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Gauteng learners and teachers will continue to endure overcrowded classrooms that are not conducive to learning and teaching because there is no budget for building new schools in 2024.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, during a Portfolio Committee meeting on Education this week.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned because there are many abandoned school projects in the province. This trend is ongoing and costing taxpayers a lot of money. The latest school to be abandoned is Semphato Secondary School in Soshanguve. This school was scheduled to be completed in March this year, but the service provider has abandoned the project.

The following schools have also been abandoned:
• Mayibuye Primary School;
• Nanciefield Primary School;
• Laerskool Frikie Meyer;
• Ahanang Primary School;
• Hillcrest Primary School;
• Thubelihle Primary School;
• LG Holele Secondary School;
• Ruster Vaal Secondary School.

The number of abandoned schools will create a huge burden on the placement of learners in 2024. This will be compounded by the department's failure to build new schools in 2024.
The GDE has failed in its core mandate to provide access to quality basic education. Currently, there are schools where learners attend classes on a rotational basis because the department has failed to provide the necessary classrooms.

The DA brought these issues to MEC Chiloane's attention, but he is out of touch with how the department functions.

There appears to be a new trend: projects are abandoned after spending more than 70% of the allocated budget. This is an opportunity for looters to reward the same projects to other connected service providers.

The DA will continue to put pressure on the MEC to ensure that all abandoned schools are fixed and utilised for learning and teaching.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education