The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has earmarked R100 million for the construction of two new schools in Lwandle to combat the growth in demand for placements.
On Tuesday, the department along with local ward councillor Xolani Diniso, community structures and leaders handed over a site that will be home to one of the new schools that is expected to accommodate about 1 200 learners in its 35 classrooms.
This project is part of the province-wide infrastructure delivery programme that aims to deliver 842 additional classrooms with at least 26 000 places for learners in the province.
Lwandle, near Strand, is among a number of areas in the metro that grappled with challenges around unplaced learners this year and the previous one.
“I had to invest in this initiative because predominantly black communities are frequently subject to inadequate infrastructure, high population as well as inadequate support for learners who require accommodation of their disadvantages,” said Diniso.
Construction is expected to begin soon, where eight classes will be built as part of phase 1A of the project. The standard classrooms and toilets are planned for completion by the end of the 2022/23 financial year and the school will be called Lwandle High School, with about 20 teachers .
Steering committee chairperson for the project Mnoneleli Lengoasa said the handover was the first step in achieving the goal of ensuring children got to go to school, with the community also expected to benefit.
“It is expected to be a win-win (situation) in the sense that the community is benefiting with jobs, (and local businesses will benefit from) opportunities such as subcontracting and the contractor to deliver the school within the expected time frame.”
Just a few weeks ago, a new high school was unveiled in the community which is expected to open from January 2023 and will accommodate 500 learners starting from Grades 8, 9 and 10.
The department said more than R100m had been earmarked for the project, which includes both a primary and a high school.
“The community is growing rapidly, creating the need for extra schools in the area. We are also focused on reducing class sizes,” said MEC for Education David Maynier.