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Thousands of learners across the province continue to be taught in old and dilapidated mobile classrooms which are not conducive to learning and teaching to take place. Oakdale Secondary School in Ennerdale is one of the many mobile schools in Gauteng that have been desperately waiting to be built with a brick-and-mortar structure.

For the past five years, this school which has 836 learners has been using mobile classes for most of its grades, despite promises by the Gauteng Department of Education that the school will be built with a brick-and-mortar structure.

Recently, one mobile classroom was burnt down and has not yet been replaced.

This information was revealed to the Democratic Alliance (DA) during an oversight inspection at the school.

There is a shortage of mobile classrooms which has severely affected Grades 8 and 9. This will be made worse as the school is expecting to enroll about 300 Grade 8 learners for the 2023 academic year.

There is also a challenge of drugs around the community and the drug users are alleged to be targeting school infrastructure. The school has been vandalised and currently, there is no electricity due to the reoccurring cable theft incidents.

The DA will be engaging with the department to categorise this school as a quintile five because it is not generating any income. The learners attending this school are from disadvantaged families and they are solely dependent on the scholar transport and the nutrition programme. We will also put pressure on the department to urgently build a proper kitchen for the school and provide additional mobile classrooms.

The DA demands that the new Gauteng MEC of Education, Matome Chiloane, must outline how he will fix the mess left by the former MEC Panyaza Lesufi to ensure that old and dilapidated mobile schools are replaced with brick-and-mortar structures.

We will continue to fight for the education of our children and ensure a conducive learning and teaching environment at all our schools across the province.

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