NAPTOSA: Solutions needed for overcrowding at schools

This comes amid reports that 20,000 pupils in Gauteng have not been placed in schools before the new academic year starts on Wednesday.

Executive director of NAPTOSA, Basil Manuel, says the Department of Basic Education needs to address the issue of overcrowding in schools.

"We expect that there will once again be a measure of overcrowding. We are saying overcrowding is a temporary thing, it cannot be a permanent feature in our education system. When we have learners coming in that have to be accommodated, we then have to plan for the following year.

"We have called on the department, Treasury and the Presidency to ensure that education is not short-changed when it comes to financial cuts and so on. We cannot afford for our children to suffer any losses when it comes to education."

Manuel adds that the union is confident that the vast majority of schools won’t experience any hiccups.

"Of course, the outstanding matter is the enrolment of children that has not yet been completed because of the influx of children, particularly in the Western Cape and Gauteng. Though those provinces have built extra classes and opened new schools, there are still more learners coming than we can accommodate.

"We expect that the 2024 academic year will flow smoothly as school management is ready, teachers are ready, and management teams are ready. Provinces like KZN, Eastern Cape and the North West have major issues when it comes to infrastructure, particularly because of the weather, but some of them are historical.”

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