New schools to be built for Polokwane?

POLOKWANE – The education department has received the lion’s share of the 2015/16 budget with 48% of the provincial government’s R52,7 billion budget being allocated to it.

The allocation included conditional grants such as primary school nutritional programmes, education, infrastructure grants, maths, science and technology grants and expanded public works programme incentive grants.
The department will receive R25,2 billion of which R805 million is earmarked for infrastructure development.
Improving and expanding education and training is one of the eight priorities the ruling ANC government aims to achieve and stakeholders in Polokwane are looking forward to the department of education’s budget speech expected to be delivered next week.
People are also waiting with bated breath to hear whether any new schools are to be built in the city, and if so, when.
In a press release by the education department earlier this week it was stated that the department had 67 projects involving the refurbishing and construction of schools, starting from the beginning of the 2015/16 financial year.
When asking the department if any schools would be constructed in Polokwane, Review was told by education spokesperson, Paena Galane, that “announcements are going to be made by the acting MEC next week”.
Review asked principals at schools in the city if they had a wish list or what they thought the department’s priorities should be.
More schools were high on their lists of priorities. At the beginning of this year more than 3 000 learners could not be accepted at schools in Polokwane as a result of a shortage of classrooms. Existing schools had to assist the department in opening classrooms, to alleviate the problem. These schools were until recently struggling to get additional books and other equipment, as well as teachers.
Review spoke to some principals in the city. The primary school principals were of one mind that the city very urgently needed additional schools to be built. “The scarcity of space in schools is a huge problem. Learners are streaming to schools in the city, whether they are residing locally or not. Education is perceived to be better in the schools in Polokwane. The policy of the department is that learners from the feeder areas are accommodated in schools first. There simply is not enough space to accommodate all in the existing schools. We urgently need more schools, primary and secondary schools, in the city,” one principal said.
Priorities mentioned by high school principals included timeous and correct delivery of textbooks to schools. Last Friday more than 100 textbooks were found abandoned near the railway line in Magna Via including Life Skills gr. 8, Hospitality Studies gr. 10, Rekeningkunde gr. 11, Wiskunde gr. 12, Physical Science gr. 10 and Electrical Technology gr. 10. The police are investigating the case.
Several schools in the province earlier this week said that in spite of the provincial government’s assurances that the textbook saga had been laid to rest, they had still not received all their textbooks.

Other matters principals felt the department should prioritise included:
• The timely payment of temporary teachers, hostel assistants (some districts do not pay hostel personnel/assistants) and the appointment of teachers;
• Assistance with the maintenance of school buildings: money received for norms and standards were not nearly enough to cover expenses, or were not paid over to schools;
• To pay the outstanding amounts owed to schools for school funds when learners were assisted with reduced fees.
• To increase the number of teachers as learner totals increased at schools; to appoint ad hoc teachers.
• To pay markers and personnel at marking centres on time. Some administration personnel had not yet been paid three months after they delivered the services.
•To publish a vacancy list every six months.
• To pay norms and standards money timeously and correctly.