Pupils hospitalised: Dept slammed or negligence!

OPPOSITION PARTIES in Limpopo came guns blazing against the Department of Education in Limpopo.

Following a suspected food poisoning incident which left 35 pupils admitted to hospital.

The Department of Education said 22 pupils were rushed to a nearby clinic on Wednesday, 9 October afternoon when they started vomiting and were later transferred to Malamulele Hospital.

A second group comprising 13 pupils was also rushed to the hospital, complaining of headaches and stomach cramps.

The department said all pupils were released from hospital after screening by health professionals.

The incident took place at Makahlule Primary School outside Malamulele on Wednesday, 9 October.

"The department has taken food samples that learners had on Wednesday for testing to ascertain if the school nutrition rations could have been the cause," said acting Education spokeswoman in Limpopo, Mosebjane Kgafe.

Reacting to the incident, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo said it's deeply concerned by the Limpopo Department of Education's failure to comply with the Occupational Health Safety Act and environmental health regulations and its impact on learner safety.

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"Majority of schools in Limpopo do not have proper kitchens for the preparation of food and certificates of acceptability from the local authorities, which is a contravention of the provision of the environmental health regulations. Preparing food under such terrible and usually unhygienic conditions is a risk to learners," said Jacques Smalle, DA Limpopo Spokesperson on Education.

The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) in Limpopo also said the Department of Education is not doing enough to ensure the safety of learners.

"The Department of Education is not doing enough to ensure that our learners consume food that is edible and not out of date. I also believe that contractors awarded tenders for the school feeding scheme should purchase food parcels from credible suppliers. We know some buy from foreign nationals at cheap prices. We know some buy from these people because everything is cheap, not realising that they compromise the lives of our children," said PAC chairperson in Limpopo Pisto Mphasha.