‘New school will lessen burden on us' – Ekurhuleni parent

19 Jan 2012

Amkhitha Masiza, 6, of Kingways in Benoni would have gone to a school in Daveyton Township because Kingsway Primary could not accommodate different language speakers.

However, this would not be the case because he is one of the beneficiaries of the 36 new schools the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has built to address the issue of overcrowding and the massive influx into the province.

Heaviers Masiza, Amkhitha's father said on Wednesday that because of the policy of Kingsway Primary to put together all Nguni-speaking pupils in a Zulu class, he had decided to take his Xhosa-speaking son to neighbouring school in Daveyton.

This policy also applies to Sotho speakers (seTswana, sePedi and Sotho) which are put together in sePedi class.

The school principal Lungisa Mashiyi said this was done because there was not enough space, so majority got a preference.

He said he had about 1 467 learners and 34 classrooms.

Meanwhile, the new school has about 27 classrooms which means there would be enough space to accommodate different language speakers.

The new school has been built two kilometres away from Kingsway and it is going to operate as Kingsway and under its leadership.

"I'm excited about this new school. Taking Amkhitha to Daveyton would have meant that we had to wake up early, which would have been tough for a 6 year-old.

"He was going to use scholar transport, which I was not comfortable with especially for a Grade R learner. This school will basically lessen the burden on us as parents," said Masiza.

Masiza further urged other parents to get more involved in the education of their children. "As parents we need to get involved in the education of our kids and not to blame teachers all the time and lastly since there is a new school here, together as the community we must make sure we protect it against vandalism and thieves."

The school was the first school visited by Gauteng Health and Social Development MEC Ntombi Mekgwe as part of the provincial government's efforts to ensure teaching and learning started on time.

Mekgwe also visited Tshepisa Primary and Thuto-ke-Matla Comprehensive School respectively in Tembisa.

Enquiries: 
Simon Zwane
Cell: 082 551 9892

Issued by: Gauteng Health and Social Development 
19 Jan 2012