Schools to take in five extra pupils per class, says Angie
OVERCROWDING in schools might be bigger than other years, especially in Gauteng where 20 000 children are yet to be placed due to late applications.
The other big problem was in Durban where townhouses were coming up, said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga at the opening of the Chief Albert Luthuli Primary School in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, yesterday.
She said overcrowding was a typical annual problem, especially in urban areas.
“We’ve not reached a stage where development is accompanied by planning with us. “Developers put up plans and suddenly there are kids who need to go to school.
“In the Western Cape, we expect them to also experience unannounced learners who suddenly pitch up,” Motshekga said.
Gauteng district directors have said they hope to place all pupils in schools by next month.
Before then, mobile classes will be sent to schools with high capacity, and schools will have to each take in an extra five pupils per class, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said.
As a last resort, pupils might attend classes in shifts.
The SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) said, how- ever, that “we can no longer allow overcrowding to continue as a norm. Overcrowding is affecting the poor in the township and rural areas and is, therefore, a class issue”.