Members of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education have advised that schools in the Springbok area should accommodate pupils who are not proficient in Afrikaans, even though Afrikaans is the predominant medium of instruction in the Namakwa District.
MEMBERS of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education have advised that pupils who are not conversant in Afrikaans should be accommodated at schools in the Springbok area, even though the language is the majority medium of instruction in the Namakwa District.
The portfolio committee visited Nababeep High School, Matjieskloof Intermediate and Kharkams High on Monday to assess the state of schools as well as readiness for the upcoming National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
The committee also examined the state of infrastructure such as pit latrines, access to water, unsafe structures, ICT integration, learner-teacher support material delivery in schools, nutrition, learner transport, special schools support, and inclusive education.
The chairperson of the committee, Joy Maimela, said plans needed to be put in place to ensure that children who did not understand Afrikaans were not excluded from access to education.
She added that some of the well-maintained and clean schools that they had visited were “stretching their budgets”.
Maimela expressed concerns that some schools did not have proper laboratories or computer rooms with the required resources.
“It heard that those resources including tablets were stolen some years ago. It also noted that infrastructure generally and hostels are not maintained. These conditions are troubling and must be addressed.”
Maimela added that quintile systems in some of the schools should also be reassessed.
“You cannot have a quintile 4 or quintile 5 school in poor communities as that disqualifies them for subsidies that they should get. No child should be disadvantaged on poverty grounds,” she said.
The committee commended Nababeep High School for increasing the Grade 12 outcomes from 40 percent two years ago to 83 percent last year.
“We want them to increase it even further above 90 percent,” Maimela recommended.
She further highlighted the lack of security guards at schools.
The committee will conclude its assessments in the Northern Cape after visiting schools in the Upington region on Tuesday.
