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16 July 2008

More than 50 new schools will be opened in Gauteng this year and 150 science laboratories refurbished in previously disadvantaged communities, says Gauteng Education MEC, Angie Motshekga.

Addressing the media during the provincial government's quarterly media briefings in Johannesburg on Tuesday, MEC Motshekga said the provincial government had improved school infrastructure including renovations to school buildings.

"We have been facilitating the electrification and the provision of telephone lines to schools and most notably, is the introduction and roll-out of the GautengOnline programmes to schools in the province with the aim of having functioning computer laboratories in all schools," said Motshekga.

Motshekga added that education had to become more relevant to Gauteng residents so that they were not only literate and numerate.

She said the provincial government had to ensure that quality education was a permanent feature of the education terrain in South Africa.

"We must ensure that they are the best skilled people who are employable within the economy, who are productive within the society, who are entrepreneurial, self-employed and committed to lifelong learning," she said.

She boasted that over the last 13 years, education in the province had experienced tremendous increases in service delivery.

"We have reduced drop-out and repetition rates resulting in improved retention rates across the schooling system," she said.

However, Motshekga noted that despite these successes, the Department was still faced with the situation that the quality of education in the historically disadvantaged sectors of the province's society remained a major challenge.

She said her Department was committed to tackling quality education through intensive and directed initiatives and programmes over the next Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period. These initiatives are detailed in the Department's Annual Performance Plan. The plan sets out to address the challenges facing education by deepening education delivery, developing common mechanisms for the monitoring and implementation of education.

"On the whole, these priorities strongly emphasise education's role in transforming society, bringing about social equity and contributing to the country's growth and development," said Motshekga.

Issued by: Department of Education, Gauteng Provincial Government
17 July 2008
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.education.gpg.gov.za/)