BY OBAKENG MAJE
THE North West Portfolio Committee on Education, Sports, Arts, Culture and Traditional Affairs met with the North West Department of Education on Tuesday to discuss the way forward in challenges that face the department in many schools around North West.

The meeting came about after the Portfolio Committee conducted an oversight visit to schools facing challenges that impede on effective learning and teaching with the view to normalize the situation.

The oversight visits were carried out primarily in interaction with the school management team.

The meeting took place at Taung Hotel School and Convention Centre and some of those who attended was Portfolio Committee chairperson, Boitumelo Moiloa and MEC Wendy Matsemela.

Chairperson Boitumelo Moiloa said they have identified that most schools are forcing pupils to live in undesirable situations where lack of water, lack of proper toilets, school transportation, conducive accommodations and high pregnancy at schools.

“We visited many schools in the province and for example; Ebenezer Primary School which is a mega school situated at Bray in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District, the school has five educators including the principal and over 120 learners” Moiloa outlines.

She said the challenges there are multi-graded classes; there is no water and electricity at the school.

According to Moiloa, learners had to use rain water to bath and learners sleep on sponges because their beds were broken.

The Portfolio Committee also highlighted the Pica Pau Combined School where the school is situated at Pompret and compromises of a primary and a secondary school.

“The school is the only existing government institution in the area where there are no basic services due to relocation of the community. The school has underperformed for number of years due to serious challenges faced” she said.

Moiloa said there is no water and electricity at the school. She said the function with mostly foreign educators as local educators cannot withstand the conditions.

The Portfolio Committee recommended that the department should make sure that within two weeks there is water and electricity at all schools.

“We recommended that the department of education make sure that there is water and electricity at schools especially ones with school hostels. The situation in many schools was undesirable and we asked the department to see into those issues within two weeks” she said.

However North West MEC for Education and Sport, Wendy Matsemela said they have already restored electricity at many schools and also water issues at many schools has been looked into.

“We can proudly say we have been working tirelessly to restore the electricity in most schools and also we dealing with water issue for now. There are some challenges that need parental care like to reduce high rate of pregnancy at schools, so we will engage with School Governing Body of schools to encourage parents participation in their kids’ future” Matsemela said.

On the issue of transportation, Matsemela said that issue is handled by department of Community Safety and Transport in the province, so they have written a letter to MEC Oageng Molapisi to meet and discuss the matter.

-TDN

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