Gauteng’s disadvantaged schools deserve a new beginning

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling upon Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, to prioritise equipping disadvantaged schools with adequate resources and infrastructure.

This follows the DA’s visit to Raymond Mhlaba Secondary School in Tshepisong.

Even though this school does not have all the necessary resources and is situated in an underprivileged community, it is one of the schools that are performing particularly well in Gauteng. The school has a legacy of achieving outstanding matric results.

In 2012, 2013 and 2016 it obtained a 100 percent matric pass rate, in 2014 it achieved 97,4 percent, in 2015 it achieved 98.9 percent and in 2017 it achieved a 98 percent matric pass rate with only three learners failing.

This result is due to the dedication and commitment displayed by the teachers and strong leadership from the principal.

However, this school like many other schools in the province, is facing many challenges such as a lack of sporting facilities and science laboratory. The MEC must prioritize resourcing township schools.

Due to the good legacy of this school there is a huge demand from parents to enrol their children in this school.

The learner enrolment is very high resulting in the ill-equipped laboratories being used as classrooms. There is no proper science laboratory and equipment. There is also no librarian to assist the learners.

Gauteng needs such schools of excellence and it’s about time that the MEC tasks his district offices to ensure that they provide the needed support to such schools so that they can maintain their performance standard and remain competitive.

This school must be used as a flagship to inspire other schools across the province.

The DA believes that teaching and learning must be done in a conducive environment with all the necessary resources made available to achieve good results.

We will be visiting various schools across the province to assess the availability of resources and how teaching and learning is conducted. Where there are challenges, we will channel them to the MEC for his intervention.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 16 January 2018