Education MEC defends disputed decision to ‘move’ school 17km

EDUCATION MEC Debbie Schäfer has defended her decision of wanting to move children from Grootkraal Primary School in Oudtshoorn to a school about 17km away.

Schafer said yesterday statements in a judgement handed down by Western Cape High Court Judge Elizabeth Baartman on Tuesday on the eviction of the school from privately owned land were “exhibited statements of exasperation”.

The MEC and her predecessor, Donald Grant, came under fire when they were accused of failing to conclude a lease agreement with owners of the land the school had been on for 85 years.

Schäfer said following unsuccessful negotiations for a new lease with the property owners, the department arranged to relocate the school 17km from Grootkraal’s current site.

This was opposed by the school’s governing body.

“The property at Voorbedacht is stateowned and improvements on stateowned land are more beneficial in the long term,” said Schäfer.

“The department’s available resources do not permit it to improve private property, or to acquire private property when there is state property in the broader area, the development costs of which are likely to exceed by far any improvement of state-owned property in order to achieve the same or similar purpose.” – Staff Reporter