The national education department has taken its first steps towards establishing equity in the physical environments of schools by gazetting policy on Friday that aims to address infrastructure backlogs.
The two policy documents - which are now open for public comment - deal with establishing norms and standards for teaching environments, standardised architectural designs of schools, classroom sizes, and school site and population sizes, among other issues.
Education ministry spokesman Lunga Ngqengelele said this came after a cabinet recommendation in 2007 that the department look at expediting the eradication of school infrastructure backlogs.
On Friday, the education department gazetted the National Policy for School Infrastructure and the National Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure.
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In September, the KwaZulu-Natal Education Department revealed that R44,1-billion was needed to deal with school infrastructure backlogs in the province.
Ngqengelele said that the infrastructure policy aimed to provide guidelines for equity in pupils' physical environments.
The norms and standards document provides a clear classification of schools and a minimum and optimum package that constitutes a functional and effective school.
Proposed norms and standards cover areas including space per pupil, classroom size, and norms and standards for sports facilities.
National Teachers' Union spokesperson Allan Thompson said the union was perusing the document.
"We feel it needs to speak more specifically about backlogs at rural schools," he said. "The new curriculum is resource-intensive and these schools have no infrastructure, and they cannot be competent in the curriculum.
Both policy documents can be found at www.education.gov.za. All interested can comment in writing to: The Director-General, Private Bag X895, Pretoria, 0001, for attention: Mrs E Mamathuba, or send an email to mamathuba.e@doe.gov.za by December 23.
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This article was originally published on page 4 of The Mercury on November 24, 2008
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