Pretoria - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says she is satisfied with progress made by government in addressing challenges that have plagued education in the Eastern Cape.
In an interview with SANews on Wednesday, Motshekga described the situation as stable.
She was in the Eastern Cape to hand over a new school building for the Nelson Mandela Primary School in Mthatha as part of preparations for the annual Nelson Mandela Day.
The Eastern Cape is among the two provinces where government had to intervene to fix education after a string of problems were reported, including severe overspending.
“The province has really stabilised. We can see major improvements because the problems were deep, historic and were quite huge. But what I can really say is that they have stabilised.
“We no longer hear about kids not eating, no transport for learners and norms and standards not being followed.”
Motshekga attributed the improvements in the Eastern Cape to a dedicated team of managers from both the national and provincial government.
“We have appointed a very strong SG (Superintendent General), who really needs the support of everybody. Because the problems are deep and historic, he won’t be able to cope alone.”
Even though more progress still had to be made, Motshekga said there was stability, making them hopeful that they could “move forward”.
The minister also confirmed that the department will, as of next week, hand over a new school each week until the end of November.
“We have been putting systems in place and it’s all part of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee and … the ASIDI (Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative).
“So we have built quite a number of schools and the stock is there. We have certificates that clear the schools and we will be handing over every Friday afternoon.”
The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Council is chaired by President Jacob Zuma and part of its work is to direct the implementation of major infrastructure projects.
Through ASIDI, government plans to deliver 200 new schools this year, with 49 of these schools situated in the Eastern Cape.
More than R8 billion will be spent on the programme. – SAnews.gov.za
