLETICS EVENT, HELD IN BLOEMFONTEIN, FREE STATE PROVINCE
SADTU in the Limpopo Province is shocked and deeply disappointed by the treatment endured by the learners from Limpopo during the 2025 National Schools Sports Championships Autumn Games held in Bloemfontein in the Free State Province from the 2nd to 06th April 2025.
The planning and execution of the trip was marked by sheer incompetence bordering on the naïve and pedestrian. We are deeply shocked by the fact that learners had to travel the entire distance from Limpopo to the Free State without being provided meals and refreshments. As if that was not enough, upon arrival in Bloemfontein, learners were subjected to a horrifying experience when they discovered that no accommodation had been arranged for them. They were forced to sleep in buses, exposed to the harsh elements.
Adding insult to injury, as a last-minute measure, the learners were eventually booked accommodation in Kimberely, Northern Cape Province which is more than 160 kilometers from the venue where the games were taking place. Consequently, the team had to be withdrawn from participating in the games after watching this horror movie unfold in their eyes.
This would have been slightly less appalling had it been an isolated incident, but sadly, this has been a recurring issue. In a previous instance, the team was withdrawn from the games which held in Mbombela in Mpumalanga because, upon arrival, they found that no accommodation had been arranged and were forced to sleep in buses. In another instance, primary school learners were given oversized attire which was not a right fit for them. It is no wonder that none of them won under such deplorable conditions.
In the wake of all these, we are now informed that the responsibility of the games in Bloemfontein lay with the Provincial Department of Sports, Arts and Culture while the responsibility for the primary schools’ event rests with the Department of Education. This blame game seeks obscure the reality: incompetence at any level must never be tolerated. The Union expects consequence management to be implemented swiftly to stop this rot from festering further and putting the lives of both teachers and learners in danger.
SADTU has been engaging with the Department of Education highlighting these challenges, but the departmental officials appear to be hard of hearing. As far back as last year, we raised concerns about the irregular election of committees tasked with the responsibility to coordinate school sports. Today, these same committees are wreaking havoc all over.
We demand that the Department of Education investigate these matters to root out this barbaric behaviour. If the Department fails to address these challenges, the Union is left with no choice but to exercise our rights on this matter. Our members must remain combat-ready for a clarion call to be issued soon.
ISSUED BY: SADTU Limpopo Provincial Secretariat