Action after lack of school furniture was exposed
The Gauteng Department of Education delivered 200 chairs and desks to Tsakane Primary School on the same day the news had broken.
The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng’s shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho, made a few surprise visits to a number of schools in Kagiso, only to find pupils being taught in horrendous conditions.
Initial article: Pupils use buckets as chairs
At Tsakane Primary School some pupils use buckets as chairs, while others are forced to sit on the floor. Other pupils have to contend with broken chairs and desks, and most classrooms are overcrowded and uncomfortable.
Even more disturbing is the fact that pupils at the Itireleng School for the Mentally Handicapped do not have appropriate classroom equipment or even a dedicated occupational therapist to assist with their development or help to make things a little easier for them.
The news of the dire conditions in these schools made headlines, resulting in local government immediately stepping in.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) delivered 200 chairs and desks to Tsakane Primary School on the same day (2 June) the news had broken.
According a report on IOL News by The Star reporter Karishma Dipa, the youngsters congregated in the corridors in the winter breeze and smiled as they watched the furniture being offloaded from a large truck. Now each will have their own desk and no longer need to share one with their classmates or their teachers.
Spokesperson of the GDE, Phumla Sekhonyane said the furniture had been ordered a while ago.
She urged principals of schools with similar needs to contact the GDE’s head office.
However, conditions at Itireleng School remain very bad. The school allegedly does not have any running water or electricity and the crowded classrooms are due to the lack thereof.
Sekhonyane said further investigations will be conducted at this school.
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