/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

There are 63 learners in the Grade 10 C classroom at Siyabusa Secondary School; the learners are cramped in one tiny mobile classroom and there is not enough space for a teacher to move around the classroom. This level of overcrowding at this school is unacceptable and not conducive to learning and teaching.

Siyabusa Secondary School is facing a severe challenge of overcrowding in classrooms and some classrooms, there are about 39 to 50 learners which is affecting learning and teaching.

Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho and the DA Johannesburg Ward 53 PR Councilor, Kevin Wax conducted an oversight at the school. The school is in a terrible state, too congested and there is a shortage of classrooms. The school hall has been converted into two classrooms while the library has been converted into a staff room. The principal and the deputy principal are sharing one office and there is no privacy due to a shortage of classrooms and administration blocks.

The department only delivered five additional mobile classrooms while the school had requested eight and those classrooms are still not enough to accommodate all the learners. There is also a shortage of desks and chairs at the school.

This situation has resulted in the school continuing with the rotational learning system which is impacting negatively on the delivery of the curriculum. This means that learners will be at a deficit and will struggle to cope with the workload should they progress to the next grade.

Furthermore, the school is congested because there are people who have erected shacks on the school grounds and the learners are unable to utilise the sporting field. There is also a challenge of cable theft which has resulted in some classrooms not having electricity.

It is also a shame that the school still uses pit toilets while the department claims that they have eradicated all pit toilets in all our schools across the province. The service provider that is hired to drain the waste from the pit toilets does not always follow the schedule; sometimes they do not arrive on time leading to waste flooding around the schoolyard. This is a disgrace and poses a health risk for both learners and teachers.

Despite all the challenges facing this school, it has dedicated teachers that have managed to constantly raise this school flag high as the school matric pass rate is at 92 percent.

The DA has engaged with the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi in seeking his immediate intervention to ensure that this school is provided with all necessary resources to ensure that schooling takes place in a conducive environment. MEC Lesufi has promised to intervene, and we will be making a follow-up within seven days to ascertain the progress of his intervention.

No learner is supposed to use a pit toilet in Gauteng when the department is failing to spend its entire infrastructure budget. We will continue to fight to ensure that the pit toilets are eradicated at this school and that it is provided with all the necessary resources.

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