The DA will write to the Limpopo Department of Education’s Head of Department, Maropene Seshibe, to urgently provide mobile classrooms and to address the staffing challenges faced by Mpfariseni Secondary School in Thohoyandou.
This after an oversight inspection yesterday by the DA revealed overcrowding, understaffing, dilapidated and unsafe infrastructure and a severe lack of resources at the school. (View photos here, here, here, here and here)
The oversight inspection comes after reports of the dire situation at the school. Mpfariseni Secondary School is facing serious staff shortages, the school doesn’t have educators suitably qualified to teach important gateway subjects such as Maths, Science and Agriculture. The school should have at least eleven teachers but currently only has six. This has led to a situation where parents are now forced to use their limited resources to pay for a qualified Maths educator to teach classes over the weekend.
The school has aged and neglected infrastructure that is dangerous for the learners. Many of the classroom buildings are dilapidated, and there are not enough classrooms at the school to accommodate all the learners. This has resulted in 123 Grade 12 learners sharing a classroom, when the class splits into different subjects other learners are forced to go outside or go into dilapidated and unsafe classrooms.
The conditions at Mpfariseni Secondary School highlight the lethargic approach to infrastructure maintenance by Limpopo’s education department. Reports of the department’s acknowledgement that more than half of the 3800 schools under their control are on the priority list with many needing renovations or to be demolished and rebuilt is a clear indication of neglect, ineptitude and falling asleep at the wheel for years by the department.
The provincial education department’s obligation to provide a decent basic education is not only limited to placing learners in schools but must also include providing resources such as adequate staffing, classrooms and appropriate facilities.
The DA cares about the conditions our learners are exposed to and remains committed to ensuring the provision of quality education in a conducive environment.