Rasool and education MEC Cameron Dugmore on the opening of schools
17 January 2007
The first day of school in the Western Cape has, despite a few problems, run
relatively smoothly. Some 930 000 learners have been admitted to schools across
the province and the Government of the Western Cape is satisfied that learning
has already started in earnest.
The Education Department has done its utmost to and largely succeeded in
ensuring that all schools have the required learning materials to start work
from the first day of school.
Premier Ebrahim Rasool, who visited several schools in the Oudtshoorn area
with Deputy Education Minister Enver Surty and Provincial Education MEC Cameron
Dugmore, has expressed his satisfaction that schools in the Western Cape are
ready for the challenge of producing good results.
Said Premier Rasool: "I want to urge learners, teachers, parents and
education officials to ensure that they get on with the job of ensuring that
our schools produce matriculants who are prepared for the task of making our
province, country and world a better place."
"We need young people who are educated and who have the necessary skills and
expertise to make a meaningful contribution to our economy. The Western Cape is
the fastest growing economy in the country and it is clear that there will
always be jobs for those who have the necessary skills, especially in the
fields of mathematics and science, as well as in the areas of building and
construction."
"The provincial government is keen for learners to realise that there can be
no future without education and so we call on all young people to stay away
from drugs such as tik, abstain from sex to avoid teenage pregnancies and to
steer clear of gangs which inevitably participate in crimes which lead straight
to a jail cell."
"We want our youth to complete school with good results so that they can
participate in our economy in a meaningful way. They have an important role to
play in realising our vision of 'A Home for All' and can help to create the
better life which our government has promised for all our people.
Whilst the Western Cape has in the last few years achieved phenomenal
academic success, we now need to make the shift from quantity to quality. This
is going to be crucial in the years ahead, starting with 2007."
Education MEC Cameron Dugmore said he was pleased with an even better start
to the new school year. "It is clear that our early enrolment campaigns in
recent years have helped to ensure that parents enrol their children for school
well before the start of the school year."
"I am also pleased that in areas where learners have always arrived late,
they have joined school from the first day. It is clear parents must and are
starting to take greater responsibility for their children to achieve
success."
Officials of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) have monitored the
opening of schools closely in all districts and have acted swiftly to resolve
issues where they have presented themselves.
The WCED anticipated increased pressure in accommodation in parts of
Philippi, Paarl and Stellenbosch. Officials of the department will continue to
deal with the increased demands in the days ahead. For example, the department
expects numbers in Philippi to grow based on experience in previous years. The
Metropole South district office of the department has established a
registration centre to manage the increase in demand.
Our Education Management and Development Centres (EMDCs) have worked closely
with schools to ensure matching and placing of learners in schools where
necessary.
The 15 schools completed by the province in 2006 have helped to meet demand
for accommodation. The WCED will open a further 14 schools during the course of
2007/08.
The WCED has received no reports of outstanding learning and teaching
materials. Suppliers delivered most materials before the end of the 2006 school
year, and delivered outstanding materials during the first few days of this
week.
A major concern at this point is vandalism of schools during the December
holidays. The WCED's Safe Schools Division is monitoring incidents. The
department's Physical Resources Planning Directorate is working with schools to
ensure essential repairs, focusing mainly on toilet facilities.
Schools and WCED officials reported the following incidents during the
morning of Wednesday, 17 January:
Bus transport
Parents of 38 learners living in Elim in the Southern Cape refused to allow
their children to travel on a bus to Albert Myburgh High School in Bredasdorp
because they believed the bus was unsafe. WCED officials have travelled to
Bredasdorp to resolve the issue with the bus contractor as a matter of
urgency.
Hostel accommodation
A farmer in the Tanqua area close to the Northern Cape border has refused to
accommodate 20 learners in a hostel on her farm because she is unhappy with the
rent being paid for the accommodation. The learners and their parents spent the
morning waiting outside the hostel while officials tried to make contact with
the farmer who was travelling to a funeral.
Meanwhile, the WCED has sent two officials from department's Physical
Resource Planning Directorate to the farm to resolve the issue. They will
organise alternative accommodation if necessary while they seek to resolve the
issue.
Staff establishments
Officials of the WCED's Metropole South EMDC will meet the management teams
of Fairmount and Wittebome high schools this afternoon to discuss their staff
establishments.
Both schools lost posts this year because of declines in their enrolments
for 2007. The number of learners at Fairmount dropped from 1 234 to 998, while
those at Wittebome dropped from 919 to 902.
Topics for discussion will include the establishments they need to teach the
subjects offered to date by the schools.
Vandalism
The WCED's Physical Resource Planning Directorate has thus far received 31
reports of vandalism that took place at schools during the December holidays.
Damage for these incidents has been estimated at almost R1 million. Officials
expect the final estimate to be even more.
The most severe cases reported so far have been at Greenlands Primary School
in Bishop Lavis and Uitsig Primary School in Uitsig. Vandals at Greenlands
broke windows and damaged ceilings, causing damage worth about R145 000.
Vandals at Uitsig damaged ceiling, electrical connections and plumbing at a
cost of about R75 000.
The WCED is prioritising repairs to toilets and electrical systems to ensure
that the schools affected are at least functional and safe, before working with
schools on the remaining repairs.
For further information, please contact:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: (021) 467 2523
Fax: (021) 425 5689
Cell: 082 550 3938
E-mail: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za.
Issued by: Department of Education, Western Cape Provincial Government
17 January 2007
Source: Western Cape Education Department (http://wced.wcape.gov.za)
