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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng urgently calls for the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to comprehensively review the outdated school quintile classifications amidst a pressing school infrastructure crisis hindering learners' educational experience.

This call comes in response to the discovery made by the DA during its recent oversight inspections to assess school readiness for the 2025 academic year. The DA found several infrastructure deficits and overcrowded classrooms. For example, Glenvista High School, Diversity High School, and Die Fakkel are struggling with overcrowded classrooms, with some schools experiencing learner-teacher ratios as high as 1:50. Over and above dealing with the maintenance of schools, the Gauteng Provincial Government should also focus its attention on building new schools.

The DA also identified that quintile misclassification is impacting funding. Schools like Rosettenville Primary School and Laerskool Montanus are quintile 5 institutions or fee-paying schools; however, most parents are not paying school fees which severely impacts the schools' ability to self-fund necessary maintenance. These schools urgently need infrastructure repairs due to leaking roofs, broken sewage systems, and rusting balconies, which pose health and safety risks for learners.

The DA demands that the GDE review these classifications and prioritise maintenance and upgrades to ensure conducive learning and teaching environments for all learners and teachers.

The DA Gauteng Provincial Government would re-evaluate the current school quintile classification. This would ensure that schools accurately reflect the current socio-economic status of their learners, rather than relying solely on historical classifications of suburban schools as quintile 4 or 5. Like the DA in the Western Cape, the DA in Gauteng would pursue top-up funding to ensure that quintile 4 and 5 schools that receive less school fees than the funding provided by the state to quintiles 1,2 and 3 schools are brought on par with the funding levels of schools classified in quintiles 1-3. This would enable schools to address issues such as infrastructural challenges.

The DA remains committed to fighting for quality education and a well-resourced learning environment for all learners in Gauteng.

Issued by Sergio Isa dos Santos MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education