Latest news with #GautengEducationDepartment
Eyewitness News
02-07-2025
- Eyewitness News
Hoërskool Waterkloof parents want principal reinstated despite serious allegations against him
PRETORIA - The principal of Hoërskool Waterkloof in Pretoria is at the centre of a heated stand-off as parents call for his reinstatement while serious allegations continue to loom over him. Chris Denysschen was temporarily removed from his post last year and is currently the subject of an ongoing disciplinary process managed by the Education Labour Relations Council. The Gauteng Education Department said the action taken against him followed claims of improper conduct, but supporters of the principal argued that the matter was being dragged out unfairly, without any formal finding. Denysschen was last week transferred to the Tshwane South district office after fresh concerns were raised about possible interference with witnesses. While details remain limited due to the sensitive nature of the complaints, which allegedly involve minors, legal representatives confirmed that legislation such as the Children's Act and Sexual Offences Act had been referenced during the hearing, as part of the broader arbitration process. To date, no formal criminal charges have been brought, and the principal, through his legal team, has denied any wrongdoing. The department has described the allegations as serious, but the closed hearing has been delayed multiple times, with no timeline for a final outcome. In the meantime, over 1,400 parents have rallied behind Denysschen in a WhatsApp group, praising his contributions to the school and demanding his return. On Wednesday, the complainants' lawyer held a media briefing, criticising what they called an unclear and unfair process. "It might be that we are not happy with the proceedings that's happening now and how it is carrying on. But we have to give this thing a chance to be ventilated during the arbitration and seeing where it goes from there." Meanwhile, parents in support of the principal pointed to Waterkloof's academic success under his leadership, including last year's matric results, which saw the school earn the most distinctions of any public school in the country.
IOL News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Concerns over R500 million spent on outsourcing matric exam paper printing
MPs are urging the Basic Education Department to centralise the printing of matric exam question papers after it was discovered that the North West Education Department will spend more than R500 million over the next five years hiring a private company to handle the task. Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers One provincial Education Department spending more than half a billion rand on printing matric exam question papers has shocked members of Parliament. They accused some of the provincial Education departments of collapsing their printing facilities to outsource this duty to private companies. The Select Committee on Education, Science and Creative Industries Chairperson, Makhi Feni, raised the concern after the committee heard this week that the Gauteng Education Department, which had a three-year contract to print exam papers for its North West counterpart, had since outsourced its exam paper printing. After the end of its Gauteng contract, the North West Education Department signed a more than R500 million five-year contract with a private company, which was not named. 'I am not supporting that when you are having the service, you collapse the service and you run to the private service provider,' Feni said. This would mean that the North West Education Department was now spending over R100 million a year on a private printing company. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Gauteng Education Department spokesperson, Steve Mabona, declined to respond to questions sent to him regarding his province outsourcing its exam printing service. The deputy director-general of the North West Education Department, responsible for exam papers, informed the committee that in 2009, the department secured printing machines from Bytes Solutions and Altron Solutions; however, their contracts were not renewed in 2019. The province spent more than R69 million printing with the Government Printing Works (GPW) between 2019 and 2022, and also signed for R27 million to print with the Gauteng Education Department between 2023 and 2024. The latest contract with a private company, which started at the beginning of the 2024/2025 financial year and would end in 2029, contained extra security, transport, and storage features for the papers, which were available in the previous contracts. The Gauteng and North West departments had since joined the Eastern Cape in outsourcing the printing of their exam papers, while the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, and Western Cape departments still print in-house. Only Limpopo used the GPW facility. Basic Education Chief Director, responsible for the National Assessment and Public Examinations, Rufus Poliah, told the committee in a virtual meeting held on Tuesday that the law allowed the provinces to handle the printing of their exams, but that should be transparent and cost-effective. The exam papers were printed for the May/June examination for candidates who want to improve their results and adult candidates, and also for the main matric exams in October and November. Poliah said departments have three options, which are for those who print in-house but do not have the facilities to hire printing machines, outsource, and use central government facilities. He said those who insource use their staff for the printing job, while those who outsource are dependent on a private company to carry out the whole process, including providing the safety and distribution of the papers, while being monitored by Education officials. He said the GPW was responsible for the printing of exam papers for the Department of Higher Education and Training's Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. Feni expressed concern about the department spending money on private companies when the state has its printing facilities. He said insourcing would bear no extra expenditure for the safety of the papers, as they would have to be protected by the police. Feni stated that there were instances where learners would be out of transport because there was no money for that, while the money is being given away to private companies. 'They are giving away their responsibilities under the excuse that the facilities were not giving them satisfactory results. Why are you not enhancing your existing capacity to achieve your desired outcome? 'Why don't you buy your equipment? Are you telling me that the department is no longer having any technicians who can operate these particular works that you have been running, rather than going for private providers?' asked Feni. 'We must always take into cognisance the serious infrastructure backlog that provinces like the North West are confronted with. 'How does one balance the two, the infrastructure backlogs and the expenditure on this private company for printing?' said Feni. He said there was nothing wrong with outsourcing the work if the government lacks the technical ability or skills, 'but outsourcing to private companies should be necessary and there ought to be plans for transfer of skills.' 'We will not tire of making the call to the enhancement of internal capacity within departments. 'If we continue along this line, are we doing away with the functions of the state?' he said.
Eyewitness News
02-06-2025
- Eyewitness News
Lukhona Fose's family says community last saw her with friends on day she vanished
JOHANNESBURG - The family of a slain teenage girl from Roodepoort, Johannesburg, Lukhona Fose, says community members last saw her walking with a group of friends the day she vanished. Her family reported her missing to the police when she didn't return home on that day. Lukhona's body was later discovered in a veld a day later, brutally mutilated. Her uncle, Mthobeli Fose, says she was found naked from the waist down, with cuts on both her lower and upper body. ALSO READ: Police probing murder case after missing teen girl's body found in Roodepoort veld He says two boys have approached the family, saying they can identify the group of friends she was last seen with. "Police have gone out to search for her group of friends she was last seen with, with the help of the two boys. We are still waiting to hear what happened. They have not gotten back to us yet. We want to know from her friends what really happened and when they separated from each other." Meanwhile, the Gauteng Education Department is providing counselling and trauma support to learners and teachers at Ikusasalethu Secondary School in Braamfischerville, Johannesburg. Fourteen-year-old Fose, a Grade 8 learner from the school, was reported missing over the weekend. Spokesperson Steve Mabona says the incident is devastating, especially during Child Protection Week. "The Department stands with the nation in the condemnation of this barbaric incident. The MEC has indicated that the young girl learner who had a bright future in her life is now finished because of brutal activity that occurred in the hands of people that we don't know."
Eyewitness News
26-05-2025
- General
- Eyewitness News
GDE says repairing Riverlea High classrooms gutted by fire to cost around R2.5m
JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng Education Department said that repairing classrooms gutted by a fire at Riverlea High School would cost around R2.5 million. In April, a blaze broke out at the Randburg school, damaging 11 classrooms, including a block of toilets. While the cause of the fire is still being investigated, the department has since provided four mobile classrooms, as repairs are set to take a while to complete. Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said they were also improving the school's safety infrastructure. "And the school is currently in a better place to be in a position to fight any fire that might be, or rather, occur in the school. We noticed that the last safety inspection, rather the fire safety inspection, was not recorded prior to the incident. But plans are afoot to make sure that the City of Johannesburg assists us, you know, in the second quarter."
The Citizen
09-05-2025
- The Citizen
What were you doing at 11? Not setting fire to a school, I hope
Discipline may begin at home, but it is refined in the community, including in schools. At least eleven classrooms have been destroyed after a fire gutted the Riverlea High School. Picture: Gauteng Education Department. Children will be children … until they set fire to a school. The Riverlea community was recently rocked by alleged arson at a high school in the area, destroying 11 classrooms and a bathroom block. The fire broke out just days before the school would welcome students back for their second term. As mobile classrooms were delivered to the school, so learning could continue this week, three 11-year-old boys came forward and were questioned over the fire. While police and the Gauteng Department of Education could not confirm whether the boys admitted to setting the school on fire, it has thrown the state of oversight and discipline at schools back into the spotlight. Questions need to be asked about security and infrastructure at a school that allows any arsonists, whether 11 years old or not, access to the premises. There may always be a 'hole in the fence' that kids can sneak in and out of, but that should not be accompanied by a blind eye and indifference. Education MEC Matome Chiloane has rightly raised concerns about the ill-discipline of students and the poor state of teaching at some schools, admitting that this has often led to vandalism by pupils. ALSO READ: 24 Gauteng schools vandalised during December holidays Discipline may begin at home, but it is refined in the community, including in schools. The village that once raised a child has been decimated by poverty, absent parents, and selfishness. Instead of actively disciplining and developing children, jaded neighbours turn away when they hear trouble, saying it is none of their business. Even police are known to be selective when responding to incidents. The most heartbreaking is when this attitude penetrates the classroom, with teachers absent or disinterested. Students, impacted by the world beyond the school gate and unable to get the help they need, carry their emotional and social baggage along with their school bags. When they leave school, they are often in the care of transport drivers whose only motive is to squash as many children in a combi as possible, no matter the state of the vehicle. Many of these drivers, as The Citizen reported this week, are not vetted against the Child Protection Register (CPR). It is a potent cocktail that not only puts lives in danger but kills the green shoots of hope education provides. ALSO READ: A VIEW OF THE WEEK: We're counting on the wrong GNU The fight to get an education at school The Riverlea community is already plagued with gangsterism, addiction, water and electricity issues that have seen them take to the streets and shut down roads. The only way out of the daily crises they often found themselves in is through education. But even the most dedicated student faces a near-impossible fight to stay motivated when schools are closed because of failing service delivery, apathy, and then fire. It is one of many communities across the country where education is earned the hard way. The Department of Basic Education revealed this week that more than 390 schools across the country are in 'very poor' condition. Only 12% are classified as being in 'excellent' condition. Among the challenges are overcrowding, unsafe buildings, and missing infrastructure. It will take collaboration between the government, parents, teachers, and the community to overcome these struggles. Otherwise, all efforts will go up in smoke. NOW READ: A VIEW OF THE WEEK: It's a warzone and we are not prepared
