DA shadow MEC for Education wants school to be built
IVORY PARK - In a statement, Democratic Alliance shadow MEC for Education Khume Ramulifho said almost 2 000 primary school pupils from Mayibuye Primary in Ivory Park are ‘bearing the brunt of broken promises by the Gauteng Department of education’.
Pupils allegedly share 26 classrooms built on the grounds of a high school, while the land allocated to the primary school remains vacant.
According to reports the conditions are ‘extremely uncomfortable and unproductive’. Ramulifho said he would be writing to the MEC of Education in Gauteng, to find out the exact time frames for developing the vacant land allocated to the school. And to find out what provisions will be made to upgrade the temporary structures and the progress on another 70 schools which the department promised.
“Quality education remains the most critical building block for people to enter the economy and build better lives,” he said.
“The department must act swiftly before pupils at Mayibuye Primary are denied this opportunity completely.”
Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson, Phumla Sekhonyane said Mayibuye Primary was on a programme of building schools in collaboration with the Gauteng Fund Agency. She explained that the programme had to be reviewed based on costs.
“The school was on the 2015-2016 planning, however, due to the urgency of the need to address the condition of the school, we have brought it forward to the 2014-2016 financial cycles,” she said.
“Construction will commence in the 2015-2016 financial year. Gauteng has opened 28 new schools in the past year, however the demand remains high.”
