Days of young school children walking long distance to and from school will soon be a thing of the past for the secluded Ga-Mohale village residents in the West Rand.
This after Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane unveiled a R120 million boarding school project in the farming community on Thursday.
Accompanied by Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development Bheki Nkosi and West Rand Executive Mayor Mpho Nawa, Mokonyane said Gauteng Provincial Government was committed to ensuring the provision of quality education of an African child.
“We are here today, as the government of the people, to fulfil our commitment we made last year that we will build a boarding school in Magaliesburg.
“Through this project, we aim to improve the quality of education, eradicate poverty and create job opportunities for our people,” Mokonyane said.
Mama Action, as she is affectionately called, said although the province was happy with the improvement in matric results, they remain concerned about the numbers.
“We cannot pretend as if everything is well when we have almost 20 percent of our matriculants failing their senior certificate exams.
“That is why we are not taking the foot off the pedal but instead working even harder than before to ensure that we produce learners who will be able to contribute significantly towards the economic development and growth of this province and the country,” she said.
Gauteng’s number one citizen further said that it was an open secret that when a child walks for about five kilometres or more to get to school in the morning on an empty stomach, walks the same distance back and still has no guarantee to have a decent dinner before going to bed, the odds are stacked against such a child.
“The burden of these socio-economic challenges are too much to deal with. By investing in this project we are saying let these children have a better and world-class facility where they will stay, play and eat,” Mokonyane said.
She also announced that a contractor has already being appointed to start work on the project and that the company was 100 percent female owned.
She urged the community to take ownership of the project and to be the eyes and ears of the government.
Enquiries:
Xoli Mngambi
Cell: 082 373 1146
Premier Mokonyane unveils R120m boarding school project in Magaliesburg
Province
