Classes came to a halt at a rural Mqanduli school yesterday as nearly a thousand enraged pupils and their parents protested outside the gates for a proper building.
Phangindlela Junior Secondary School is about a kilometre from the centre of Maqomeni village and, with 950 pupils, overcrowding is a huge problem.
One of the oldest mud schools in the province, it was built in the 1940s. The only addition has been a block built in later years by the then Transkei government under president Kaizer Matanzima.
Yesterday, schooling went out the window as the parents and their children made their point outside the school gates.
They vowed that pupils would not sit for their June exams until they were given answers by the department’s district director in Mthatha, Temba Dyasi. They claimed he had promised them prefabs but had failed to deliver.
A contingent of armed police spent hours on the scene to ensure the protest did not turn violent.
Phangindlela’s school governing body chairwoman Mandisa Gcolotela told the Daily Dispatch they had been fed empty promises since 1994.
“We get jealous when we see schools around us like Upper Ngqungqu JSS and Mancam JSS being built and yet there are no children to get into those nicely-built classrooms.
“Here we have almost 1000 pupils and the classrooms are over-crowded.”
Attempts to get a comment from Dyasi were unsuccessful at the time of writing.
The deputy labour minister and head of the AmaHegebe tribe, Chief Phathekile Holomisa, blamed government officials saying: “They fail to update communities on government programmes. That is why some communities even resort to burning down schools.”
This was after he held a three-hour meeting with district education officials, teachers and Phangindlela parents in which he told them he had been informed by provincial education authorities that the school was scheduled to be rebuilt in the 2018/19 financial year.
A furious Holomisa said he was concerned that the department had failed to respond to correspondence written by parents complaining about the condition of the school.
School principal Simphiwe Goqwana said up to 95 pupils were crammed into some Phangindlela classes. Grade 9 pupil Mandisi Mhlontlo said sometimes five pupils were squashed into one desk.
Sadtu branch secretary in Mqanduli Wandile Ngceba blamed the department but told parents to “prioritise the future of their children”.
Provincial education spokesman Mali Mtima had not responded to questions at the time of writing. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Protesters call for upgrade of mud school
Phangindlela Junior Secondary School is about a kilometre from the centre of Maqomeni village and, with 950 pupils, overcrowding is a huge problem.
One of the oldest mud schools in the province, it was built in the 1940s. The only addition has been a block built in later years by the then Transkei government under president Kaizer Matanzima.
Yesterday, schooling went out the window as the parents and their children made their point outside the school gates.
They vowed that pupils would not sit for their June exams until they were given answers by the department’s district director in Mthatha, Temba Dyasi. They claimed he had promised them prefabs but had failed to deliver.
A contingent of armed police spent hours on the scene to ensure the protest did not turn violent.
Phangindlela’s school governing body chairwoman Mandisa Gcolotela told the Daily Dispatch they had been fed empty promises since 1994.
“We get jealous when we see schools around us like Upper Ngqungqu JSS and Mancam JSS being built and yet there are no children to get into those nicely-built classrooms.
“Here we have almost 1000 pupils and the classrooms are over-crowded.”
Attempts to get a comment from Dyasi were unsuccessful at the time of writing.
The deputy labour minister and head of the AmaHegebe tribe, Chief Phathekile Holomisa, blamed government officials saying: “They fail to update communities on government programmes. That is why some communities even resort to burning down schools.”
This was after he held a three-hour meeting with district education officials, teachers and Phangindlela parents in which he told them he had been informed by provincial education authorities that the school was scheduled to be rebuilt in the 2018/19 financial year.
A furious Holomisa said he was concerned that the department had failed to respond to correspondence written by parents complaining about the condition of the school.
School principal Simphiwe Goqwana said up to 95 pupils were crammed into some Phangindlela classes. Grade 9 pupil Mandisi Mhlontlo said sometimes five pupils were squashed into one desk.
Sadtu branch secretary in Mqanduli Wandile Ngceba blamed the department but told parents to “prioritise the future of their children”.
Provincial education spokesman Mali Mtima had not responded to questions at the time of writing. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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