Stand No: 311 Bock 40

Yellow Wood Drive

Riverside View

Fourways

+ 27 (72) 624 5743

+27 (67) 292 6407

+27 (86) 474 7680

riversideviewassociation@gmail.com

MEMORANDUM: REQUEST FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL IN RIVERSIDE VIEW

To: The Premier of Gauteng, Hon. Panyaza Lesufi

From: Community of Riverside View

Date: ___10 February 2026_________

1. INTRODUCTION

We, the residents of Riverside View, respectfully but firmly call upon the Premier of Gauteng, in the exercise of his executive authority over the Gauteng Department of Education, to ensure:

1. The immediate prioritization of a public school in Riverside View.

2. Clear, written timelines and implementation plans issued by the Gauteng Department of Education under the direction of the Premier.

3. Transparent and regular communication between the Office of the Premier, the Department of Education, the developer, and the Riverside View community.

COMMUNITY PROFILE & STATISTICS (RIVERSIDE VIEW)

Riverside View was established in 2015 and has grown into a large, densely populated community. The area consists of the following housing developments:

4,600 units of RDP flats

2,948 bonded houses

800 sectional title flats

500 Joshco rental flats

400 Old Mutual rental flats

These figures represent thousands of households and school-going children, yet Riverside View currently has no public school to service this population.

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT

Riverside View currently has no public school, despite being a well-established and growing community. As a result:

Approximately 80% of children residing in Riverside View are forced to travel daily to Diepsloot to attend school.

Many of these learners are very young children who must use public or private buses, which raises serious safety and security concerns.

Schools in Diepsloot are already overcrowded, placing strain on infrastructure and negatively affecting the quality of education.

Daily travel places an unnecessary financial burden on parents and caregivers.

3. SAFETY AND TRANSPORT CONCERNS

The absence of a school in Riverside View has forced learners to rely heavily on daily bus transportation to Diepsloot. This has resulted in numerous ongoing challenges, including:

Frequent bus breakdowns, causing learners to arrive late or miss school entirely

Reckless driving by some bus drivers, placing children’s lives at risk

Poor regulation and reliability of transport services

More recently, with developments in Oaklands, transport challenges have worsened. Bus services have gone on strike, resulting in many learners being completely unable to attend school.

This has had a severe impact on education continuity, particularly for learners who are currently writing tests and examinations, including children preparing for and writing trials. Learners are missing critical school days through no fault of their own.

These conditions compromise the safety, stability, and constitutional right of children to access education.

4. ENGAGEMENTS WITH AUTHORITIES

Community leadership has been engaging with the Gauteng Department of Education since 2020. These engagements include:

Meetings with officials from the Department of Education

Engagements with the MEC for Education

Submission of requests and follow-ups

Availability of minutes from recent meetings, where commitments and assurances were made

During these engagements, the Department indicated that it would engage the developer regarding the land already allocated for a school and explore payment plan arrangements to move the project forward.

5. AVAILABLE LAND

We acknowledge that land has already been allocated by the developer specifically for the development of a school in Riverside View. This makes the establishment of a school both feasible and urgent.

6. OUR DEMAND

We, the residents of Riverside View, respectfully but firmly demand:

1. The immediate prioritization of a public school in Riverside View.

2. Clear timelines and implementation plan from the Gauteng Department of Education.

3. Transparent communication regarding progress between the Department, the developer, and the community.

7. CONCLUSION AND TIMEFRAME FOR RESPONSE

Education is a constitutional right. The continued delay in providing a school for Riverside View places our children at risk and undermines their future. We therefore call on the Gauteng Department of Education to act with urgency and honour the commitments previously made.

We hereby formally request a written response within seven (7) working days of receipt of this memorandum, outlining:

Clear timelines for the establishment of the school

Progress regarding engagements with the developer

Community Representatives / Leaders:

Name: Name: Name:

Qhawe Mpho Makamane_ Mautla Maela_______ Itumeleng Mokone_

Contact Details: Contact Details: Contact Details:

+27 (69) 884 7545________ +27 (73) 834 8408____ +27 (82) 682 0710__