ActionSA applauds GED for addressing Eqinisweni High School infrastructure crisis
The party detailed various issues in the school, including crumbling classroom infrastructure, extreme overcrowding, and broken prefabricated units, among others.
ActionSA has expressed its support for the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) efforts to address the longstanding infrastructure challenges at Eqinisweni High School in Ivory Park.
This positive development follows a visit by ActionSA Member of the Gauteng Legislature John Moodey to the school on February 21, during which he highlighted several significant issues.
Moodey called for immediate intervention from the department. Although the school was originally built to accommodate 1 600 learners, it currently serves approximately 2 700, exceeding its capacity by 1 100, without any additional infrastructure being provided in the past five years.
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Moodey indicated that the party would be writing to the Education MEC, Matome Chiloane, to inform him of the urgent situation at the school, and to demand both immediate, and long-term, action plans to address these challenges.
In his letter, he detailed various issues, including crumbling classroom infrastructure, extreme overcrowding, broken prefabricated units, a lack of desks and furniture, poor sanitation facilities, an overburdened school nutrition programme, and escalating discipline problems among learners. All these factors severely hinder the school’s ability to provide a safe and conducive learning environment.
Despite these significant challenges, Eqinisweni High School achieved an impressive 85% matric pass rate last year. “Imagine what this school could accomplish with a properly functioning and well-resourced facility,” Moodey remarked.
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ActionSA urged the department to intervene by providing more classrooms and furniture to accommodate the additional learners. They also emphasised the need for measures to promote and maintain discipline within the school environment. “It is equally important to ensure that learners have adequate access to the nutritional programme designed to support our communities,” Moodey stated.
On May 2, Moodey welcomed the department’s decision to begin repairs and replacements of broken mobile classrooms, and to deliver 10 new mobile classrooms, each capable of accommodating 50 learners.
He viewed this as a crucial step toward ensuring that the learners at Eqinisweni can access an effective learning environment. “Quality education requires a foundation of safe, functional, and supportive facilities, and we are encouraged to see this progress,” Moodey added. ActionSA also embarked on a clean-up campaign at the school.
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“As ActionSA, we are committed to advocating for the improvement of public education infrastructure across Gauteng. We will closely monitor the ongoing work at Eqinisweni High School to ensure that the process is carried out with integrity, efficiency, and in the best interest of the learners,” he stated.
On May 7, the Midrand Reporter contacted GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona to confirm whether the department had indeed decided to initiate the repairs and replacements at the school and when this work would commence.
In response, the department stated that they were addressing the inquiry but requested more time to provide a comprehensive response.
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