Getting through a day of schooling is a dangerous exercise for 269 Mcheni Junior Primary pupils at Jence Village outside Tsolo.While these pupils occupy their dilapidated and rickety temporary mud structures, government has been accused of “gambling with the pupils’ lives” while what was supposed to be their new state-of-the-art R17-million school right next door to them, is literally sinking into the ground.
Mcheni Junior Primary pupils are accommodated in unwieldy structures consisting of mud and zinc hovels, that just needs a gust of wind or a thunderstorm to keel over. All this as the new school school sits incomplete right next door to them.
The multimillion rand school comprising five blocks, seven classrooms, a laboratory, administration block and kitchen was built over two years ago, but was abandoned when contractor, Demo Construction, left the site without finishing the project.
The contractor involved in the project, a Mr Motsamayi, did not answer calls or SMSes about the situation.
His phone was switched off.
The new school has sunk about 10cm into the earth and is unsafe to use, said angry parents, who lashed out at the government for “gambling” with the lives of their children.
The pupils are currently crammed into five small mud classrooms built by parents as far back as 1994.
Others are taught inside dark and poorly-ventilated zinc structures that were taken from the vacant site of the new school next door, and put together.
There are also no toilets and pupils are forced to run to the nearest dongas to relieve themselves. The school does not have taps or water tanks, and the only source of water for staff and pupils, is a dirty stream that runs alongside the school.
Large dongas have also developed around the school due to soil erosion.
Mcheni’s school governing body (SGB) chairman Thandabantu Mngesi showed a Daily Dispatch team, who visited the school on Wednesday a deep hole located near the classrooms, where one of the toilets used to be.
Mngesi described the situation at the school as “hell”.
“They told us to find an alternative site last year where a new school would be built after it was discovered that the one they were building was standing on unstable ground and was sinking,” he said.
“We did that and they said they would even provide temporary structures, but still today nothing has happened. Instead when we phone Bhisho, we are sent from pillar to post.” He said some of the young pupils often came back crying after encounters with snakes, while relieving themselves in the dongas at their mud school.
Parents believed many children had also developed rashes from drinking water from the stream.
“Our biggest fear is that there might be an outbreak of cholera here if they continue to drink that water,” Mngesi added.
Teachers at the school, including the principal, declined to comment when approached yesterday.
However, one teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some children vomited and others fainted in class due to extreme heat and poor ventilation.
Provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani reacted with shock at the news of the situation, saying the issue of Mcheni was an urgent matter which required the department’s immediate attention.
“I have referred it to our infrastructure planning department,” he said. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Residents’ sinking feeling over R17m school in Tsolo
While these pupils occupy their dilapidated and rickety temporary mud structures, government has been accused of “gambling with the pupils’ lives” while what was supposed to be their new state-of-the-art R17-million school right next door to them, is literally sinking into the ground.
Mcheni Junior Primary pupils are accommodated in unwieldy structures consisting of mud and zinc hovels, that just needs a gust of wind or a thunderstorm to keel over. All this as the new school school sits incomplete right next door to them.
The multimillion rand school comprising five blocks, seven classrooms, a laboratory, administration block and kitchen was built over two years ago, but was abandoned when contractor, Demo Construction, left the site without finishing the project.
The contractor involved in the project, a Mr Motsamayi, did not answer calls or SMSes about the situation.
His phone was switched off.
The new school has sunk about 10cm into the earth and is unsafe to use, said angry parents, who lashed out at the government for “gambling” with the lives of their children.
The pupils are currently crammed into five small mud classrooms built by parents as far back as 1994.
Others are taught inside dark and poorly-ventilated zinc structures that were taken from the vacant site of the new school next door, and put together.
There are also no toilets and pupils are forced to run to the nearest dongas to relieve themselves. The school does not have taps or water tanks, and the only source of water for staff and pupils, is a dirty stream that runs alongside the school.
Large dongas have also developed around the school due to soil erosion.
Mcheni’s school governing body (SGB) chairman Thandabantu Mngesi showed a Daily Dispatch team, who visited the school on Wednesday a deep hole located near the classrooms, where one of the toilets used to be.
Mngesi described the situation at the school as “hell”.
“They told us to find an alternative site last year where a new school would be built after it was discovered that the one they were building was standing on unstable ground and was sinking,” he said.
“We did that and they said they would even provide temporary structures, but still today nothing has happened. Instead when we phone Bhisho, we are sent from pillar to post.” He said some of the young pupils often came back crying after encounters with snakes, while relieving themselves in the dongas at their mud school.
Parents believed many children had also developed rashes from drinking water from the stream.
“Our biggest fear is that there might be an outbreak of cholera here if they continue to drink that water,” Mngesi added.
Teachers at the school, including the principal, declined to comment when approached yesterday.
However, one teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some children vomited and others fainted in class due to extreme heat and poor ventilation.
Provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani reacted with shock at the news of the situation, saying the issue of Mcheni was an urgent matter which required the department’s immediate attention.
“I have referred it to our infrastructure planning department,” he said. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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