MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi at HM Baloyi Secondary School where parents stormed the school demanding answers after about 200 children fell ill due to apparent food poisoning. Picture: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency(ANA)
Pretoria - Angry parents yesterday stormed into MH Baloyi Secondary School in Winterveldt demanding answers after an estimated 200 learners fell ill after eating food provided through the feeding scheme.
They were met by MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi, who was visiting the school to get more clarity on the matter.
The parents barred Lesufi from addressing them, and he had to leave the school as the situation threatened to get worse.
Speaking to the Pretoria News, parent Kagiso Phiri said they were in need of answers.
He said the school did not take the matter seriously and that it appeared no one wanted to involve the parents, hence they decided go to the school hoping to get some answers.
“My child was in pain on Tuesday, and we could not figure out what was wrong. He told us that he had eaten food at school.”
On Tuesday, the learners fell ill after eating lunch provided through the feeding scheme at the school.
Some complained of diarrhoea and “runny stomachs”. They were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment, and discharged soon, the same day.
Phiri said most parents were of the view that there was foul play involved, and the department and school had to change the food scheme service provider.
They said parents could no longer feel comfortable with their children eating food from the the school.
Boipelo Moleko, regional secretary of the Congress of South African Students, said parents were rightfully angry because they had to find out through social media that their children were not well at school.
Even after rushing to the school, they still did not get a proper explanation, according to Moleko. He lambasted the school for lack of communication, which he said, left many parents anxious and worried.
Lesufi, who left the school following the disruptions, said it was unfortunate that there was chaos. He said the Department of Health and the police were probing the incident.
"I met the leadership of the school and district, and now we are awaiting the lab tests so we can have a way forward,” the MEC added.
All the affected learners had been discharged, he said, and classes were back to normal.
Meanwhile, the school has undertaken to exclude the food items that were suspected of being the cause of the illness, until further notice.
Pretoria News
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