Parents express need for more schools

THE lack of high schools in the Mitchells Plain area has again come to the fore as learning returned to normal.

Mitchells Plain has 47 primary schools and 18 high schools, a prime example of overcrowding in the area. Neighbouring Strandfontein has two primary schools and one high school. Pupils are travelling to Pelican Park and Mitchells Plain to add to the already overcrowded schools.

Parent Yvonne Neil said new schools were needed, not just in Mitchells Plain but the whole province.

“We lose a lot of money because our local schools are full, and we have to place them outside Mitchells Plain. Our kids are deprived of education. Forty to 50 learners in the classroom is no joke.”

Neil said overcrowding could be linked to drop outs.

“When a class is overcrowded, teachers cannot give learners individual attention. Some learners need that. When they do not get it, they drop out.” Bonteheuwel has 12 primary schools and only three high schools, while Ocean View has one high school and three primary schools.

Atlantis has the same problem, with four high schools serving 10 or so primary schools.

“Then you have a suburb like Boston, Bellville, with three primary schools and two high schools,” said another parent, Lucia Booys. “Placement is truly an issue. Overcrowding is ridiculous. How do we expect the learners, let alone teachers, to cope with 45/50+ learners in a class?”

ANC spokesperson for education Khalid Sayed said they had been raising this particular challenge since the start of the province’s sixth administration.

“It is not in Mitchells Plain only. You see this pattern across many other communities. This is why it is always a challenge to place Grade 8 learners. There is a serious shortage of high schools in the province. Where must all these learners go after completing Grade 7? It’s a recipe for disaster and contributes immensely to the crisis of unplaced learners and the high dropout rate.”

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said it was not uncommon for areas to have fewer high schools than primary schools.

“Firstly, primary schools usually house fewer learners than high schools. One high school can cater for the learners of two or possibly even three primary schools, depending on their sizes. The other reason is that learners sometimes enrol in FET colleges when they are in high school or drop out, as they are beyond the compulsory school-going age.

“Therefore, numbers also decrease at the high school phase.”

She added that the WCED was, however, year-on-year, improving the retention rate of learners in high school due to improved education outcomes and a focus on retaining learners so that they have the opportunity

to write and complete their NSC.

“This improvement in retention means greater high school learner numbers and decreased dropout rates.”

FILE MORE high schools are needed in Mitchells Plain to accommodate the growing number of learners. |