Pretoria – The Gauteng Education Department failed to build as many schools as it should have, resulting in overcrowding.
This is according to a scathing report entitled "Budgets & Bricks: Progress with school infrastructure following the Rivonia Primary School case". It was written by Carmen Abdoll of Cornerstone Economic Research.
The report looked into whether the department lived up to its promises, made in the Constitutional Court during the Rivonia Primary School case.
The department was taken to court by the school after the school failed to admit a Grade 1 pupil, saying it was full to capacity in that grade.
Abdoll's report said the department was tasked with providing school infrastructure, but due to poor planning, 20 000 pupils were without a school at the beginning of last year.
This year, the department revealed that 58 000 pupils hadn't been placed in schools at the start of the academic year.
The department cut down the number to 35 000 by the end of last week and blamed the delay to a shortage of schools and rising demand for placement.
But the report stated that the department failed to account for future growth in pupil numbers.
Abdoll said the department, during the Rivonia Primary School case, committed itself to spending about R1.78 billion over three years to build schools, but failed to deliver.
In the 2012/11 financial, year the department spent R69 million instead of the R533m on building schools. In the 2012/13 financial year, it spent R100m instead of R655m, and in the 2013/14 financial year, it spent R284m instead of R591m.
“Despite total population figures increasing by an average of 3.7% since 2009, the department has only marginally adjusted its pupil population estimates over that period."
The implication of not planning for population growth would be that there would not be enough schools to accommodate all the pupils, forcing existing schools to accept more than they could handle.
The report shows that for a Grade R class, the maximum number of pupils allowed was 30, and 40 for other grades.
Abdoll said provincial Education Departments should develop a ranking of geographical areas from neediest to least needy. “Backlogs must be eliminated, starting with the neediest, most crowded, areas and proceeding down the priority list.”
The department was also accused of failing to identify schools where more classrooms should be built.
“The question that needs to answered then is whether the schools being built by the provinces are being built in the areas of need.
“Given the high overcrowding in township schools, it seems that the department is struggling to identify schools that have the greatest need."
The report referred to answers MEC Panyaza Lesufi gave, telling the legislature in 2015 about 100 000 extra pupils had to be accommodated in township schools owing to missed registration deadlines.
Abdoll said this indicated pupils were migrating from township schools, which might indicate a lack of quality schooling or a lack of space, possibly both.