DBE tells MPs it's eradicated all schools built with mud, asbestos
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube and her department briefed Parliament's basic education portfolio committee on its infrastructure backlogs and gave MPs an update on the implementation of infrastructure norms and standards.
FILE: Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube addressing a media briefing. Picture: @DBE_SA/X
CAPE TOWN - The Department of Basic Education is claiming a major milestone after eradicating all schools built with inadequate material like mud and asbestos.
But Minister Siviwe Gwarube said they still need R32 billion to build additional classrooms as overcrowding continues to pose a major challenge.
Gwarube and her department briefed Parliament's basic education portfolio committee on its infrastructure backlogs and gave MPs an update on the implementation of infrastructure norms and standards.
The committee received the briefing from the department after making several observations during recent oversight visits.
These included poor infrastructure and a lack of maintenance by some school governing bodies.
While noting the shortcomings, Minister Gwarube said that public schools built with inadequate materials were now a thing of the past.
"We've eradicated schools built from entirely inappropriate materials such as mud, asbestos and plank. But I want to quickly add here that yes, we have accelerated schools that have been built entirely of these, so essentially mud schools in their entirety."
She said that while they'd eradicated inappropriate structures, she warned that as pressure built, some schools may try to build again.
On pit toilets, Gwarube said they may have not met their eradication target but there were over 100 projects to eradicate the structures once and for all.