PHUTI MOSOMANE
MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbali Frazer, says some schools in the province are facing closure due to low learner enrolment, which makes it difficult to achieve a high quality of teaching and learning.
This decision was based on a report by the department which identified 900 schools that did not meet the minimum requirements outlined in the minimum uniform norms and standards for public schools.
The report states that primary schools with enrolment of less than 135 learners and secondary schools with less than 200 learners do not meet the minimum standards.
However, in KwaZulu-Natal, the province has decided to focus on schools with less than 50 learners in primary schools and less than 100 learners in secondary schools as not meeting the minimum requirements.
The process excludes Special Schools, Schools of Specialisation and Technical Schools, according to the head of department, Nkosinathi Ngcobo.
“This points to the fact that the Department is not ‘trigger happy’ to ‘close’ schools as it has relaxed the minimum requirements of schools which can be deemed as viable,” said Ngcobo.
Mergers and closures of schools is a standard practice that occurs when schools are identified as non-viable and too costly to operate.
There are 3 000 schools nationwide that have been identified as non-viable.
He said the merger and closure of schools is part of the Transformation of the Schooling System programme (TSS) which has six pillars of change; eliminating inequality, creating schools as centres of excellence, streamlining schools into primary and secondary schools, renaming of schools, consolidating small, non-viable schools and Section 14 schools as well as optimal utilisation of human and material resources.
The enrolment drop in some schools is caused by the fact that some schools are built in privately owned land and some land owners are reluctant to sign the Permission to Occupy (PTO) and some chase learners away.
Faction fights and violence where schools are situated, poor school academic performance and parents deciding to move their children elsewhere, urbanisation in search of better economic opportunities, communities fighting educators and chasing them away and slow pace of infrastructure development in areas where schools are located, are amongst the factors causing the drop of enrolment in the identified schools.
Section 20 (1) of the South African Schools Act (SASA) states that the MEC can merge two or more schools into a single mega school if the enrolment of the school does not meet minimum requirements.
Section 33 of SASA also gives the MEC the authority to close small schools provided that the interests of learners to education and representation from interested and affected parties are considered, thorough consultation of stakeholders has been done, and that safety of learners and educators is prioritised.
Ngcobo said a notice of intent to close the said schools was issued and officials are currently meeting and engaging with the interested and affected parties from the schools affected by School Rationalisation and Re-alignment Process (SRRP).
Learners from the identified schools will be moved to the nearby schools and learner transport will be provided where needed.
Educators from these schools will be redeployed to the schools where their services will be gainfully utilized.
Frazer said: “No learner will be without a teacher during the school period, and no learner will be forced to stay at home because of the closure of non-viable schools.”
Once the school has been closed, the infrastructure is handed over to the Department of Public Works.
She said some of the schools will be used as schools of skills, focus schools and special schools.
Moreover, other departments may use the schools for community projects. The department said furniture and other assets will be distributed to other schools.
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