After realising their old school was on the brink of closure as the number of pupils dwindled due to a the lack of resources, former pupils rallied together and bought much-needed items such as computers to revive the school.
Masibonisane Senior Secondary School is located between Qaukeni and Kalani villages on the N2 just outside King William’s Town.
The school was established in the early 1980s by community members, who each contributed R20 and built the first classroom.
Over the years as contributions from the community grew, more classrooms were built.
Masibonisane is a fully-fledged school, with classes from grade 8 to 12 serving 240 pupils from nearby villages.
Former pupil Nomfundo Nqinana, who was enrolled at the school in about 1990, said when she visited Qaukeni last year she became concerned when she saw that children from the surrounding villages had left the school for better-resourced schools.
Nqinana said she had held talks with other former pupils and community members on how to revive the school.
“We formulated a concept document, which outlines the background of the school, its current status and our plans. ,” said Nqinana.
“Since last year we have companies, the government and the private sector... to present the document,and asked for their assistance.” said Nqinana.
To date, Nqinana said they had been able to secure six ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets, computers from Old Mutual which they used for a new computer lab, a security gate from Trellidor to improve safety, and a one-year supply of free Daily Dispatch newspapers.
The computers were handed over to the school on Friday, when representatives from various tertiary education institutions were brought in to give advice to pupils on when and how to apply to enrol for further study at tertiary institutions.
Education MEC Mandla Makupula, who was also present at the handing-over ceremony, said what the former pupils did served as motivation to the department and the community.
“We appreciate the effort by the pupils; this makes the department more interested in this school,” said Makupula.
Makupula promised that, to get the computer lab up and running, a server would be installed there. He also promised to donate school uniforms to some of the pupils.
School principal Nomakhwezi Madwanya said the efforts by the former pupils would enhance the work of teachers and improve results at the school.
“It’s true, children from this village were discouraged to come here in the past because of the lack of resources, but now I am sure the numbers will grow because we have technology at our disposal,” said Madwanya.
Nqinana said what they had done for the school was just the start, and they still had many more initiatives aimed at reviving the school.
“We want this school to become competitive with other schools in the province. We also want to discourage dropping out of school, and encourage pupils to go beyond matric,” said Nqinana. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
Former pupils rally to save under-resourced school
Masibonisane Senior Secondary School is located between Qaukeni and Kalani villages on the N2 just outside King William’s Town.
The school was established in the early 1980s by community members, who each contributed R20 and built the first classroom.
Over the years as contributions from the community grew, more classrooms were built.
Masibonisane is a fully-fledged school, with classes from grade 8 to 12 serving 240 pupils from nearby villages.
Former pupil Nomfundo Nqinana, who was enrolled at the school in about 1990, said when she visited Qaukeni last year she became concerned when she saw that children from the surrounding villages had left the school for better-resourced schools.
Nqinana said she had held talks with other former pupils and community members on how to revive the school.
“We formulated a concept document, which outlines the background of the school, its current status and our plans. ,” said Nqinana.
“Since last year we have companies, the government and the private sector... to present the document,and asked for their assistance.” said Nqinana.
To date, Nqinana said they had been able to secure six ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets, computers from Old Mutual which they used for a new computer lab, a security gate from Trellidor to improve safety, and a one-year supply of free Daily Dispatch newspapers.
The computers were handed over to the school on Friday, when representatives from various tertiary education institutions were brought in to give advice to pupils on when and how to apply to enrol for further study at tertiary institutions.
Education MEC Mandla Makupula, who was also present at the handing-over ceremony, said what the former pupils did served as motivation to the department and the community.
“We appreciate the effort by the pupils; this makes the department more interested in this school,” said Makupula.
Makupula promised that, to get the computer lab up and running, a server would be installed there. He also promised to donate school uniforms to some of the pupils.
School principal Nomakhwezi Madwanya said the efforts by the former pupils would enhance the work of teachers and improve results at the school.
“It’s true, children from this village were discouraged to come here in the past because of the lack of resources, but now I am sure the numbers will grow because we have technology at our disposal,” said Madwanya.
Nqinana said what they had done for the school was just the start, and they still had many more initiatives aimed at reviving the school.
“We want this school to become competitive with other schools in the province. We also want to discourage dropping out of school, and encourage pupils to go beyond matric,” said Nqinana. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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