Treasury allocates money to run schools in Limpopo

NATIONAL Treasury has allocated R63-million to the Limpopo department of education to help with the day-to-day running of schools in the province.

National Treasury spokeswoman Bulelwa Boqwana said the money had already been deposited into the provincial treasury and would be used for "norms and standards".

The money was received with a sigh of relief by the department which said it would go a long way in addressing the financial challenges faced by a large number of schools in the province.

MEC Dickson Masemola welcomed the financial boost.

Masemola said the money would go a long way in easing the financial difficulties faced by schools in the province.

"The money will be used to buy chalk, teaching aids and other essentials," he said yesterday.

"It will enable our schools to run their day-to-day activities without problems. This will, hopefully, inspire confidence in our teachers."

The money was allocated to the department after a number of schools in the province, especially those in rural areas and on farms, lamented the shortage of money to run their day-to-day activities.

This had affected learning and teaching and had threatened the performance of pupils.

The department has since been allocated the fattest slice of the province's 2012/2013 provincial budget - up from R20.7-billion last financial year to R22.1-billion this year. It had also received a boost of R91-million from the state to help with the transport of pupils, national administrator Anis Karodia said last week.