Port Elizabeth: Township School Short Changed by Proximity to Upmarket Suburb
www.MyPE.co.za:
Walmer High School in the Walmer Township in Port Elizabeth is being
short changed by the Department of Education by close to a million rand
a year. This school has been incorrectly classified as a
Quintile 5 school. This is the top classification that can be
given to a school located in an affluent area. If this school
was classified as a Quintile 3 school, it would receive R1,103 million
a year from the Department instead of the measly R206 000 that it is
receiving at present for the running of the school. This
school could possibly even qualify for a lower Quintile status.
Bobby Stevenson, MPL said; “The reason why this school has been
incorrectly classified is that the Quintile system is based on voting
districts and Walmer High has been linked to the suburb of
Walmer. This information was supplied to me in reply to a
question which I posed to the MEC after a visit to the
school. I was extremely disturbed to see that there is no
electricity in many of the classrooms and that there is no educator
appointed to teach computer studies.
The Democratic Alliance in the Provincial Legislature will continue to
raise the issue of the incorrect classification of schools in terms of
the quintile system as there are many schools in this province that are
being short changed by this bureaucratic bungling.
Because of the poor administration by the Department of Education our
learners are not being given the right resources that they deserve to
gain a quality education. The Democratic Alliance believes
that education is the foundation of opportunity. If our
learners are going to be equipped for the modern global economy, they
deserve to get the best quality education possible.
Bureaucratic bungling is denying these learners greater
opportunities. The school has been faxed a copy of the reply
and it is now up to them to take the matter up with the education
department so that they can get their quintile status
changed. Walmer High School falls in the constituency which I
have been allocated and I remain committed to taking up issues from all
communities to ensure that their quality of life improves.”
Port Elizabeth Budget Accommodation
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