Pretoria - Schools in the North West, which were hit by storms last week, are today reopening for the 2012 academic year, along with all other schools in inland provinces.
The Hartsfontein Primary and Vaaloewer Combined Schools in Bloemhof and the Thate Molatlhwa and Boareng Middle Schools in Ditshelong and Lokaleng villages in Taung were damaged by heavy rainfall.
North West MEC for Human Settlements, Public Safety and Liaison, Desbo Mohono, will be monitoring the reopening of the schools today and tomorrow.
Mohono will assess the extent of storm damage on infrastructure, including on informal housing structures.
Meanwhile, North West Premier Thandi Modise says the race towards quality education starts on the first day of the school calendar.
"Everyone involved in education should ensure that they are not left behind in the starting block because the race towards quality education starts from the first day of the academic school calendar," said Modise in a statement.
She said the marginal but significant improvement in the matric pass rate recorded in 2011 was heartening and should be improved upon because it showed determination on everybody's part to break the cycle of underperformance in the education system, particularly in schools predominantly located in disadvantaged communities.
