New Braamfischerville school part of Gauteng’s commitment to open a new school every month

11 January 2017 - 15:14 By Neo Goba
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Gauteng Premier David Makhura and education MEC Panyaza Lesufi have officially handed over the Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela Primary School in Braamfischerville‚ Soweto‚ to acting principal Wandile Siwani.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura at the opening of the new school in Braamfischerville‚ Soweto.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura at the opening of the new school in Braamfischerville‚ Soweto.
Image: Supplied

This came as schools across the country reopen their doors on Wednesday morning after a more than month-long break.

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Accommodating 1320 children from Grade R to Grade 7‚ the school is a state-of-the-art facility which means that pupils will be using tablets and smartboards to learn.

“Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela Primary School joins a list of elite schools that we have opened in the last seven months. We have committed ourselves that every month‚ since last year until the end of 2017‚ we will open this type of school‚” said Lesufi.

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His commitment comes just days after he admitted that about 40 000 pupils didn't have places in Grade 1 and Grade 8 due to lack of sufficient space and some parents refusing to settle for second- or third-choice options for their children to attend.

He said the department's districts are working hard to ensure that this matter is resolved as soon as possible.

“Where we are‚ we are quite convinced that these challenges will be resolved so parents must not panic… don't press the panic button yet‚” added Lesufi.

He also urged parents to accept schools proposed by the department to fasttrack the application process.

According to Lesufi‚ 200 new schools are needed to meet the backlog of pupils.

Another school‚ just a few kilometers from the Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela Primary School‚ is expected to be opened by the department next month to address the high demand for space.

  • Back-to-school promotion: R500k in bursaries & free stationery up for grabsSimply purchase the Sunday Times at any Pick n Pay between January 8 and 29 2017, and you could win one of 25 bursaries from Boston City Campus & Business College worth a total of R500,000. Plus you'll get a different FREE BiC stationery gift each week. 

– TMG Digital

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