Pupils as young as six at Ngoswana Primary School outside Mthatha are being taught in half-collapsed classrooms parents fear could fall down at any moment.
Nearly 35 years ago the community built the school, moulding mud bricks and contributing from their meagre social grants to construct seven classrooms and a staffroom.
Two classroom blocks were erected and for decades the structures stood firm. But years of exposure to wind and weather have taken their toll.
Last year, just before schools closed in December, a strong wind damaged two classrooms on either side of the three-classroom block, leaving the centre classroom partially damaged.
School governing body chair Nocawe Mxinwa said parents fetched logs from nearby forests to try to hold the remaining structure together.
Despite the dangerous conditions, children continue to attend classes.
Mxinwa said the school previously received help when another block suffered structural damage a few years ago.
A construction company and a hardware store assisted with rebuilding, using proper bricks, although the internal partitions remain made of mud.
The cement floor in that block has also begun to deteriorate.
She said when the school opened in 1992, it had more than 100 pupils from Grades 1 to 7. Today the school has 79 scholars in those grades, along with 16 Grade R pupils.
We have been trying to raise funds from our grants, but it’s hard because people are unemployed
— Nocawe Mxinwa, school governing body chair
When it rains, pupils from the damaged classrooms are moved into the remaining usable rooms and share the space.
“We fear that strong winds could demolish the whole school,” Mxinwa said.
“We have been trying to raise funds from our grants, but it’s hard because people are unemployed.”
She said the education department told them the school did not qualify for a new facility because there were too few pupils.
The nearest primary schools are more than 10km away.
Mxinwa said children would have to cross rivers and walk through forested areas to reach them.
“Even us as old people, when we go to the clinic we always fear for ourselves because it’s not safe,” she said. “It’s not safe for children to walk that distance.
“The department did say they would provide school transport but we all know that the department is struggling and, in the end, our children would suffer.”
She pleaded for temporary classrooms.
“Those who can afford to are taking their children to better schools. Getting temporary classrooms would be a big boost,” she said.
Community member Nongejile Mfenguza, whose eight children attended the school, said conditions had long been difficult.
“When it rained, we would not go to school,” Mfenguza said.
“With winter approaching, our fear is our children will fall sick or the remaining structure could collapse on them. One day, a brick fell next to a child.”
Children’s rights activist Petros Majola said the department should urgently provide temporary structures.
“As an organisation, we will take it up with the department,” Majola said. “Not even animals can stay in that.
“The department must pull up its socks so that we avoid a situation where children die. It must be fixed before children get hurt.”
Education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said the conditions had been reported to the provincial office, together with an incident report, affidavit and photographs of the damage.
“Unfortunately, the disaster was not attended to due to budgetary constraints,” Mtima said.
“Under SAFE, the school was provided with enough ablution facilities. Currently, the district is doing a follow-up to attend the disaster.
“Recommendations are for the provision of two temporary structures and demolition of the unsafe structures.”
We are not speaking of a government that is incapacitated but one that merely refuses to do what is in the best interests of many learners in the Eastern Cape
— Ona Matshaya, Equal Education
Equal Education spokesperson Ona Matshaya said schools such as Ngoswana were “a result of the deliberate failures of a government that evades accountability”.
“Learners are forced to travel on long and unsafe roads, where they have to learn in hazardous conditions that are not conducive to teaching and learning,” Matshaya said.
“We are not speaking of a government that is incapacitated but one that merely refuses to do what is in the best interests of many learners in the Eastern Cape.
“We have heard many promises, but all these are futile without tangible plans and timelines.”
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.