Johannesburg – A new school that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) planned for the south of Johannesburg – as a reaction to learner influx in the region – will not be ready for the 2021 academic year.
MEC Panyaza Lesufi revealed that his department had acquired 3.4 hectares of land in Winchester Hills for a new school intended “to deal with admission and overcrowding pressures” in the southern suburbs.He was replying to a question the DA had asked Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga in the National Assembly. Motshekga referred the question to Lesufi as procedure for provincial matters.

. Two mobile classrooms, costing R500000, had been placed at the school to accommodate the new learners.

“It must be noted that the Johannesburg Central District received 6500 more applications than it did the previous academic year,” he said.

“Most of these applications were for schools in the southern parts of Johannesburg (Naturena, Meredale, Alan Manor, Mondeor, Suideroord, Ormonde, Ridgeway, Robertsham, Forest Hill, Turffontein and Haddon areas).

“The area also experienced an influx of learners from other districts in Gauteng, as well as relocations from other provinces.

“As a result, the district did not have sufficient space to place all learners in the area and alternative placement options were investigated,” Lesufi said.

He would not commit to timelines for the construction and readiness of the Winchester Hills school, revealing that the project was currently at “feasibility stage”.

“Preliminary investigations are being conducted to ascertain design requirements, and only after conclusion of these processes will the department be in a position to give precise projected timelines and costs.”

Lesufi said the project was handed over to the provincial Infrastructure Development Department “for it to expedite processes to implement the construction of the school given the extraordinary pressures in the area”.

The Infrastructure Department said on Thursday that the school would not be ready for next year.

Spokesperson Bongiwe Gambu gave a resounding “no” when asked if the school could be ready for 2021.

“A letter to hand over the project to (our department) was received on May 20 this year and was subject to the Gauteng Department of Education confirming the strategic brief for implementation,” Gambu said.

“Planning is to commence and time frames are still to be determined. Progress will duly be communicated.”

This was not the only school planned for Gauteng.

“The department is busy planning a total of 20 schools,” Gambu said.

Lesufi promised construction of more schools in the south.

“On a long-term basis, it is the department’s intention to construct additional learning spaces in the area to address placement and overcrowding challenges,” he said.

“This is in addition to the envisaged school (in Winchester Hills).”

The Star