Department says more schools are needed
Kwatsaduza - The MEC of Education Panyaza Lesufi says they have identified the need for more schools in Gauteng.
He says that education plays an important role in preparing young people for post-school opportunities by providing key knowledge, competencies and skills.
“The admission challenges we faced has brought to our attention that there is a need for more schools and classrooms in Gauteng.
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“Initial estimates indicate that the province requires 200 additional schools to deal with the historical backlog and meet new demand,” he says.
Lesufi says they have built 43 new schools since 2014.
“These include new ICT-enabled classrooms in existing schools.
“This year, the department will officially open 13 new brick-and-mortar schools and build schools out of alternative construction technology (ACT) to alleviate admission pressure,” he says.
Lesufi says that the roll-out of ICT (information and communications technology) in schools is well on track.
“The provincial government took a phased approach, having to strike a balance between competing yet very pressing educational and infrastructure needs.
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“The programme is biased towards township no-fee-paying schools as a way to manage redress but also positioning ICT as a game changer in education transformation.
“We are converting over 2 300 Grade 11 classrooms into smart classrooms in the current roll-out and 9 000 educators have been issued laptops as teaching resources.
“Over 60 000 learners in matric, in 377 township schools, are benefiting from ICT programmes.
“All Grade 12 and 11 educators in ICT-enabled schools were provided training to integrate ICT into education,” he says.
