WCED announces unprecedented school infrastructure delivery programme
13 December 2022
The Western Cape Education Department recently announced that it is undertaking an ambitious school infrastructure delivery programme at an unprecedented rate.
This programme aims to deliver 842 additional classrooms with at least 26 000 places for learners in the province.
This number vastly exceeds the delivery of classrooms in previous years and has been made possible due to an R830 million increase in the infrastructure budget in 2022/23, and greater flexibility in implementing the department’s infrastructure programme.
This unprecedented school build includes:
- 3 brick and mortar new and replacement schools = 46 additional classrooms (Moorreesburg High School; Chatsworth Primary School; and Perivale Primary School)
- 5 new mobile schools = 50 additional classrooms (Klapmuts – high school; Klapmuts – primary school; Lwandle – high school; Tafelsig – high school; and Mitchell’s Plain – high school)
- New classroom builds = 645 additional classrooms
- 7 Rapid School Build projects = 101 additional classrooms (Delft; Atlantis; Rivergate; Lwandle; Wallacedene; Hout Bay; Century City)
The Rapid School Build programme is an exciting new initiative that brings together various stakeholders with the aim of developing and building 7 schools within six months to accommodate up to 3 200 learners.
Western Cape Minister of Education, David Maynier, said: “We are grateful for the assistance of partners like the City of Cape Town in overcoming some of challenges that we have previously faced in building schools.
“We have already completed 164 classrooms planned for next year, and a further 510 are scheduled for completion by January 2023, with the final 168 by March 2023.”
Maynier said significant risks have been identified. These include social unrest, extortion demands and strikes which lead to delays in building completion as well as the availability and delivery of building materials. “The WCED has ensured that all the necessary employment criteria, municipal requirements, and procurement processes will be followed, but all too often we see unnecessary and damaging protest action from individuals or groups seeking job opportunities and construction contracts or driving personal agendas. This can lead to delays in project completion dates which ultimately has an impact on the learner.”
He added that we must all work together to prioritise the delivery of school infrastructure so that we have plenty of space ready for new learners arriving for the 2023 school year.
