NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 41
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 27/02/2012
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 02/2012)
Mr M J R de Villiers (DA-WC) to ask the Minister of Basic Education:
(1) Whether there are any small schools that are not (a)
educationally and (b) financially viable; if not, how was
this conclusion reached; if so, how many schools in each
province;
(2) whether her department has identified any plans to address
this matter; if not, why not; if so, what plans? CW43E
Response:
(1)(a)(b) The Guidelines Relating to Planning for Public School
Infrastructure classify a small primary school as a school with a
minimum enrolment of 135 learners and a small secondary as a
school with a minimum enrolment of 200 learners. Below is a
breakdown of schools per province below the 135 threshold:
|Province |Schools|
|EC |1 410 |
|FS | 530 |
|GT | 188 |
|KZ | 810 |
|LP | 513 |
|MP | 288 |
|NC | 134 |
|NW | 256 |
|WC | 288 |
|South | 4 417 |
|Africa | |
Source: EMIS 2012
(2) The South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996) (the SASA)
in Section 12 A provides for the merger and Section
33 for the closure of public schools. In that regard this
responsibility resides with the provincial departments of
education. However, my department in partnerships with provinces
has developed Guidelines for the Closure and Merger of Rural and
Farm schools. These Guidelines provide guidance on the merger and
closure process, the role of provincial coordinating and
implementation teams, procedures to follow regarding the School
Governing Bodies of schools and language, religious and cultural
considerations.