Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by CJ Steyl
DA North West members of the Provincial Legislature conducted the School Readiness 2025 oversight assessment of schools throughout the province last week and found that the Provincial Department of Education and all its schools are ready for the school year on paper only.
All learner and teacher support materials (LTSM) have been delivered. However, we have noted major concerns specifically with school infrastructure, safety, security, problems with the national school nutrition programme, overcrowding of class rooms, lack of internet connectivity, non-existent science and computer laboratories and unsuitable ablution facilities.
Major problems were also identified with the rollout of the Grade R function, with many schools now offering Grade R, yet do not have the appropriate facilities to accommodate the special needs required to accommodate this cohort of 4 and 5 year olds.
Geysdorp Secondary School, Geysdorp
Despite the poor infrastructure at this school, it is remarkable that learners here excel and achieve recognition for their efforts. (See picture here.) Problems at this school include:
· Overcrowded classrooms, one Grade 8 class recorded 80 learners, while another had almost 100 learners. Learners sit 3 at a desk, but most desks are broken, so others are required to stand. Classes are filled up to the blackboard, leaving no space for adequate interactive teaching. (See picture here.)
· Dilapidated and unsuitable ablution facilities. (See pictures here, and here.) New facilities have been built, but has not been connected, however, even the quality of the new build is unsuitable for a school hosting more than 900 learners. (See pictures here, here, here and here.)
· Unhygienic storage of food alongside stationery. (See pictures here, here, and here.) Unsuitable and unhygienic food preparation area. (See pictures here.)
Kelebogile Primary School, Doornlaagte
The principle was absent on the day of the visit, having travelled to Mahikeng to attend to the school’s broken network router. The school does not have any connectivity to support learning and teaching.
· Severe problems with dysfunctional ablution facilities.
· Has a built library, but no books. (See picture here.)
· There are 42 learners in the Grade R class, while the number should not exceed 25.
Moshoette Primary School, Khunwana Village
· Two departmental heads teacher posts remain vacant for sciences and foundation phase.
· One class block’s foundation is giving way. (See picture here.)
· Severe shortage of desks and chairs.
· No internet connectivity of learning and teaching.
· Unsuitable ablution facilities. Making use of inadequate facilities, (see picture here), while newly built toilets are far from the school, without adequate water supply and are locked. (See pictures here.)
· Grade R facilities housed in a temporary structure, without suitable ablution facilities for minors. The playground is also unsafe and unsuitable. (See pictures here.)
While all the teachers and principals we engaged were committed to educating learners, they struggle with a severe lack of resources. We commend these dedicated teachers for their commitment to shaping young minds.
The DA will engage the Provincial Department of Education, on a plan to address the concerns we have identified, specifically to limit overcrowding by providing mobile classrooms and upgrading facilities.
More importantly, schools must have internet connectivity to support teaching and learning to prepare learners for a world that is moving to a knowledge-based economy. There is little use in attracting learners to the sciences on paper but fail to provide the necessary laboratories to conduct the experiments necessary for learning. This is a focus area the Provincial Department of Education must give attention too.
The DA will also demand that the Provincial Department of Education revisit the implementation of the school nutrition programme. Maize meal, milk, samp and beans may stem hunger, but young bodies need nutrition, and require fruit, vegetables and adequate protein varieties to support brain function and adequate growth. We will also demand that the food preparation facilities are brought up to standard to improve hygiene and ventilation. Currently, the facilities visited poses a health risk to learners, as food handlers do not have the necessary soap, disinfectant, ventilation, PPEs and hand sanitizer to ensure compliance with food safety preparation codes.