To mark the first day of school, Gauteng Premier David Makhura will hand over the newly constructed Noordgesig Primary School.
The Premier will be accompanied by Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi and Infrastructure Development MEC Tasneem Motara at the school situated in the Johannesburg North district.
“This is an important milestone as the school is among our newly designed and constructed mega school infrastructure aimed at improving the quality of education in township schools,” said Lesufi.
Built at a cost of just over R110 million, Noordgesig Primary is a green technology infrastructure, which boasts state-of-the art facilities.
The school has six classrooms per grade (42), a Grade R block with four classrooms, two smart science labs, two smart multi-purpose rooms, dining hall and many other facilities.
The school was previously built from asbestos.
“This is indeed an exciting moment for us… Our communities deserve better. This is to restore the dignity of our people,” said Lesufi.
The school, which followed green design principles, will accommodate 1 800 learners from Grade R to Grade 7.
The opening of Noordgesig Primary comes as the provincial Education Department marks the first year where it will implement the newly gazetted Admissions Regulations, as per the Constitutional Court ruling.
Through this regulation, the Gauteng Department of Education is responsible for admissions of learners at public ordinary schools.
As part of its plans to expand, Lesufi also announced that his department will soon launch Golden Gardens Primary and Tshepong Primary School in due course.
The start of the academic year will see various MECs deployed to schools across the province to oversee the smooth running of the first day of school.
They will assess the conditions at each school where they are deployed, as well as consult with communities on education related matters.
In addition, for the first time, they will also asses Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, as this function will now be a responsibility of the Department of Basic Education. – SAnews.gov.za
