Durban - It has been 20 years since the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education set up a makeshift school in Ntuzuma. The prefabricated containers turned into classrooms were supposed to be a temporary solution for the primary school children from the then burgeoning township, situated in the north of Durban.
Instead, it has become a permanent fixture, which has made schooling unbearable for the impoverished children who attend Faith Mlaba Primary School.
In 2002, the department provided 10 temporary classrooms. This week, parents of the children who attend the school said they were frustrated by the department’s inaction.
Many of them, who did not want to be named because they did not want their children victimised, pleaded with the department to keep its promise of providing their children with proper classrooms. They said issues ranging from the classroom floors having “potholes” in which they could see the ground beneath them, as well as overcrowding have been left unresolved for many years.
The school has more than 800 pupils from Grade R to Grade 7. In one instance, there were 90 pupils to one teacher. One of the parents said she had no choice but to take her children, aged 8 and 12, to Faith Mlaba Primary because she could not afford a better school for them.
She said on rainy days, teaching was cancelled because the classrooms leaked. She feared that with this season’s rain, they would be affected yet again. “The camps were meant to be an interim measure until the department found a suitable building or built a school from scratch.
“During parents meetings, we were told that the school might move to another area. Some of the parents were not happy about the decision because its location is close and convenient for some children. However, the majority of parents welcomed the decision to move the school,” the parent said.
She said one of the options was to move the classes to the old Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court building which was less than 5km away, but, “that has not happened”. Another parent who has a 12-yearold daughter at the school, described the situation as a “disgrace”.
“We don’t have a choice and most parents in the area are unemployed, so we are forced to send our children to this school,” she said. The mother said after several meetings with the school governing body it was decided that some pupils could use the nearby high school’s hall to ease the overcrowding.
“Since the matric exams are approaching, teaching and learning will be disrupted again when the high school pupils have to use the hall,” she said. A member of the school governing body (SGB) confirmed that the initial agreement was to move the school to the old court building.
“The agreement was that, when the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court relocated to its new building in 2013, the school would move into that building, however, the department has failed to do so. The board was then told that the department would have to first fix minor issues such as the roof before the transitioning could happen. “Up until this day, we are still waiting for the department’s response,” said the SGB member. The department did not respond by the time of going to print.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE