The Gauteng Department of Education says it will outline plans to tackle infrastructure challenges across the province following mounting concerns over overcrowding at schools.
This comes after parents at Bovet Primary School raised alarm over severe congestion at the institution, located in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.
Parents allege that a shortage of classroom space has forced some learners to sit on the floor or on their school bags during lessons. Members of the School Governing Body (SGB) claim that repeated attempts to escalate the issue to the department have gone unanswered.
According to the SGB, some classrooms are accommodating as many as 80 learners, raising concerns about the impact on teaching and learning.
Gauteng Education MEC Lebogang Maile acknowledged the concerns, stating that the department will address the matter during a planned media briefing.
“We will be dealing with the issue of infrastructure challenges and the general state of education in our province on Sunday through a press conference; we will attend to that issue and many others as well,” said Maile.
SGB member Collen Kutama warned that the overcrowded conditions are already affecting academic performance.
“The department is expecting good results at the end of the year, which is highly impossible to produce good results under those circumstances,” he said.
Another SGB representative, January Chauke, called for urgent intervention, citing inadequate infrastructure as a major concern.
“We have a lack of infrastructure; some children are sitting on school bags. So it is really affecting us, and we need serious intervention in terms of the Department of Education,” Chauke said.
The department is expected to provide further details on its response and proposed solutions in the upcoming briefing.