Gauteng Legislature conducts oversight to local schools affected by gangsterism
Interventions to ensure stability included the dismissal of the former principal who came under fire for favouritism and undermining the School Management Team and School Governing Body.
Gauteng Province Legislature (GPL) speaker, Ntombi Mekgwe kicked off the school readiness programme in Braamfischerville, Soweto.
Mekgwe who was flanked by Department of Education officials visited Siyabonga Secondary and Kgatelopele Secondary School to assess the state of readiness ahead of the 2024 academic year.
The school welcomed 320 learners to commence Grade 8.
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“We are confident with the turnaround at the school. I was told that learners began classes last week and some have already written tests.
“On our last visit, I was traumatised wherever I went, I made an example of this particular school but today the school is going to be a positive example of the collaborative efforts in our schools,” Mekgwe told Urban News.
The visit comes exactly a year after the GPL intervention in the state of affairs and running of the institution.
Interventions to ensure stability included the dismissal of the former principal who came under fire for favouritism and undermining the School Management Team and School Governing Body.
“We are happy that when we wrote the report to the MEC and Premier, the issues were attended to. The school’s deputy principal has been formally admitted as the head of the school and parents appointed a new SGB board that is fit to govern the school.”
In addition, Mekgwe addressed escalating safety challenges and gangsterism in the school applauding the deployment of police officers at the school to curb disturbance during the Grade 12 final exams in November.
GDE rolled out the schools safety programme to 70 schools in 2023, and is expected to roll out the programme to over 200 identified hotspot schools across the province.
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“There is no greater or better intervention except for the community. If there’s no community involvement, these gangsters start at a community level and escalates to the school environment,” Mekgwe emphasised.
“We can’t resolve all of these challenges alone. We need everyone; we have safety forums and social workers stationed at the school.”
SGB Chairperson, Patricia Mamashela added that it was all systems go for the academic year, saying preparations went smoothly.
“We are really happy and we are determined for learning and teaching to take place.
“Our biggest challenge was gangsterism and that has exceedingly decreased, and the SGB and together with the school management are working hand in hand,” she said,
“We have extra furniture, new textbooks and stationery for our learners so we can support them in fetching the curriculum in time.”
