Cape Town - Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Education MEC David Maynier joined thousands of teachers across the province this morning in welcoming more than a million learners back to school for the 2023 academic year.
Winde and Maynier visited learners, parents and staff members at Starling Primary School in Mountview, Cape Town.
Acting principal Renjeni Chetty said: “Starling Primary is one of our full-service inclusive schools. As the staff of Starling Primary School, we are ready, geared up and enthusiastic for lift-off to engage in teaching, guiding and assisting our learners to reach their potential holistically.”
Of the start of the school year provincial education head Maynier said that approximately 1.2 million learners headed to school today, including nearly 92 000 Grade 1s heading to “big school”, and morte than 96 000 Grade 8s heading to high school, with 35 872 teachers and 7 578 public service staff to support them.
“The Department of Education has been hard at work helping local schools prepare for the start of the school year. Facilitating in topping up textbook orders by October 2022, at a cost of R62 million.
Maynier said in addition, the department had acquired and provided schools with stationery supplies to the value of R39 million, furniture to the value of R50 million, and other equipment to the value of R1.6 million were also delivered by December 2022.
He said: “We have also completed 561 additional classrooms in time for the first day of school, as part of our unprecedented school infrastructure delivery programme, and we have added 1 143 teaching posts so that our new classrooms have teachers to teach in them.
“We have made incredible progress in placement, placing over 50 000 more learners than this time last year. We have now placed 99.2% of our Grade 1 and 8 learners,” Maynier said.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde wished all learners the very best for the new academic year, urging them to work hard, but also be kind to themselves and their fellow learners.
He said: “Take pride in your schools and do your very best. To our parents, thank you for being our partners in securing our learners’ futures by registering on time, supporting your learner and holding us to account.
“To our teachers, other school staff and Western Cape Education Department officials, I commend you for the important work that you do in offering our learners dignified places of teaching and learning.”
Winde also commented on the 2023 academic school year being the first year of normalcy since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is the first year since Covid-19 that our schools are opening with full attendance and regular timetables. But while the school day is back to standard operations, we will still feel the impact of the learning losses caused by the pandemic for many years to come,” he said.