Private sector to help upgrade school infrastructure
With support from mines and business, the basic education minister thinks aging and unsanitary school infrastructure can be upgraded, as per the President’s agenda
Private-sector commitments may help the education department overcome part of the budget shortfall it faces for upgrading school infrastructure, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Wednesday.President Cyril Ramaphosa placed school infrastructure high on the agenda after the death of five-year-old Viwe Jali in a school pit latrine, instructing Motshekga to audit the state of school infrastructure and provide him with a plan to fix the problem by mid-June.Speaking to reporters ahead of her budget vote speech to Parliament, Motshekga said the cuts to the education budget were due to the constrained fiscal environment and the need to find money to fund free higher education for students from poor and working-class households after former president Jacob Zuma’s announcement in December.The Education Infrastructure Grant (EIG) and the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (Asidi) — also known as the schools infrastructure backlog grant — had been cut by 1.3% ...
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