Cape Town - The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has welcomed a R2.5 billion cash injection from the National Treasury towards its Rapid School Build programme.
The funding would be used to build new schools and expand the number of school places available in areas that had larger class sizes and a high demand for placement.
“Our department submitted a rigorous application for the funding in July 2023, competing against other departments and projects across the country.
“National Treasury has provisionally approved an allocation of R251 million in 2024/25, R1.048 billion in 2025/26, and R1.25 billion in 2026/27.
“While this is not the entire amount we applied for, the funding will go a long way to providing certainty and stability in our infrastructure programme over the next three years,” said Education MEC, David Maynier.
The department’s infrastructure plan for 2024/25 was expected to be announced at the end of March.
This, while the WCED said learners were already in class at brand new schools in Belhar, Kwanokuthula, Fisherhaven, Saldanha Bay, Hout Bay and Macassar.
Construction of Lwandle Primary School was also back on track following delays due to disruptions at the construction site.
ANC education spokesperson, Khalid Sayed, said the persistent crisis of unplaced learners in the Western Cape was as a result of neglect of the poor working-class communities over the past 15 years.
The WCED said by February 15, it resolved 124 808 or 99.6% of the unique grade 1 and grade 8 placement applications for the 2024 school year and was in the process of placing 529, or 0.4% of unplaced learners.
Sayed said many learners were placed at schools far from their homes.
“For years national government funds earmarked for building of schools and employment of teachers were unspent and returned to the National Treasury.
“For instance in 2020/21, the DA-led government failed to spend over R556 million, including R196 million for school infrastructure.
“This massive under expenditure over the years, coupled with the fact that infrastructure budget for education in the province increased by 48% in the previous financial year, should dispel the blue lies that budget cuts from national government are to blame for unplaced learner crisis in the province.
“While the WCED claims it has placed 99% of all late applications, it is not telling us where these learners have been placed.
“All of them are placed in already overcrowded schools in poor working-class communities, far from their homes, thereby forcing parents to spend money they do not have so that their children can access education.
“This is one of many examples of how the DA has failed on education,” he said.