FOLLOWING numerous delays, teachers and learners are hopeful that construction on new buildings at Lingcom Primary School in Kroonvale, Graaff-Reinet, which started in March 2018, may finally be completed early next year.
The decision to rebuild the school was taken because old prefab buildings were falling apart, and the aged infrastructure was inadequate.
The new school building will have 17 classrooms, a separate block for three Grade R classrooms, and include a new hall, library and computer room, and science laboratory.
Two blocks of the old building were demolished, including the old science laboratory, Grade 1 block, office block with sick bay and teachers’ toilets.
A temporary hoarding was put up to cover the gap by the office block, but this was flimsy and almost blew down several times.
Classes then needed to be combined, with more than 50 children in most classes, but with the end goal of greatly improved facilities, this was acceptable.
However, only six months into the building project, all work stopped. Lack of payment led to the architects and other professionals walking off site in June last year, and by August, the contractors had no option but to stop working, as they had run out of information as to what needed to be done next.
According to principal Edmund Carelse, between the departments of Education and Public Works, nobody seemed willing to accept responsibility, “And we all know there is no money,” he added.
The situation became very stressful over the last year, with fears for the safety of the children on what was effectively an abandoned building site. Stacks of bricks were left lying around, as well as large concrete pipes. The municipal water supply to the school building is through a temporary pipe, which for a long time was frequently vandalised by baboons looking for water.
Thankfully SANParks have now made provision for the baboons, as there was real concern that a small child could have been hurt.
The school has been largely reliant on an old borehole, but as this has also been made available to the community, the flow has reduced to a trickle.
At long last, there seems to be a glimmer of hope that the building work will recommence early next year, after a meeting held at the end of last month with the Department of Public Works, Department of Education, school governing body and ward councillor.
The contractor has still not been paid, but will be back on site mid-January. The broken fencing around the site has been fixed, as has the temporary hoarding around the old school buildings.
Carelse, who is retiring at the end of this year, had hoped to see the project completed, but he is cautiously optimistic that his successor will soon see the start of a new era for the school.
