Statement by Donald Grant, Minister of Education in the Western Cape

Addressing the backlogs in infrastructure is a top priority for this administration.

Since I came to office, it has become widely apparent that there is an urgent need to review our approach to infrastructure development in the WCED.

There is a legacy of under-investment in a number of areas throughout this province, as well as, a decline in the quality of infrastructure at many of our schools. Pressure posed by inward migration and growth points has also highlighted the need to readdress our infrastructure priorities.

Therefore, last year, I commissioned a baseline audit of all the schools in the province to ascertain where we should target our immediate infrastructure interventions.

The current backlog stands at approximately 28 new schools. Therefore, given that our current budget for infrastructure and maintenance is only R389 million, this administration has had to develop a bold new plan to address these backlogs.

New schools

In terms of new schools, as Premier Zille announced last Friday, tenders will soon be advertised to build 12 new schools in the province starting in 2011. These 12 new schools are in addition to the existing building programme now underway. Four new schools are currently under construction in the province and an additional six schools are out on tender.

Seven schools across the province were completed last year.

This innovative and ambitious plan is arguably the first in South Africa. It is also a result of a ground breaking agreement with Public Works and the Provincial Treasury where an agreement has been reached to allocate R1 billion over the current MTEF period to finance our plan. In addition, a consultation process on how to design and build cost effective, environmentally friendly and sustainable schools has been undertaken.

The decision to put 12 schools out on one tender reduces building and procurement costs, dramatically decreases the professional fees for each specific school, as well as speeds up delivery and consolidates accountability.

Unlike the previous administration, for whom in many instances the location of schools was often politically motivated, the WCED is currently conducting an objective assessment of schools to determine pressure areas throughout the province. These assessments are based on a number of objective criteria such as; migration patterns in the province; new housing developments and infrastructure; funding and budgets; existing and planned transport; leased property and hostel accommodation.

Additional classrooms at existing schools

In order to address the demands for increased admissions at some of our successful schools, the WCED will build approximately 200 new classrooms at 50 schools in the metropolitan area of Cape Town.

Funding will be made available to each school to build themselves four additional classrooms. This process will be closely monitored and audited. Feedback from our schools has been positive in this regard, and once completed, approximately 3 000 children will gain access to some of our successful schools with world class tuition.

This is an excellent example of a partnership between the department and our schools to fulfill our mutual objectives of giving a safe and secure learning environment for all our learners. It will also offset some of the need to build new schools.

The use of mobile classrooms

The issue of overcrowding at some of our province’s schools is a major concern of ours. An effective and immediate approach to alleviate overcrowding at our schools is to install mobile classrooms, as is currently underway at Oranjekloof Primary and Citrusdal Secondary.

Our audit reveals that there is a need to prioritise the allocation of 126 additional mobile classrooms at our schools.

A project management unit has been appointed to manage the ordering and provision of these classrooms. We are confident that these units will be delivered by the end of the second term.

Conclusion

As is evident above, our new infrastructure plan provides for a number of short and long term interventions. Once successfully implemented, it will help alleviate school overcrowding and improve the overall state of our school infrastructure across the province.

It is an exciting and bold plan, but we believe it can be achieved.

For enquiries, contact Bronagh Casey:  072 724 1422 or brcasey@pgwc.gov.za.

Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za