Pretoria - Learners in Limpopo who have been battling in overcrowded classrooms will be able to breathe a sigh of relief as the province is set to get more schools before the end of the financial year.
"Sixty more schools are under construction and they will be completed before the end of the financial year," said Limpopo MEC for Education, Dickson Masemola.
Highlighting the department's key areas of progress in the last quarter, Masemola said 79 schools have already been completed, including four state-of-the-art schools.
The department has also started delivering 111 mobile classrooms to schools damaged by recent storms. Twenty-two provincial schools in the Sekhukhune, Waterberg, Vhembe, Mopani and Capricon districts were left without classrooms following hail storms, which also left hundreds of people homeless.
In recognising the central role played by Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Grade R in the cognitive development of the child, 3 200 education practitioners are to be trained to improve their skills and content knowledge. A total of 663 ECD sites have also been assessed and registered.
As part of the department's turnaround strategy, as from next year, the province will conduct various assessment tests at exit points - Grades 3, 6 and 9 - for learners to attain acceptable outcomes in literacy and numeracy.
"To complement that objective, 500 schools were provided with library resources. Effective leadership and management are critical for the smooth functioning of our public schools and the registration of 350 principals for training in Advanced Certificate Leadership and Management programme is to ensure that schools become functional centers of excellence," Masemola said.
In pursuing the provision of skills, the department has signed 14 memoranda of understanding as part of initiating partnerships with the private and business sectors for learnership opportunities in the areas of artisanship, plumbing and bricklaying.
"Given the fact that our province is well-endowed with rich mineral deposits, 9 050 National Curriculum Vocational students are enrolled in technical fields to attain specific mining related skills," he said.
