Why SA’s schools are behind the curve
Hundreds of schools in SA exist in contravention of the norms and standards regulations. The money is there to fix the problem — but implementation is held back by complex layers of red tape
Sibulelo Ngcauzele, the principal of Vukile Tshwete Senior Secondary School in Keiskammahoek, 40 minutes from King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape, is looking forward to the new school year. The reason for his new-year cheer is a mid-December call from Coega Development Corp (CDC) informing him there will be a site handover on January 22. "This really makes us confident something is going to happen," says a principal who has seen more than his fair share of broken promises. Of course, the CDC promised in 2016 that the former wooden army barracks, which have been in a dangerously dilapidated state for several years, would be demolished and a new school erected. Three years ago soil samples were taken, meetings held and plans drawn up for a R16m school. When nothing happened there were more meetings, more promises and more plans. At one stage the CDC told the school governing board (SGB) to set up a steering committee and do a skills audit of local community members so they could b...
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