North West EXCO members who conducted oversight visits at various schools across the province to check and assess their state of readiness for the first term of the 2025 academic year, have raised concerns about several challenges that they identified during their visits.
Some of the recurring challenges that were noticed include but not limited to shortage of mathematics and science educators, lack of proper school infrastructure and substantial plan around the administration of the Grade R classes for the first time to some schools.
The Chairperson of the North West Portfolio Committee on Education Priscilla Williams visited Onkgopotse Tiro Comprehensive School near Mahikeng and Ditsobotla Primary school in Lichtenburg respectively.
According to Williams, one of the challenges identified by committee members is that the provincial Department of Education is unprepared to accommodate Grade R pupils.
“I could say that as well to say that the Department is nowhere near the state of readiness to accommodate learners for Grade R, yet they still insist that it is.
The reality of the matter is that in all schools we visited the problems are the same,” said Williams who was speaking on YouFM News Hour.
In addition, Williams bemoaned the lack of playground areas at some of the schools that the committee visited.
“What is challenging as we speak is all this schools that were approved to start staking in Grade R learners still doesn’t have fully equipped play areas for Grade R learners or even classrooms suitable to accommodate pupils of that age.
Department has given the schools combi classrooms that are not ready to administer the classes,” added Williams.
The Chairperson had undertaken to engage the department, when the Provincial Legislature returns from recess early next month.
She’s adamant that the engagement will ensure that the challenges faced by several schools in the province are resolved.
“The Legislature is opening just at the beginning of February, the department is slotted in as part of those who will be appearing before the portfolio committee.
You will remember that the visit to Onkgopotse Tiro was a follow up on the previous visit by the former Chairperson of the Parliament’s Portfolio committee on Education who made several findings and there were commitment including extending the learner’s residential area at the school, but immediately after we left the department abandoned the thought,” emphasised Williams.
