SGB elections start in Gauteng

Friday, March 6, 2015

Pretoria - School Governing Body (SGB) elections have kicked off across Gauteng. 

Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi has urged parents to take part in the elections, which will end on 28 March.

“The Gauteng Provincial Government has undertaken to radically transform and modernise the education system.  

“This is a clarion call to all parents to take interest and have a say in how this process unfolds. I encourage parents to join hands with the Gauteng Provincial Government by taking an ardent interest in issues,” he said. 

MEC Lesufi said this is an opportunity for all parents to have a say on who is elected in the SGB of their children’s school and possibly stand for nomination as well.  

SGBs are tasked with ensuring that schools are run efficiently. Their functions include maintaining school infrastructure, determining the language policy and sport codes of schools, learner discipline, recruitment, recommendation of appropriately qualified personnel and determining school fees at fee paying schools.  

“SGBs are an expression of our firm belief that education is a societal responsibility,” MEC Panyaza said. 

There are over 2 100 schools participating in the SGB elections this year.

The outgoing members of the SGB started in 2012 and for the last three years, they have been actively engaged in managing schools as SGB members.  

By the time the election process is completed on 28 March, there will be well over 24 000 newly elected SGB members. 

A total of 47 provincial observers and 47 Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) monitors from Head Office will oversee the election process to ensure that it runs freely and fairly.  

There are also 500 volunteers across the province tasked with mobilizing the community to take part in the 2015 SGB election campaign.  

These are the third biggest elections after the National General and Local Government Elections. – SAnews.gov.za