MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Results of the WCED's SNAP survey indicate that about 6 027 learners are yet unplaced at schools in the Western Cape.

The SNAP survey is done by schools and districts annually on the 10th day of the school year to assist the Western Cape Department of Education with the allocation of further resources for the year.

This total, largely constituting Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners, reflects the situation as at 30 January 2020.

"The reality of the situation is that, taking the number of placed and unplaced learners together, we have nearly 23 000 more learners in Western Cape schools than we did last year. To accommodate these learners, we would have to build 23 new schools just this year, let alone what we need to provide for the accumulated backlog," says Western Cape Minister of Education, Debbie Schäfer, in a statement released on 4 February.

The statement regarding the dire infrastructural need at schools, comes as no surprise considering a presentation made to members of the Standing Committee for Education during its visit to Hillcrest Secondary School.

Tough times
Last week, the Mossel Bay Advertiser reported on the Grade 8 placements at local schools. Local schools were reported to be full, with waiting lists of learners.

In a presentation made to the standing committee, the principal of Hillcrest painted a solemn picture. Offering education in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa, the school has 1 311 learners, including 36 foreign nationals. A total of 500 applications were made for exemption of school fees.

All Grade 8 learners are registered online and applications were completed in April 2019. Still, principal Ivan Kroneberg explained, parents in Mossel Bay are averse to the online registration process and want to enrol their children at the beginning of the school year.

Currently, the school has a waiting list of 70 learners.

Structurally, the school poses many challenges to learners and staff. According to Kroneberg's presentation, the school is particularly lacking in the provision of ablution facilities. "Ablution facilities were erected for 720 learners, but today we have 1 311 learners," Kroneberg stated.

Learners living far from school are reliant on costly public transport or have to walk to school, often ending up being openly exposed to or becoming victims of crime. Learners living in Asla Park for instance, have to walk almost 5km to attend school. Those living in rural areas surrounding Mossel Bay make use of hostel facilities at a neighbouring school, resulting in further expenses.

The school, towards the end of 2019, was plagued by violence between territorial gangs residing in JCC Camp and Elangeni. This resulted in learners bringing weapons to school, creating an unsafe environment.

To create a safer environment, perimeter fencing, replacing the dilapidated fence, some 35 years old, is an urgent need.

"The school was promised a new fence for the whole perimeter by the end of 2019, but nothing has happened yet," Kroneberg said in his report.

Despite painting a rather grim picture, Kroneberg concluded that with limited resources, the school still delivers quality education. This shows in the improvement of both the matric and systemic results.

'A national priority'
In her report, Schafer continued that meeting the demand "is impossible given our current budget and the country's perilous fiscal condition".

"We simply cannot keep up with the demand, and the situation is likely to get worse as more of our budget is cut by the national government diverting funds to SAA and Eskom."

She expressed the hope that national government would give national priority to delivering a quality education for every learner.

"It is a far more valuable investment than bailing out corrupt and failing SOEs."

Her sobering conclusion was that problems of overcrowding and teacher shortages will just get worse, to the detriment of our teachers and our children, should the budget towards education not be increased.

"We are in the process of opening up 70 classrooms and allocating teachers to them," the Minister said.

'We bring you the latest Mossel Bay, Garden Route news'