Residents from Silversands will have to make peace with the fact the Fairdale High School will be permanently in their midst.
Fairdale has been in the news the last couple of weeks for all the wrong reasons.
First there were and incident where students acted strange, then a learner was murdered.
It is alleged that learners from the school attacked a local resident with a knife, after an altercation.
The latest incident had the community up in arms and some threatened to protest at the school.
Some say that the school, which opened in 2019 as a temporary school to accomodate learners from Mfuleni, must close down.
The provincial education department (WCED) says the school is going nowhere.
“The WCED is intending on building a permanent brick-and-mortar building on the same site. The WCED is still progressing with this intention, with planning phase due to begin to take place in the current MTEF, with the necessary budget being allocated for this project,” says Bronagh Hammond, spokesperson for the WCED.
Hammond says the office is aware of learner behaviour.
“The WCED district office has received reports of a few learner misdemeanors, however, the degree of which, has not been alarming compared to other schools. Most of the reports are from the school itself in terms of their reporting procedures. The police also conducted a random search and seizure exercise at the school on 12 September, as a preventative and deterring measure.
“Regarding the alleged incident involving learners outside of school – the WCED has not yet received reports of this nature. If learners are found to have transgressed and were involved in any serious misconduct, the school’s Code of Conduct will be implemented and the necessary disciplinary measures instituted,” says Hammond.
Sarah Ludick, a local community worker, says it is news for them that school will become permanent.
“The school was suppose to be here for two or three years. I can tell you that this school doesn’t mean anything for this community. Nobody from this community even work at the school. Not a teacher, not even a cleaner. All it does is cause problems because the learners’ behaviour is poor and it causes extra congestion in the streets,” says Ludick.
