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WCED Home page | Media Releases Index page |
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7 June, 2011 |
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Minister Grant visits the construction site of two new Delft schools Statement by Minister Donald Grant, Minister of Education, Western Cape Summary: This morning (7 June 2011) Minister Donald Grant visited two of four new schools that are currently being constructed in the Delft area. These four schools are expected to be completed at the end of July and will altogether accommodate over 4 700 learners . These four schools form part of our broader infrastructure plan which entails building 25 new schools and replacing 20 schools with inappropriate structures in the MTEF. This statement below includes an update on progress towards implementing the WCED's school infrastructure plan. In order to meet the growing demand for schools in the Delft area, two primary schools and two high schools are currently being built in Delft as part of the WCED’s infrastructure plan. Three of these schools are already in operation in temporary facilities. New housing developments and an increase in the community’s population in 2008 led to an urgent need for schools in the area to meet the community’s growing needs. To meet this demand, in January 2009, the WCED decided to open three new schools in the area - two primary schools, Aberdare Primary and Hindle Road West Primary and one high school, Hindle Road Secondary. Mobile classrooms were erected to accommodate the learners, educators and staff. It was soon evident that this could only be a temporary arrangement and by the end of 2009, the WCED began planning the construction of four new ‘brick and mortar’ schools in the area that would be able to ease the demand for admission to schools in Delft, as well as, provide a safe and suitable learning environment for the educators and learners. Construction on each of the four new schools began in April 2010. The expected date of completion is by the end of July 2011. We are hopeful that each of the three existing schools will be able to occupy their new buildings by the start of the fourth term, with planned migration during the September school holidays so as not to disrupt teaching and learning. The two primary schools have been designed to accommodate over 1 100 learners and include, amongst other things, twenty-eight classrooms, a computer lab, library, school hall, six offices, and two specialist rooms. Two Grade R classrooms have also been built. Currently, both schools teach learners from Grade 1 - 7, but in 2011, the schools will introduce Grade R learners for the first time. Both the schools will have sporting facilities and have been built at the cost of approximately R32 million each. Hindle Road Secondary will accommodate over 1 200 learners. The school’s new facilities include twenty-seven classrooms, three specialist rooms, five laboratories, a library and two computer rooms. A school hall, sports facilities, storerooms and offices are also included. The projected cost of this school is R36 million. Hindle Road Secondary currently accommodates learners from Grades 8-11. In 2012, the school will expand to Grade 12. The fourth high school is the new technical high school which will also accommodate over 1 200 learners. The school is expected to enroll Grade 8 and 9 learners at the start of the 2012 school year. Given its focus on technical subjects such as mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, the school has three workshops, six specialist rooms and four laboratories. The school facilities will also include a library, two computer rooms, twenty-seven classrooms, a school hall, sports facilities and the relevant administrative offices. Because of the school’s specialist facilities, the projected cost is higher than that of Hindle Road Secondary, at approximately R40 million. I am extremely excited to see the completion of each of these projects and look forward to their opening their doors in the coming months. As with all new schools, we expect that their empty new classrooms will soon be transformed into hubs of teaching and learning, where learners and educators are safe and secure, and where quality learning is taking place. I would also like to make a special appeal to the community of Delft to help protect and secure these schools. Burglary and vandalism is a reality in this area and I sincerely hope that all roleplayers in the community support these schools and protect these learners’ rights. Western Cape School Infrastructure Update: 7 June 2011 Addressing the backlogs in infrastructure is a top priority for this administration. Therefore, at the end of 2009, Minister Grant commissioned a baseline audit of all the schools in the province to ascertain where we should target our immediate infrastructure interventions. In February 2010, we released our infrastructure plan, which includes the building of 25 new schools over the MTEF, the replacement of 20 schools that were built with inappropriate materials, the building of additional relief classrooms in successful schools in order to expand access to quality education, and the installation of mobile classrooms at schools where there is severe overcrowding. We have allocated R1.9 billion towards the new infrastructure plan in the province over the current MTEF. This is an unprecedented level of investment. This year, we will continue to build on the momentum we generated last year. The WCED has allocated R688 million this year on the plan, compared to R560 million in the last financial year. MOBILE CLASSROOMS The need for these mobile units at various schools was highlighted at the end of 2009, when the WCED undertook to do a baseline audit of the infrastructure needs of all the schools in the province. The audit revealed that there was overcrowding at various schools, and after numerous discussions with these schools, it was decided that the most immediate and effective approach would be to install 126 additional mobile classrooms at these schools to alleviate overcrowding. A project management unit was then appointed to manage the ordering and provision of these classrooms which has now been successfully rolled out. Additional mobiles have been added to the priority list after the final enrollments for 2010 were completed. We have successfully installed over 170 mobile units. The Cape Winelands district received the largest allocation, with 30 mobiles being distributed at schools such as Ceres Primary School (3 mobiles), Langabuya Primary School (3 mobiles) and Bonnievale Primary (1 mobile). Oranjekloof Primary School in Hout Bay is the biggest school beneficiary. They have received 9 mobile units, which has dramatically helped to reduce overcrowding at this school. Please note: These mobiles have provided much needed support to some of our schools. They have contributed to the alleviation of school overcrowding and have improved the overall state of our school infrastructure across the province. The cost of the mobiles is roughly R110 000 - R130 000 per classroom. CLASSROOM EXPANSION PLAN At the beginning of the year the WCED approached a number of our schools to determine how best to expand access at successful schools. It was then decided that the most cost-effective and immediate solution was to build additional classrooms at various schools in the Cape Town metropole. However, the schools selected had to have had consistently achieved good academic results, as well as, have a high learner admission rate and demand each school year. Feedback from our principals and governing bodies on the initial plan was positive, and the WCED then chose 19 schools to participate in the first phase roll-out of the ‘classroom expansion plan’. The main objective of the classroom expansion plan is to ensure that learners from a diversity of backgrounds, most especially from disadvantaged communities, are given an increased opportunity to gain entry into some of our province’s successful schools, therefore, expanding access to quality education by expanding the necessary infrastructure at each school. To date, an additional 112 classrooms are either currently under construction or have been built. Once this first phase is completed, there will be an additional 112 classrooms, benefitting 3 900 learners across 19 successful city schools. It must be noted that had the Department built four new schools to accommodate the same amount of learners, the costs would be significantly higher. By undertaking to expand access to these schools with additional classrooms, the Department would be accommodating learners at a rate that is 40% cheaper. The cost of this phase of the plan is approximately R70 million, however, if we were to build four new schools, the cost would amount to around R120 million. Therefore, by undertaking to expand access to these schools with additional classrooms, the Department will make a saving of approximately R50 million. The saving made can in turn be used to fund other aspects of the WCED's infrastructure improvement plan. NEW SCHOOLS In terms of new buildings, last year the WCED completed building Wallacedene Senior Sec, Tafelberg ELSEN school, and Bongolethu Primary School. Schools that were completed and opened their doors at the start of the new year included: Wallacedene Primary School (partial occupation- construction still happening) Bardale Sen Sec, Khayelitsha COSAT and Claremont HS. Westlake PS was recently completed, with occupation at the start of the second term. In recent years there have been new infrastructure housing developments in the Delft area, therefore four new schools are being built in Delft (two primary and two secondary schools) to accommodate learners. These schools are expected to be completed by the end of July, with expected occupation in September for the 3 of the schools and at the start of the new school year for the technical school. Blue Downs Primary is also scheduled for completion in the next two months. New schools under construction Hindle Road West SS, 12 new schools are in planning stages. REPLACEMENT SCHOOLS The infrastructure audit revealed that there was a need to replace schools that were built with inappropriate materials. Therefore, we have identified 20 schools that will be replaced in the next 3 years. Replacement schools under construction: Oaklands SS 12 replacement schools are in planning stages. Some examples that you can use: Oaklands SS Thembalethu PS Masibambane SS Wallacedene PS Replacing inappropriate structures requires building a new school and carries further costs such as demolition fees to tear down the inappropriate structures and the placement of alternative accommodation (mobiles) for learners during the building process. These costs vary from project to project, and we have allocated, approximately, an additional R3.5 million, on top of the new building costs, to each project to make provision for this. 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 | |
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