Limpopo MEC for Education Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has promised to give urgent attention to the current backlog of classrooms and the problem of overcrowding in schools in the province.

During his budget speech in the Provincial Legislature, he said the sight of children learning under trees, or sitting in dilapidated shacks, could no longer be tolerated. He pointed out that, after President Mbeki's State of the Nation address earlier this year, MECs for Education were summoned by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Cape Town to explain the state of affairs in their respective prov-inces.

"We must deal with this matter once for all, but as systematically and strategically as possible," he said.

The MEC promised that alternative accommodation would be provided, while the process of building classrooms continued. He expressed appreciation for an amount of R115 million allocated to his department by the provincial treasury "to eradicate the scourge of learning under trees."

"However, in trying to prepare for this eradication, we discovered that the problem is much deeper and more complex than just removing a few kids from under a tree and constructing a four-classroom block," he explained.

Rural communities were building their own schools, and usually put up only a few buildings, due to their meagre resources. This inevitably led to a shortage of classrooms, and a spill-over which ended with learners having to sit under trees.

Logic dictated a sequence of "plan first, build secondly, and occupy thirdly," but communities tended to do things the other way round, and this led to unplanned settlements, which also affected schooling negatively, Motsoaledi explained.

This sequence of events had to be reversed, through firm intervention by the department, and the implementation of a total infrastructure strategy.

The MEC said 70 schools in the province currently conducted classes under trees, and they would need 236 classrooms costing R36 million. At 181 other schools, where there was nothing more than shacks, 716 classrooms would have to be built at a cost of R10 million.

Turning to the problem of overcrowding, Motsoaledi said the department would normally tolerate having 40 learners per class-room in primary schools and 35 in secondary schools. The department was aware that 70, 80 or 90 pupils per class were the order of the day, and planned to do something about it over both the short and long term.

In summarising his department's budget allocations, the MEC said the establishment of new schools, the upgrading of departmental offices, increased information technology, more in-service training for teachers, and improvements to school governance would receive the largest slices of this year's R455 million provincial cake.