Fighting to keep open the perilous Uitsig High School in gang-infested Elsies River, former Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich has backed an approach to the SCA to overturn a decision to close it, says a Cape Argus report. Education MEC Debbie Schäfer has been served with papers advising her of the school taking her decision to close the school last year to the SCA.

Ehrenreich argues that in such an instance the Western Cape Education Department must keep the school open until the appeal has been heard. Acting on behalf of the school and its governing body, lawyer Jerald Andrews from Andrews and Co Attorneys, said the effect of his client’s application for leave to appeal was that the operation and execution of the decision to close down the school was suspended pending the SCA’s ruling.

Schäfer, however, hit back, saying the court had ruled in their favour.

‘The status quo must remain. The school will remain closed, unless they get an interdict, (for) it to keep it open, which I really hope they won’t do because it is wasting money and it is not in the interest of the pupils. The issue here is Tony Ehrenreich. He has some attachment to the school. He grew up in the area and I can understand people have attachments to schools in certain cases. We all do,’ Schäfer said.

However, she said in real terms the school was costing the department as it had to be rebuilt.

‘There are hardly any children there, we cannot justify spending another R60m when there are fewer than 100 children there.’

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