The Gauteng Education Department’s failure to complete the construction of the Theresapark High School, north of Pretoria, has led to a situation where learners only attend school twice a week.
The school uses mobile classrooms at Amandasig High School.
Theresapark High School parents have since appointed a task team to mobilise to ensure that the department takes accountability regarding the situation. The first demonstration is scheduled for 7am today.
They have called on the provincial government and relevant authorities to fulfil their promise of completing the construction of the school.
According to the task team members, the department forced the school to admit 1 200 learners and accommodate them in the nine container classrooms.
They said this was beyond acceptable capacity levels of the school. "The learners are on a rotation basis, and as a result, Grade 9 learners are only attending classes once a week and Grade 8s twice,” the tasks team said in a statement.
One of the concerned parents, Thabo Qoako, said they are battling and there were a number of challenges which are negatively affecting their children’s education.
The department's system of placing Grade 8s in Gauteng saw a huge number of learners being admitted at a school despite the fact that it had no capacity to accommodate them, he said.
The parents have been communicating to the department regarding the challenges, but have yet to got a response. The letters were shown by the parents during a recent meeting of the School Governing Body.
Further claims were made during the meeting of the misallocation of funds meant for the construction of the school.
In this regard, the parents are demanding an investigation and full account of the progress.
Qoako said as concerned parents, they have planned a series of events including mass demonstrations.
The parents said they are no longer prepared to leave their teenagers in bed when they go to work, with no clarity as to what they get up to during the day or whether they will be going to school.
Qoako said the teachers are under strain and learners faced with hygiene challenges daily, with 90 of them in an inadequate container classroom through the rotation system.
“These challenges are not new to the school; last year after the school was established, while it was offering Grade 8 classes only, the learners were still rotating,” he said.
The department made numerous promises regarding the completion of the construction of the school, he said.
It is alleged that more learners were forced on the school, despite calls by management to halt the process until the school had capacity to properly absorb the large number of applicants.
One learner said that attending school only two times a week was a reminder of how schooling was during the Covid-19 era.
The task team members said they are demanding an in-person response from the Gauteng MEC for Education Matome Chiloane as well as Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who was previously in charge of the education portfolio.
They further appealed for the assistance or stakeholders to assist and ensure that the department was taken to task.
During an inspection of schools in the area in January, the DA in Gauteng urged the MEC to prioritise building new schools in high-demand areas.
Meanwhile, the Pretoria News reached out to Chiloane's spokesperson Steve Mabona for comment, but he had yet to do so by late yesterday.
Pretoria News
Lesego Montso
lesego.montso@inl.co.za