If all civil servants including teachers and cabinet ministers were forced to enrol their children at government schools, the shambolic public school system would be fixed in no time.
This bold statement was made by Eastern Cape education portfolio committee chairman Fundile Gade, while officiating at the official handing over of the Mziwoxolo Primary School in rural Ntabankulu yesterday.
Gade warned that if the province continued to produce underwhelming results, especially in Grade 12, it could lead to a situation where communities turned against government.
He also went on to criticise the continued teaching of subjects like maths literacy in schools, saying it did not have any value when it came to matriculants hoping to apply to enter tertiary education level.
“You take your child to Mthatha High School. But you go and teach in a public school. You talk in parliament but you take your children to Stirling and Hudson Park in East London,” he said.
Mziwoxolo, situated in Makhoti village in one of the most remote parts of Ntabankulu, was previously a mud school but has been rebuilt in line with Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (Asidi) at a cost of around R20-million.
Among other features, the new school boasts eight classrooms built from mortar and brick, 14 toilets, science and computer laboratories, a nutrition centre complete with a dining hall and a Grade R block, with a playground and its own toilet.
Several water tanks have also been installed to help with the harvesting of rainwater. Asidi programme’s national spokesman, Albert Gumbo, said 163 unsafe and mud schools have been replaced across the country since the inception of the programme in 2011.
“People forget that mud schools were built by villagers who did not have resources but were passionate about education.
“For us its a completion of a journey they started.
“We are restoring dignity through these sort of schools we are building and bringing back the pride of the communities.”
Gade warned that an integrated approach from several government departments was needed to make facilities like schools more viable and easily accessible.
“You can’t build an institution of learning but not build a road.
“You also cannot build a clinic in a rural area and not stock medicine.”
Earlier, Mziwoxolo school principal Thandinkosi Kulu told the Saturday Dispatch that his school had in the past failed to retain many teachers who were fed up with teaching in a mud school.
The situation was also made worse by the fact that despite being in a remote area, teachers at the school were not benefiting from the government’s rural incentive scheme.
However, he said with the new school, teaching would now become more exciting.
“It was painful having to come to a mud school where you spent the day worrying if it would crumble during inclement weather.
“But now we can’t wait to come here and teach every morning,” he added.
His words were echoed by best friends and Grade 2 pupils Mandilive Mntuyedwa, 10, and Bongakuphi Nxumalo, 9, who said they had been forced to listen to people saying nasty things about their school in the past.
“To be quite honest it was very ugly.
“But now we will be the ones doing all the bragging,” said Mntuyedwa, who hopes to one day become a policeman. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
R20m school brings hope to Ntabankulu
This bold statement was made by Eastern Cape education portfolio committee chairman Fundile Gade, while officiating at the official handing over of the Mziwoxolo Primary School in rural Ntabankulu yesterday.
Gade warned that if the province continued to produce underwhelming results, especially in Grade 12, it could lead to a situation where communities turned against government.
He also went on to criticise the continued teaching of subjects like maths literacy in schools, saying it did not have any value when it came to matriculants hoping to apply to enter tertiary education level.
“You take your child to Mthatha High School. But you go and teach in a public school. You talk in parliament but you take your children to Stirling and Hudson Park in East London,” he said.
Mziwoxolo, situated in Makhoti village in one of the most remote parts of Ntabankulu, was previously a mud school but has been rebuilt in line with Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (Asidi) at a cost of around R20-million.
Among other features, the new school boasts eight classrooms built from mortar and brick, 14 toilets, science and computer laboratories, a nutrition centre complete with a dining hall and a Grade R block, with a playground and its own toilet.
Several water tanks have also been installed to help with the harvesting of rainwater. Asidi programme’s national spokesman, Albert Gumbo, said 163 unsafe and mud schools have been replaced across the country since the inception of the programme in 2011.
“People forget that mud schools were built by villagers who did not have resources but were passionate about education.
“For us its a completion of a journey they started.
“We are restoring dignity through these sort of schools we are building and bringing back the pride of the communities.”
Gade warned that an integrated approach from several government departments was needed to make facilities like schools more viable and easily accessible.
“You can’t build an institution of learning but not build a road.
“You also cannot build a clinic in a rural area and not stock medicine.”
Earlier, Mziwoxolo school principal Thandinkosi Kulu told the Saturday Dispatch that his school had in the past failed to retain many teachers who were fed up with teaching in a mud school.
The situation was also made worse by the fact that despite being in a remote area, teachers at the school were not benefiting from the government’s rural incentive scheme.
However, he said with the new school, teaching would now become more exciting.
“It was painful having to come to a mud school where you spent the day worrying if it would crumble during inclement weather.
“But now we can’t wait to come here and teach every morning,” he added.
His words were echoed by best friends and Grade 2 pupils Mandilive Mntuyedwa, 10, and Bongakuphi Nxumalo, 9, who said they had been forced to listen to people saying nasty things about their school in the past.
“To be quite honest it was very ugly.
“But now we will be the ones doing all the bragging,” said Mntuyedwa, who hopes to one day become a policeman. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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