Parents from Nkalweni Primary School in Ngqeleni are appealing to the Department of Education to assist with more temporary structures, as their children are using mud structures that are not in a good condition.
According to the traditional leader of this area, Chief Jongikhaya Sinde, the school was built in 1977 by their parents.
He said that even though they were promised by the department that they would be given more temporary structures, they want their school to be built.
He added that they tried to talk to the Department of Education about this, but they were told that the school was going to be merged with another school due to the low number of learners.
According to him, they tried to convince the department that if this school were shut down, it would mean that their children would not be educated.
“In order to reach that school, they would need to cross the Mthakatye River which does not have a bridge. Even the gravel road to this school is not in good condition, meaning that there cannot be a scholar transport that can assist us,” said Sinde.
He added that the learners are forced to sit outside the classrooms when they are taught because those mud structures are in a bad state.
“We were given three temporary structures in 2017, but they are also not in good condition now. When it is raining, learners are forced to go home because their classrooms become wet. We know that the department had promised us the temporary structures, but we are worried because now summer season has started,” he said.
One of the members of the School Governing Body (SGB), Zibonele Mahlangu, confirmed that this school was built by their parents.
He said that some of these classrooms collapsed on August 23, 2024, and this led them to take a decision that some of the learners should sit outside to avoid danger.
“We have tried several times to speak with the Department of Education, but they said they will not help us due to the number of learners that the school has. The DoE said they would not build the school, but they promised they would give us temporary structures. while we are still waiting,” said Mahlangu.
Spokesperson for the Department of Education, Mali Mtima, said this is a small school with about 90 learners, therefore the department cannot provide them with a new school, but is expediting a possible way of ensuring the learners get quality public education.
He said that there are options as contained in the South African School Act (SASA) of 1996.
“I am certain a consultation with the school will be revived to address these issues with other sister departments involved, since they should provide support to schools of this nature. Remember that the Norms and Standards prescribe that a primary school must have a minimum of 135 to be called a primary school, while for a high school a minimum is 200 enrolled learners,” said Mtima.
He confirmed that there were some damages in the allocated temporary classes, but the infrastructure section is attending to that.
He said that according to their report, learners are not taught outside.
