Media Release
Minister of Education Donald Grant
Western Cape

7 June, 2013

Replacing structures of the past - 50 schools to receive building upgrades.

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

In September 2012, I announced details of the Western Cape Education Department's new infrastructure plan for the 2013/14 -2015/16 period.

The plan includes, amongst other things, the building of 46 replacement schools and the roll-out of 4 replacement classroom projects within a three year period. (Please note that a further 26 new schools will also be built under this plan.)

Today, I am announcing the names of the 50 schools that will be upgraded through the school replacement programme.

Using our Geographic Information System (GIS) and information obtained from the Districts, we were able to ascertain which school buildings were in dire need of replacement.

Replacing a school essentially means replacing with new brick and mortar structures old school buildings originally built with inappropriate materials.

In most instances, the old structures are made from wooden or prefabricated materials and were generally built during the apartheid era.

Replacing inappropriate structures requires building a new school on the existing school property. In some projects, the new structure is built adjacent to the old structure so that the learners may continue to use the premises of the old school while the building of the new structure is underway.

In other instances, the provision of alternative accommodation (such as mobile units) is required for learners during the building process. The old inappropriate structures are torn down to make way for the new building.

Each replacement school will typically include all modern day school features such as a media centre/library, laboratories, feeding kitchens, computer facilities and workshops where necessary.

It is an exciting initiative that will ultimately benefit approximately 50 000 learners who will be able to learn in environments that are safer, bigger and more conducive to quality teaching and learning.

The distribution of replacement schools in each district that will benefit from this plan is as follows:

There are also four replacement classroom projects that will be implemented during the three year period. These projects entail the replacement of certain sections of schools that are deemed inappropriate or potentially unsafe.

The classroom projects are situated in the following four districts:

The replacement schools and replacement classroom projects will be funded partly through the WCED's infrastructure budget and partly through the Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI) programme.

The 46 replacement schools are as follows:

The 4 replacement classroom projects are situated in the following areas:

For enquiries, contact Bronagh Casey:  072 724 1422 or bronagh.casey@westerncape.gov.za.

Media enquiries:
Bronagh Casey
Spokesperson for the Minister of Education, Donald Grant
Western Cape Education Department
Tel: 021 467 2377
Fax: 072 724 1422