Question No. 632
Ms FI Chohan (African National Congress) to ask the Minster of Basic Education:
Whether her department intends transferring reform schools throughout the country to the Department of Social Development; if not, what is the status of reform schools; if so, (a) how many schools are affected and (b) what are the further relevant details.
Reply:
The Department of Basic Education intends to transfer all reform schools to the Department of Social Development as prescribed in the Children’s Act of 2005.
(a) Five Schools will be affected.
(b) At present there are three fully fledged Reform Schools and two Reform Schools
Programmes attached to Schools of Industries in four of the nine provinces. Those provinces with a Reform School or Reform Schools programme are Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape.
Learners sentenced to a reform school from Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West are admitted to a reform school in another province. Most of the time those learners are admitted to Ethokomala Reform School in Mpumalanga.
The two Reform School programmes are at Gali Tembani Youth Care Centre in Eastern Cape and Newcastle Youth Care Centre in KwaZulu Natal. These Reform School programmes at Gali Tembani Youth Care Centre and Newcastle Youth Care Centre are operative.
The three reform schools are Eureka Special Youth Care Centre, Kraaifontein Special Youth Care Centre and Ethokomala Reform School. Eureka Special Youth Care Centre and Ethokomala Reform School are operative whilst Kraaifontein Special Youth Care Centre closed down in December 2009. The two Western Cape Reform Schools (Eureka and Kraaifontein) have a bed capacity of 120 and the Ethokomala Reform School has a bed capacity of 160.
The Reform School programme in Eastern Cape has a bed capacity of 76 whilst the Reform School Programme in KwaZulu Natal has a bed capacity of 20.
School’s name
* Gali Tembani
Province:Eastern Cape
Town: Queenstown
Bed capacity: 76
Operative: Yes
* Newcastle
Province: KwaZulu-Natal
Town: Newcastle
Bed capacity: 20
Operative: Yes
* Ethokomala
Province: Mpumalanga
Town: Kinross
Bed capacity: 160
Operative: Yes
* Eureka
Province: Western Cape
Town: Rawsonville
Bed capacity: 120
Operative: Yes
* Kraaifontein
Province: Western Cape
Town: Kraaifontein
Bed capacity: 120
Operative: No
Issued by: Department of Basic Education
15 March 2010
Source: Department of Education (http://www.education.gov.za/)
