By Janine Oelofse

The Western Cape education department has called on schools in the province, including those in the Southern Cape, to offer their under-used land for sale and use their share of the profits for capital expenditure and upgrading facilities.

Education spokesman Gert Witbooi said yesterday that a number of schools in Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn, Sedgefield and Knysna had indicated they had under-used land worth more than R38-million which could be sold off.

He said the department would look at each case individually and decide whether the land needed to be sold.

Meanwhile, in Cape Town a Tamboerskloof school has come to an agreement with the education department to sell land valued at a whopping R60-million.

Education MEC Cameron Dugmore said Jan van Riebeeck High School had agreed to the sale in the interests of improving the quality of education.

In terms of a provincial policy, the school will receive 20 per cent of the proceeds after the deduction of administrative costs by the public works department.

The education department will use the money to accelerate the building of halls and other infrastructure at schools.

“Ultimately, public school property is state land,” Dugmore said. “But we acknowledge that school facilities are managed by school governing bodies and they have a right to participate in decisions affecting the utilisation of such facilities. The department will consult governing bodies before arriving at any decisions.”

Four years ago, the departments of public works and education agreed to investigate the possibility of selling off certain properties to mobilise funds to be used for all communities, especially poorer areas.

“Given the growing crisis in school accommodation in the province . . . and the lack of available funds to accelerate the school building programme, it is important that the government looks at alternative means of generating funds to build new schools, including public-private partnerships,” Dugmore said.

“The provincial government has approached this matter in a responsible way. In the long run, it is not advisable to alienate and sell all available school land.”