Labor raises fears of overcrowding in Camden schools
A DEMOUNTABLE crisis has been identified in the Camden area, with 84 demountable classrooms sprawled across Camden schools.
Macarthur
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A DEMOUNTABLE crisis has been unveiled in the Camden area, with Labor concerned about 84 demountable classrooms sprawled across Camden schools.
NSW Department of Education figures indicate eight schools in the Camden electorate are currently at capacity.
It follows a Macarthur Chronicle report revealing Oran Park Public School had swiftly risen to 150 per cent capacity, five years after first opening their doors.
NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley and Camden Labor state candidate Sally Quinnell joined forces at Camden South Public School today, sharing concerns of a reliance on demountable classrooms in one of the fastest growing electorates in NSW.
“I have been all over NSW this week …. but nowhere is the population growth faster than what it is in Camden and surrounding suburbs,” Mr Foley said.
“What people here expect is that the government invest in the right priorities.
“That is new schools, expanded schools and new hospitals.”
Visiting Camden as part of Labor’s ‘Schools and Hospitals before Stadiums’ bus tour, Mr Foley expressed fears Camden South students would never be taught in a classroom with brick walls.
Mrs Quinnell said she will fight to ensure children in the area receive the education which they deserve.
“I think there is a general feeling in this area that we have been forgotten,” she said.
“Schools need to be coming for the children, as they are growing and as they are needing it.”
A frustrated Camden Liberal state MP Chris Patterson shared his disappointment with Labor’s concerns.
“I am absolutely sick of Foley, Labor and the (Camden) Labor candidate using schools as a political football,” he said.
“We have spent more money on schools in the last eight years of Liberal government than 16 years of Labor before that.
“Camden have had more schools built in the last seven years than any other electorate.
“While the new schools are being built, the students are being taught by the same teachers, using the same libraries, using the same playgrounds and learning the exact same.
“My son, who is 10, is being taught in a demountable.
“He is getting the exact same education as the other kids who are in brick classrooms.”
Camden Council recently urged the NSW Government to fast-track education infrastructure in Gledswood Hills, to meet demand.