ANC’s poor planning results in overcrowded schools in Gauteng

12 January 2023  

The Gauteng Department of Education's poor planning and consequent failure to build enough schools in the province once again boomeranged. Some primary schools in Kempton Park are now being forced to accommodate Grade 8 learners in temporary classrooms.

The FF Plus simply cannot condone this rash decision.

Unfortunately, the lack of adequate schools for the growing population in Gauteng remains an annual theme and will continue to cause even greater problems under ANC rule.

The FF Plus has asked several times, during the Department of Education's annual planning briefing of the Gauteng Legislature's Education Committee, why enough schools are not being built. The party also wanted to know what the problem is seeing as the Department apparently does have enough funds available for building new schools.

The root of the problem is simple: The Department of Education keeps shifting the blame to the Department of Infrastructure.

It is, however, a well-known fact that this Department struggles to get its projects off the ground or complete them because it, among other things, appoints contractors that cannot fulfil their contractual obligations.

Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is put before merit, which in many cases opens the door for opportunists who are then appointed based on their ties with the ANC or officials in the Department.

In addition, the Gauteng Department of Education itself is not innocent when it comes to mismanagement, as evidenced by several scandals such as the unnecessary cleaning of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 where R430 million was squandered and paid out to numerous incompetent service providers and shelf companies.

The Department of Education has also already indicated that it wants to shoulder the responsibility of building schools itself. The FF Plus supports this idea in principle, but is not convinced that it will eradicate the current problems and that schools will be built faster.

The root of the problem remains the inept ANC government in Gauteng.

The only sustainable solution is for the Department of Education to be governed by the FF Plus, as part of a coalition government in 2024.

The party will ensure that mother-tongue education flourishes and that all Afrikaans schools, which are still being targeted by the Department of Education, are protected.

All learners will be guaranteed access to proper schools and education in the language of their choice.

Issued by Anton Alberts, FF Plus national chairperson and MPL: Gauteng, 12 January 2024