MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay's acting mayor Alderman Dirk Kotzé met with the principals of high and secondary schools in the greater Mossel Bay area on Wednesday morning.

The principals raised concerns about overcrowded schools or a lack of sufficient high schools in the area and made an urgent appeal to all parents whose children already have been placed in schools, to ensure they attend classes the first two weeks of the new school year.

The attendance of the first ten days is essential to allow the Western Cape Department of Education to determine the actual occupancy rate of the available classrooms and to allow them to devise possible solutions to the problem of too few classrooms.

Some of the solutions discussed are the establishment of an E-centre to accommodate the surplus number of learners, or to establish "extension" classes at the existing schools to assist the learners.

While much has been done in the past to accommodate the oversupply of learners in the primary schools, the need for more high schools in Mossel Bay is now a priority that Alderman Kotzé will take up with the provincial government as a matter of urgency. According to the existing provincial budget, more high schools in Mossel Bay are only planned for the 2025 financial year.

The influx of people into Mossel Bay has contributed to a situation that necessitates that the planning is brought forward.

Alderman Kotzé encouraged learners to commit to their studies despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which is a temporary problem.

"Your school career prepares you for your entire future. Do not slack off. Work hard, with your future dreams in mind. The 2021 year group, like the matrics of 2020, will face unprecedented challenges. It is difficult conditions that sharpen character and give learners the chance to prove themselves.

"I wish the principals and their teachers all the best. Our teaching staff have proved over the past few months that there is no challenge that overcomes the innovation with which they have handled the changes.

"I believe Mossel Bay's young people and our teachers will be worthy of our pride at the end of another school year," said the acting mayor.

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