Pretoria - Schools in the Free State which could not complete the School Governing Body (SGB) election process have been given a second chance to vote until the end of April.
Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe said he was pleased with the high voter turnout during the SGB elections, which took place in March.
Makgoe reported that of the 1 335 schools entitled to vote, 1 272 participated in the elections, with minor glitches experienced in a few schools, which are currently being resolved by the department.
"The few schools which have not yet completed the elections process were given a chance until the end of April. These minor delays are attributed to reasons such as lack of parents' participation and educators refusing to be appointed as members," Makgoe said.
He commended parents, learners and educators for positively contributing to the success of the elections, attributing the high turnout of voters to the department's efforts in galvanizing support from the community through various voter education campaigns.
"The SGB elections generated a lot of interest from communities which proved its importance and relevance as an important catalyst in providing quality education.
The elections started on 1 March 2012 to 31 March 2012, where education stakeholders, including community members, elected new representatives of the SGBs across the country, who will continue the work of promoting school excellence.
SGBs are tasked with ensuring the smooth running of schools and have powers to decide on school policies such as language of instruction, discipline and religious policies.
