North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Education, Culture, Arts, Sports, and Recreation conducted an unannounced oversight visit

The North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Education, Culture, Arts, Sports, and Recreation conducted an unannounced oversight visit to the following institutions: E.S. Le Grange Special School, ThukaPrimary School, and Boikhutso Cultural Village in the JB Marks Municipality, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District.
The Acting Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Papiki Babuile indicated that the program is aimed at strengthening oversight and public participation and to promote accountability and transparency in government.

The committee began its visit at E.S. Le Grange Special School, where they met with the school management including the Principal, Ms. Michelle Jerling, made presentation on the status of the school.

She indicated that learners are admitted to the school based on assessments conducted by the Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, and Educational Psychologist. “Admissions to the school are handled by the Department of Education through these evaluations,” said Ms. Jerling.
She further informed the committee that the school admits learners with Special Educational Needs, providing services to those with intellectual and physical disabilities. Many of the learners at E.S. Le Grange Special School have multiple disabilities.

Ms. Jerling mentioned that the school faces a few challenges, including financial issues in running its day-to-day programs. The Department indicated that learner transport is 100% subsidised for all learners who need transportation, but it does not provide the full amount. As a result, not all parents are able to pay the difference.
Staff appointments is also a problem as the department is not filling vacancies left by staff members who retire. The school is using fees paid by parents to fund School Governing Body appointments because the Department is not replacing staff in vacant positions.

She concluded by saying that, despite the challenges, the Department is striving to support the school in other areas.
The committee will meet with the Department of Education to discuss the funding issues related to transport, or request that the Department explore how the school can be assisted in obtaining a larger vehicle for transportation.

The committee continued at Thuka Primary School in Ventersdorp. The school is located in a remote area, and the Department of Education rents the land from the farm owner.

The committee received a presentation from the Head of Department at the school, Mr. P. Moselodi who indicated that the new principal of the school, Mr. A. Ramogondo, assumed duty on 8 October 2024.
Mr. Moselodi told the committee that the school was originally an intermediate school and has now been converted into a primary school with an enrolment of 130 learners, ending with grade seven. He indicated that several farm schools that were recently closed have left most of the teachers from those schools either underutilised or assigned to Thuka Primary School.

The major problem the school is facing is that the foundation phase learners do not have a qualified Setswana teacher. There is a teacher is qualified in Sesotho instead.
With regard to the school infrastructure, he indicated that they are struggling with the school toilets, as they are always leaking due to the cheap materials used for repairs.

Mr. Moselodi further indicated that they are experiencing late arrivals of learners due to transportation issues, as most learners are brought in from nearby farms.
The committee will discuss with the Department of Education the possibility of investing in or providing bursaries for teachers to major in Setswana, as there is a shortage of Setswana teachers in the province.

The committee continued to Boikhutso Cultural Village in Ventersdorp to assess the progress since their last visit. They found that the structure of the cultural village remains the same as during the committee’s previous visit.
The committee will meet with the Department of Culture, Arts, Sports, and Recreation to determine how many cultural villages the department intends to continue building. The department should also provide the committee with details on the budget being spent on these cultural villages.