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Zithobeni Secondary School learners in Bronkhostspruit continue to be taught in dilapidated and damaged mobile classrooms, which are not conducive to learning and teaching.

During the DA’s oversight inspection at the school, we were disappointed to discover that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has not yet fulfilled its promise to replace the mobile classrooms with a brick-and-mortar structure.

The mobile classrooms are in a terrible state, the floors are damaged and pose a safety risk to both learners and teachers.

There are also severe security challenges and incidents of theft that have been reported.

Teachers and learners are constantly in fear for their lives because there are no security measures in place to prevent drug dealers from selling dagga to learners over the fence during school time.

This school of specialisation which focuses on Information Communication Technology (ICT) only has one ICT class which is not adequate. Moreover, there is no laboratory and no library at the school.

We are concerned that all these challenges facing the school have a negative impact on academic performance.

The DA will liaise with its counterparts in the Community Safety Committee at the Legislature to escalate the safety and security issues affecting the school to ensure that the Department of Community Safety intervenes.

We will further write to the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane to ascertain when the department will be replacing the mobile classrooms with a brick-and-mortar structure. We will also determine whether there are safety measures being put in place to ensure the safety of learners and teachers at this school.

The DA will continue to conduct oversight inspections of schools across the province to assess the challenges they are faced with and liaise with the department to intervene where needed.

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