Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Spokesperson Jessica Shelver, for the MEC for Education in the Western Cape, Debbie Schaefer, responded to the Mossel Bay Advertiser regarding questions about conditions at Garden Route Primary School.

In a statement, Shelver noted: "We are seeing mass movement into the Western Cape from other provinces, mainly the Eastern Cape, with many families settling on the Garden Route.

"This movement has placed exponential pressure on schools on the Garden Route and the growth is placing huge demands on all resources, including demand for housing, schools, medical facilities and jobs.

"Just this year, we saw an additional 25 000 learners enter the province at the start of the 2018 academic year.

"To keep up with growth in the province, this year we will see the completion of seven new schools and three replacements schools. This will assist with the growth in numbers but it is simply not enough.

"More than 130 000 learners have relocated to the Western Cape from other provinces and countries over the past five years - mainly from the Eastern Cape - at an additional cost to the system of around R1.1 billion.

"This year alone, the WCED had to find over R350 million to cater for new arrivals. This does not include infrastructure.

"This growth affects everyone because we have to stretch existing resources thinly over the whole system. The strain this places on our schools is immense and the sad reality is that we do not receive the relevant per learner funding that we should receive to accommodate and equip increased learners within the system.

"The funding that we receive for the influx of learners is based on outdated information. The information used to calculate our equitable share is the previous year’s SNAP survey, as well as information from the general household survey.

"This benefits provinces with negative population growth rates but comes at the expense of provinces with in-migration. So in the Western Cape, our funding continues to play catch-up to the number of learners entering our system.

"There are huge needs in infrastructure to accommodate the growth in learner numbers. But without concomitant funding from the National Treasury - and a cut to the infrastructure grant - there is a very real possibility that Infrastructure Development projects may need to be delayed.

"In terms of schools on the Garden Route and the WCED’s plans to accommodate the growth in learner numbers, the WCED in this financial year is building seven additional classrooms at Garden Route Primary School, as well as five classes at Milkwood Primary and seven additional classrooms at Hartenbos Primary in the 2019/20 financial year.

"We are planning two new schools for the Mossel Bay area - a primary and a high school. As mentioned though, there is a very real possibility that Infrastructure Development projects may need to be delayed as we are not receiving our equitable share of funding from the National Treasury.

"With regards to the specific questions raised:

'that the school caters for 80% to 90% more learners that what it can cope with'

•The school was built for 800 learners.

•An extra five classes were built and the capacity increased to 990.

•Since 2014 the school has received seven mobile units to accommodate the growth.

•This financial year the school will receive an additional seven brick and mortar classes.

'that teachers have classes of on average 60 learners'

•Not true.

•The teacher-learner ratio of the school is 1:37.

'that there still is a dire need for additional classes as facilities such as the school hall and laboratories have to be used for classes'

• Seven classrooms are being built this year

'that the department had a chance to upgrade the area where the accident happened at a cost of R80 000 some years ago but chose not to do so, despite the fact that there are no proper areas for the overcrowded school’s learners to play during break or after school'

•No funding was available when the request was made. As indicated the WCED has massive financial constraints and has to prioritise projects that immediately affect teaching and learning.

'that the school does not have proper sports facilities despite a tract of land being available'

•The piece of land available is used by private sports clubs in the area.

'that the MEC in fact asked that private contractors should be asked to upgrade the playing field at their own cost'

• We don’t have evidence of this.

"In addition to the provision of additional classrooms, over the last few years, the WCED has invested in safety and security at Garden Route Primary School, providing a new fence to the value of R2 million, increased access control and provided stoneguards to the windows. The WCED has also added additional teachers to the establishment staff."

Read a related article: Poor schooling hinders progress

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