The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the Department of Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi to speed up the processes of building a new school in Winchester Hills in Johannesburg South. This call is to ensure that all learners who have applied for Grade 8 will be placed in 2021 academic year.
This comes after DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education Khume Ramulifhu conducted an oversight inspection at President High School in the south of Johannesburg today.
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Allegedly, the official discovered that the school has received 1 838 Grade 8 applications for 2021, while the school can only accommodate 400 learners.
According to DA, the school currently has 570 Grade 8 learners and a total of 1 850 learners.
“There is a need for 12 additional classrooms for this school to be able to accommodate all the Grade 8 learners that have applied at this school.
The school is also waiting for the Gauteng Department of Education to pay R7 million so that they can start the process of building the additional classrooms,” said MEC Ramulifho in a statement.
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DA believes that the department should prioritize building more schools in the Johannesburg South area to match the demand of the new developments. “It will also minimize the current pressure forced by schools in the area.”
The party also calls on MEC Lesufi to ensure that additional classrooms are provided to the schools that have received a high number of Grade 8 applications to ensure that the 2021 academic year is not disrupted.
By Bongekile Khumalo
