Seven out of the ten Limpopo teachers who tragically lost their lives in a head-on collision were laid to rest in Moletjie, while one was laid at Seshego Zone 5 on Saturday.
The ten teachers died on their way to work when their Toyota minibus taxi collided head-on with a truck on the R521 between Polokwane and Dendron on Tuesday, 28 May.
The teachers were in the minibus along with one other passenger, who also died. The drivers of both vehicles died on the scene.
Limpopo education MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya and MEC for transport and community safety, Florence Radzilani visited families on Friday.
Lerule-Ramakhanya said they wanted to share their deepest condolences with the families and parents of learners.
“We want to send the message to all the family members as MEC Radzilani has said that our thoughts and prayers are with you,” she said.
Lerule-Ramakhanya said officials had been instructed to look into filling the vacant teacher posts.
“You will see that most of the teachers are from primary schools and you know our primaries are highly enrolled and they will have to deal with that as a matter of urgency. One of the critical issues that was raised was around the subjects that the teachers were teaching,” she said.
Radzilani said they were still relying on information given to them at the accident scene that suggested weather conditions played a part in the crash.
She said according to preliminary reports, the cause of the accident was reckless driving as the truck driver had driven into the oncoming lane.
“We are still waiting for officials to finalise the final report,” Radzilani said.
On Saturday, 8 June, there will be a funeral for three other teachers.
A joint memorial service is planned for Thursday, 11 June, at Senwabarwana Stadium.