Additional schools needed in Pta North, department admits
The department, however, remained tightlipped about the costs of the new schools.
More schools were needed in the north of Pretoria to keep up with growing demand in the area, the Gauteng education department has admitted.
“We have also identified a need for two high schools and two primary schools to be built in the Pretoria North area,” provincial education department MEC Panyaza Lesufi said.
Lesufi made the revelations in a written response to the Gauteng provincial legislature to questions by the DSA’s Thaba Mogale constituency head Adriana Randall.
In the same response, he also revealed that three new classrooms would be built at a primary school in the area.
No additional classrooms would, however, be built at one of the high schools targeted by protesting parents who wanted their children to be placed at the school in question.
“Laerskool Akasia will be building two additional classrooms to create additional space, while Hoërskool Akasia has no space to build additional classrooms,” Lesufi said.
He further said the department had placed learners at other schools because Laerskool and Hoërskool Akasia were full.
“A total of 256 learners who applied to Laerskool Akasia and 574 to Hoërskool Akasia could not be placed at these schools.
“Both schools were filled to capacity with learners who live within the school feeder zone,” Lesufi said.
He said these learners were placed at Hoërskool Hercules, Daspoort Secondary School, Hillview High School and Amandasig Secondary School.
Of these schools, the closest was 3,2km while the furthest was 13,67km, which was Laerskool Kameeldrift.
Asked when and where these schools would be built, Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona said that “additional information would be communicated in the near future”.
Tshwane mayor Randall Williams said he welcomed that the department had realised the need for the additional schools, but questioned where the budget for them would come from.
Last week Wednesday, a handful of EFF supporters protested learner placement issues outside Laerskool Danie Malan and Hoërskool Pretoria-Noord.
The protest ruffled local community members’ feathers as local residents, members of various community organisations and private security companies showed up at the schools as counter-protesters.
READ MORE: Tempers flare at north school placement protest
EFF members handed over lists of demand at the two schools.
Demands included that the schools present English language classes to accommodate English-speaking learners from the Pretoria North area and more representativity in the school’s government body and employees.
Since the reopening of schools in mid-February, similar protests were held at Hoërskool Akasia and Hoërskool Gerrit Maritz.
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