The Western Cape Education Department has a new political head, with Jaco Londt taking over as MEC for Education following David Maynier’s move to national government.
Londt, who previously served as MEC for Social Development, now takes charge of one of the province’s largest portfolios, overseeing more than 1.2 million learners and around 44,000 staff members.
Speaking to VOC, Londt says taking on the Education portfolio initially came with a sense of anxiety as he prepared for the scale of the responsibility.
“I mean, it was just this anxiety that suddenly hit you with a massive responsibility in this department. It’s a complete head switch, the space, the head space that needs to switch, because constantly you’re in this space of social welfare, social development, and then suddenly you need to cut all of that out and start reading up on all the challenges in education,” he said.
Londt says the move from a department with about 2,600 staff to one with tens of thousands of employees and more than a million learners has been a major adjustment, but he considers the appointment an honour.
He says his immediate focus will be on understanding the department and building on the work already done under Maynier, rather than starting from scratch.
“I’m not going to redo or undo anything that he has done. I’m going to build on that. Of course, I’ve got my own ideas, but now I need to make sure that my ideas are maybe not already being implemented in the background,” Londt said.
Londt is scheduled to meet with Maynier for a handover, followed by a meeting with the national Education Minister and briefings with senior departmental officials.
He says it will be a steep learning curve, particularly as the department prepares for the final stretch of the academic year.
“Our matriculants, they’re busy with their trial exams. They’re busy prepping, doing a lot of reading. So I’ll follow their example and also make sure that I read up and do all my prep,” he said.
Londt says he is looking forward to working with education officials, learners and other stakeholders as he settles into the portfolio.
Listen to the full interview below:
Photo: Supplied
