- Minister admits budget for maintenance of teachers’ houses was underestimated
- Admits situation can affect teachers’ work and trickle down to performance of students
BONGANI MALUNGA
The P150 million that was set aside for maintenance of primary and secondary school teachers’ quarters throughout the country in the 2024/2025 financial year is not enough, the Minister of Education, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe, has said.
Minister Letsholathebe was responding to questions from the MP for Kgalagadi South, Sam Brooks.
“We are well aware of the situation, especially in the case of secondary schools,” Dr Letsholathebe said. “We know that the living situation is not ideal and shortage of accommodation is high while available accommodation needs urgent maintenance.
10 schools
“We have a ready-made programme to tackle this issue. As you all know, we were given P150 million to handle the maintenance problem for teachers in their housing units.
“If you look closely at the changes needed, you will realise that P150 million will not be enough. We have to do with what we currently have at the moment.”
Dr Letsholathebe spoke about a programme called Cyclic Maintenance which has been stopped because it proved unsuccessful. He said 10 schools that need urgent maintenance have been identified for maintenance priority.
Making do
“We have devised plans to find a manageable solution to utilise the money we have at our disposal,” he noted. “We have to make a workable budget. We will explore other ways to address the problem and restore teachers’ accommodation.”
Brooks then asked if the minister was aware that the poor maintenance and living arrangements affect teachers and their work which can trickle down to the performances of their students.
“It is true,” said the minister. “If teachers live in uninhabitable conditions, they are likely to execute their duties in (a poor) manner.
Alternative ways
“In some instances, some teachers share two-bedroomed houses. It affects their space and their ability to do their marking duties at home.”
He added that the government will continue to seek alternative ways of funding maintenance of teachers’ housing units and continue to visit and assess the affected schools to better appreciate the situation.