Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng and a former education MEC, will tour several schools and early childhood development centers (ECD) throughout the province to mark the start of the new school year.
Lesufi will also inaugurate the newly constructed high school in Ga-Rankuwa, the Mapenane Secondary School, alongside education MEC Matome Chiloane. In the same region, to the northwest of Tshwane, they will also go to the Omphile Community Creche.
The school reopening program will be overseen by the Gauteng province administration, headed by premier Panyaza Lesufi, the provincial government announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Members of the executive council [MECs] will take part in oversight visits at a number of schools across the province to watch the first day of instruction, as well as oversight visits to early childhood development centers to assess readiness.
Chiloane stated that the provincial department of education will hand over four freshly constructed brick-and-mortar schools this year, including Mapenane, during his briefing on the state of the province’s readiness for the new school year on Tuesday.
He did not provide particular dates for the start of classes at the new institution. However, he did mention that 85% of the Braamfisher Primary School in Soweto is finished.
The Semphatho Secondary School in Soshanguve, north of Tshwane, is 48% complete, while the Rebane Laka Secondary School in Mamelodi, east of Tshwane, is 50% finished.
Lesufi and his nine MECs, which also include the head of the finance department Jacob Mamabolo, the MEC for community safety Faith Mazibuko, the MECs for economic development, environment, agriculture, and rural development Tasneem Motara, and the MEC for transportation and logistics Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, will be dispersed throughout the province.
At 7 a.m., each MEC will visit various ECDs and schools throughout the province, including those in the north of Tshwane in the Ekurhuleni, West Rand, Midvaal, Soshanguve, and Ga-Rankuwa.
The only MEC not participating in the supervision visits to the schools is Lebogang Maile, who is in charge of infrastructure and human settlements. According to Vuyo Mhaga, a spokesperson for Lesufi, Maile could be on vacation or otherwise occupied.
1 394 students have not yet been assigned to schools by the Gauteng department of education, but Matome assures parents and guardians that this will happen by the end of January.
»First day of school year Lesufi and his cabinet to monitor«