Two local schools set to pair
The Gauteng Education Department MEC Panyaza Lesufi has greeted the twinning of schools with delight.
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The twinning programme is a pilot project aimed at exposing learners to diverse socio-economic backgrounds and improving learner competitiveness.
After twinning, the two schools will have a single school governing body to govern the affairs of the schools.
Two local schools, Laerskool Jan Van Riebeeck and Payneville Primary School, have been identified as potential schools to participate in the pilot twinning programme.
Gauteng Department of Education spokesman Phumla Sekhonyane says the programme will improve learner access to high-quality education and therefore accelerate social transformation and improve the holistic development of a learner.
“Only two pairs of schools have been gazetted in the new amended act (Section 17 of the South African Schools Act, 84 of 1996),” she says.
According to Sekhonyane, the department cannot confirm the two Springs schools will be only local schools to be paired, as other schools could also participate in this programme.
When the GDE consulted the school governing bodies of several schools they initially identified to potentially pair, the department developed a guideline to answer all the questions raised.
Sekohonyane says the department will continue to meet with the schools until all the concerns are exhausted and the schools indicate they no longer wish to consult on the matter.
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