Learners from Long-Hope Primary Farm School in Elliot are sitting at home after their school was burnt to ashes by an unknown person recently.
One of the parents, Bongeka Zathu, said the school had only one classroom, and that was vandalised.
According to her, they were using a nearby church because the school did not have enough classrooms to accommodate their children.
“We heard that the school was burning, and what is worse there was no veld fire around at that particular time.
“The main problem we have as parents is that our children are staying at home now because we do not have another alternative,” said Zathu.
She confirmed that the school has 70 learners and said they had spoken with the Department of Education about this last year, but they were told that the school would be merged with Rhino Primary School, which is a neighbouring school.
According to Zathu, they refused to have their school merged because the school is very far from their area, but the department promised it would bring temporary structures.
“We are still waiting for them. Until now, nothing is happening. Now the class that we used to have has been burnt. We do not have another alternative,” she said.
The spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Department of Education, Mali Mtima, said there are 65 and not 70 learners at this school.
He said that the department has prioritised the school for construction, but currently learners are attending a local church.
“There is an old school building that was used earlier, so we are intending to clean it up while we are pushing the procurement of the structure. There are also other alternatives that we are busy with, to ensure that teaching and learning continues,” said Mtima.
