It was reported earlier this year that only eleven out of 1,471 schools were found to be in excellent condition. A staggering 930 required maintenance and renovations, 118 had suffered storm damage, 44 had structural issues, and 53 were still operating in buildings with hazardous asbestos structures. Additionally, News24 reported 284 schools were deemed to be in “good condition” but with minor defects.

The department has intensified its efforts to improve learning environments. Last week, Education MEC Viola Motsumi officially reopened Tlakgameng Primary School in Tlakgameng Village after it underwent a major facelift. The reopening formed part of the department’s Mandela Month initiatives, which also included an oversight visit to Schweizer Reneke Primary School.

“Today we are here with team education, where we have managed to conduct oversight over Schweizer-Reneke Primary School where the contractor was handed over to the community last year around April before elections,” said Motsumi.

“I saw it fit as the MEC that today I must spend most of my time doing monitoring because this particular project was supposed (to take) 18 months according to the time frame for completion of this school. It was supposed to be handed over next month, which is August, but looking at the progress registered, one must confirm that in terms of progress the school project is at 70%.”

Motsumi acknowledged the delays, citing several challenges that had impeded the timely completion of the project. However, she assured residents of Schweizer-Reneke the school will be ready by December.

“I am confident that come December, officially we will be handing over this school and I must indicate that from this particular project ... we managed to capacitate more than 100 local labourers across this particular area. Through their report they confirmed they managed to empower close to seven sub-contractors.”

The department’s intensified focus on infrastructure follows troubling incidents like the case of Nthapeleng Primary School in Matolong Village, outside Taung. The school’s principal was suspended last year after allegedly instructing teachers to conduct lessons in the school restrooms due to overcrowding. At the time, the school had 211 learners but only five teachers and seven classrooms.

Despite these challenges, Motsumi encouraged stakeholders to adopt a broader perspective on school overcrowding. She said overcrowding is not always a negative, suggesting it may reflect success in reducing dropout rates and keeping more children in school.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi dg