The state has let down thousands of pupils at more than 340 Eastern Cape schools still learning in mud and unsafe structures six years after committing to replace the buildings.
Minister Angie Motshekga’s Basic Education Department set aside R11-billion in 2011 to replace 530 mud and unsafe schools in the province by 2018.
But the Saturday Dispatch can today reveal that only 182 schools have been built to date and 50 others are still under construction.
This week a six-member education portfolio committee team spent time in OR Tambo district, and its chairman, Fundile Gade, confirmed the situation was so bad they would ask premier Phumulo Masualle to plead with Motshekga to extend next year’s deadline by five more years to clear the backlog.
But the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) which took both departments to the Grahamstown High Court last year demanding a clear plan on how to undo the bottlenecks, said such an extension “makes mockery of the promises made to many schools”.
Communication manager of implementing agents Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (Asidi) appointed by the department, Albert Gumbo, confirmed that only 182 schools had been finished and “50 schools were still currently under construction, while a further 47 were at tender stage”.
This was despite R7.9-billion of the R11-billion having been spent to date.
Gade said the situation “on the ground forces us as a committee to recommend to the government to extend its deadline of replacing mud schools by another five years.
Asked why there were delays, Gumbo said there was a myriad of reasons ranging from “poor contractor performance, labour unrest on some sites and community-led disruptions on others.
“Inclement weather affects not only the site, but also roads leading to the site which cause lengthy delays when suppliers are unwilling to risk their vehicles in muddy or unsafe conditions.
“A major reason was the rationalisation and mergers exercise that needed to be undertaken to ensure that assets are feasible.
“This exercise involves sensitive and painstaking community consultations,” he added.
LRC spokeswoman Claire Martens said: “This will result in many learners continuing to be taught in squalor, without any indication as to when their schools will be replaced”.
The state has failed several times to meet its own target to replace mud and unsafe school structures.
Former President Thabo Mbeki set the first target for 2004, but the state failed to meet it.
In its papers filed in the Grahamstown High Court, the LRC said while there had been progress in providing proper structures, it was just not enough.
Martens said the LRC would request reasons for the delay and information on schools that would be replaced in the future.
Let down by schools of shame
Minister Angie Motshekga’s Basic Education Department set aside R11-billion in 2011 to replace 530 mud and unsafe schools in the province by 2018.
But the Saturday Dispatch can today reveal that only 182 schools have been built to date and 50 others are still under construction.
This week a six-member education portfolio committee team spent time in OR Tambo district, and its chairman, Fundile Gade, confirmed the situation was so bad they would ask premier Phumulo Masualle to plead with Motshekga to extend next year’s deadline by five more years to clear the backlog.
But the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) which took both departments to the Grahamstown High Court last year demanding a clear plan on how to undo the bottlenecks, said such an extension “makes mockery of the promises made to many schools”.
Communication manager of implementing agents Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative (Asidi) appointed by the department, Albert Gumbo, confirmed that only 182 schools had been finished and “50 schools were still currently under construction, while a further 47 were at tender stage”.
This was despite R7.9-billion of the R11-billion having been spent to date.
Gade said the situation “on the ground forces us as a committee to recommend to the government to extend its deadline of replacing mud schools by another five years.
Asked why there were delays, Gumbo said there was a myriad of reasons ranging from “poor contractor performance, labour unrest on some sites and community-led disruptions on others.
“Inclement weather affects not only the site, but also roads leading to the site which cause lengthy delays when suppliers are unwilling to risk their vehicles in muddy or unsafe conditions.
“A major reason was the rationalisation and mergers exercise that needed to be undertaken to ensure that assets are feasible.
“This exercise involves sensitive and painstaking community consultations,” he added.
LRC spokeswoman Claire Martens said: “This will result in many learners continuing to be taught in squalor, without any indication as to when their schools will be replaced”.
The state has failed several times to meet its own target to replace mud and unsafe school structures.
Former President Thabo Mbeki set the first target for 2004, but the state failed to meet it.
In its papers filed in the Grahamstown High Court, the LRC said while there had been progress in providing proper structures, it was just not enough.
Martens said the LRC would request reasons for the delay and information on schools that would be replaced in the future.
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