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A homeless family of six adults and one infant has invaded the premises of Hoërskool Die Burger in Bergbron, Roodepoort. They have been occupying three classrooms for almost two years and pose a serious safety risk for both learners and teachers as well as the integrity of the school premises and equipment.

This homeless family is also sharing ablution facilities with learners, putting the lives of innocent learners under threat. One of the males was allegedly caught stealing at the science laboratory, he was arrested, and he is out on bail and still residing at the school premises. In addition, the school has had numerous burglaries since this homeless family invaded their premises.

This is unacceptable as a school is supposed to be a safe place for learners, not a place to harbour homeless people.

Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) conducted an oversight inspection at the school and were disappointed with the state of the infrastructure and the school environment in general. The school is old and is turning 120 years this year; the infrastructure is ageing and is in dire need of proper regular maintenance.

The classroom windows and doors are broken; the school hall ceiling was damaged last year in March and has not yet been fixed. The wooden tiles in the school hall are broken, seven classrooms are not being used because the roof is leaking, and the structure is cracking.

The school environment is not conducive for learning and teaching as there is litter all over the school and the grass is overgrown.

Furthermore, there is a serious challenge of ill-discipline, drugs and bullying among the learners. Some learners are selling drugs at the school; learners are scared to report them as they fear being targeted. There were some learners who were sitting under a tree during the school hours, and we were informed that learners are disrespectful towards their teachers. They do not take instructions from teachers, they do whatever they want and do not adhere to the school code of conduct.

The school lacks leadership as there is no permanent principal, instead there are acting principals on a rotational basis.

The DA demands that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi must intervene as a matter of urgency to evict the homeless family that has invaded the school and secure the school premises to ensure the safety and security of our children and resources. MEC Lesufi must prioritise fixing this school’s infrastructure and appoint a permanent principal.

MEC Lesufi must engage with the Department of Social Development to ensure that this homeless family is relocated to one of the homeless shelters across the province. The Department of Social Development must engage with local NGOs to house this family in the meantime while looking for a permanent solution.

We also urge the School Governing Body (SGB) and the parents to take ownership of the school and engage their children about acceptable behaviour at school.

The DA believes that schools are precious resources, and the future of the next generation requires the assistance of all stakeholders. We will be tabling questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain when the last time was the department conducted maintenance at this school ,how much is the maintenance budget for this school, when will the school be fixed, when will the principal vacancy be filled and what action will be taken against the homeless family that have invaded the school premises. Based on the replies that we will receive from the MEC we will conduct a follow-up oversight inspection to assess the progress and ensure that we hold the MEC accountable to fix our school’s infrastructure.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education