07 Mar 2023

Shortage of accommodation across the country will be a thing of the past as the Ministry of Education and Skills Development plans to set aside P45 million from its proposed development budget for construction of teaching staff houses.

Shortage of accommodation in schools across the country had for a long time been one of the major challenges for the ministry, with complaints that even married teachers were forced to share accommodation against the set policy.

Presenting the 2023/2024 budget proposals for the ministry on Monday, education and skills development minister, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe said from a total of P733 744 500 under the development budget, P 311 850 000 would go to secondary schools for various projects, including ongoing and new ones.

“Some of those projects would be construction of staff houses in junior school which will need P45 million.

About 44 staff houses in six junior secondary schools were completed and handed over to schools for usage during the financial year, hence the funds will be used for closure of final accounts for these projects,” he said.

Dr Letsholathebe further requested P7.8 million for the resuscitation of the Maiteko Junior Secondary School staff houses project in Mabutsane which was terminated due to non-performance of the contractor.

He also informed Parliament that most secondary schools were in dire need of maintenance, and therefore proposed P63 million of the total development budget to complete ongoing maintenance works at six junior secondary schools as well as commence maintenance works at 35 more schools.

He further requested P4.5 million for the closing of final accounts for completed old maintenance projects.

Dr Letsholathebe also said P54 million was needed for completion of expansion works of five junior schools across the country which were at various stages of completion. The funds, he said, would also be used to commence new expansion projects at Nxakato, Moeti and Liswani junior schools.

On shortage of classrooms, Dr Letsholathebe said the ministry had found solution in the use of alternative materials in the form of porta cabins, for which he sort approval of P9 million for continuation of construction of 414 pre-fabricated classrooms at various schools across the country.

On primary schools, Dr Letsholathebe said P4.5 million was needed to electrify 12 schools that were outside the power grid through solar power.

“This is the last phase of projects that were planned for under NDP11.”

In other projects, Dr Letsholathebe proposed P352 million for computerisation project, P10 million for consultancy projects and P8.1 million for special education facilities and P10.8 million for continuation of maintenance of brigades as well as procurement of brigades equipment respectively.

Further, he said P2.8 million would be needed to kick-start the development of the Sebele BioCity project, whose focus was on primary food production through food and feed processing as well as for the development of high value products. ENDS