Polokwane - Limpopo's education department has spent R40 million providing mobile classrooms for schools that were damaged by heavy storms in the province.
Provincial education spokesperson, Pat Kgomo, said 503 mobile classrooms at 104 schools were damaged in heavy storms, mainly in the north-eastern districts of Vhembe and Mopani, since November.
"We have so far spent R40 million to provide 354 mobile classes for the schools that were affected, so parents, teachers and pupils need not worry. The department has done everything it can to make sure that pupils are accommodated when the new school year starts tomorrow," he said.
Kgomo said the remaining 149 mobile classrooms would be delivered soon, adding that officials from the department and engineers were compiling a report on how much it would cost the department to repair and rebuild the schools that were damaged.
"Some schools lost roofs and some need to be rebuilt. We don't know how much it will cost to repair or rebuild some of the schools, so we are waiting for a report from the relevant officials," he said.
He appealed to principals who have not yet reported damage sustained by their schools to do so as soon as possible. Kgomo said repairs would only be able to begin around April, when the new financial year starts.
He also reported that all systems were in place for the start of the 2011 academic year.
"All schools have already received learner and teacher support material for the 2011 school year. More that 99 percent of our schools have already registered their learners, although some parents will always arrive at the last minute to register their children," Kgomo said.
He said the department was not disappointed by its failure to achieve a matric pass rate of 60 percent last year.
"We obtained 57.9 percent pass rate, which is 2.1 percent less than our target. This does not disappoint us, instead it encourages us to work harder this year," he said.
He added that the matric pass rate target for 2011 would be announced once the department had assessed its weaknesses and strengths.
