Note to Editors: Please find a soundbite in English from DA MPL, Sergio Isa Dos Santos here.
The lives of Gauteng learners are under serious threat, as it has emerged that at least 34 schools in the province are non-compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS) and other school safety regulations. The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls for urgent action to make our schools safe and protect the lives of our learners and teachers from harm.
Responding to questions posed by the DA in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, MEC for Education Matome Chiloane claims that all schools have safety committees following the recent elections of School Governing Bodies (SGBs). He also provides a list of 34 schools that were inspected and found to be non-compliant with the OHS Act during the 2024/2025 financial year.
Furthermore, the MEC’s response raises serious concerns about consistency in school safety. While most schools have five patrollers, high-risk schools facing greater threats are assigned a minimum of four. This contradiction raises questions about the logic of the Gauteng Department of Education’s approach and whether its resources match the risks.
See reply here.
It is deeply concerning that schools with thousands of learners have been declared non-compliant and practically unsafe. Even more troubling is the lack of meaningful intervention to reverse this trend, with over 40 schools recorded as non-compliant with the OHS Act in the 2022/2023 financial year.
The DA challenges MEC Chiloane to present a credible and sustainable plan that ensures every school in Gauteng is safe and compliant with the OHS Act to provide a safe environment for all learners in our province to succeed.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would secure the lives of learners and teachers by ensuring full compliance with OHS Act requirements through regular audits and strict accountability measures. We are the only party that can implement a transparent school safety model that properly prioritises high-risk schools, backed by consistent oversight and properly managed security contracts.