Fed up with constant burglaries at their school, Funulwazi Primary School in NU2 in Mdantsane is demanding security guards, cleaners and groundsmen as provided at former Model C schools.
School governing body (SGB) members, pupils and parents marched to the department of education on Wednesday and handed over a memorandum of demands.
SGB chair Simphiwe Mkile said the school was burgled every month and expensive equipment and food was stolen.
“Not a single month goes by without them [thugs] breaking into our school. We still have a gaping hole in the admin block ceiling from the last break-in,” said Mkile.
Sections of the school’s wire fence was missing, apparently stolen by community members.
Among the group’s demands were that high-quality fencing be put up around the school.
Holding placards, the 505 pupils walked to Sisa Dukashe Stadium, about 200m from the school, where they handed over the memorandum to Buffalo City Metro chief education specialist Edgar Katshaza.
Mkile said the school had merged in 2018 with a smaller school that was closed due to the provincial government’s rationalisation programme, increasing its enrolment.
However, Mkile said the supply of resources, including learner teacher support material (LTSM), did not increase.
As a result, the SGB had called on the department of education to investigate the LTSM funds provided to the school.
The SGB and parents gave the department seven days to reply.
Katshaza said he would present the memorandum at a senior managers meeting on Monday.
“Soon after the meeting, we will give a reply,” he said.
lMatrics at a Lusikisiki school have yet to start writing their final exams after a group of angry second-chance matric programme pupils assaulted the school’s deputy principal and torched the school’s admin block on Wednesday morning.
The pupils at Ndaliso Senior Secondary boycotted writing their first exam on Tuesday in protest over the set-up of their exams.
According to the department of basic education, second- chance candidates are given multiple exam opportunities to write their exams over a two- year period.
However, the 232 pupils on Tuesday refused to write their exams over a two-year period, demanding they get to complete all their exams in 2018.
The protest resulted in the English paper one exam being withdrawn on Tuesday.
Provincial education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said attempts to defuse situation on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
The pupils then continued with the protest on Wednesday and set the school’s admin block alight.
“In a meeting, a group of these pupils agreed to write their examinations as of Wednesday, while the other group remained hell-bent and wanted to disrupt all agreed-upon issues,” Mtima said.
However, he said Wednesday’s accounting exam paper was also not written due to the protesting pupils.
This has affected the school’s 350 grade 12 pupils registered for the National Senior Certificate exams.
Mtima said the school’s admin block was torched at about 6am and police were called to the scene to monitor the situation.
The blaze broke out while an official from the department, SGB members, pupils and community members were locked in a meeting trying to work out a solution.
“The meeting, according to the district manager, will help evaluate the situation and map out a way forward.
“Police have been called to ensure state property, educators and pupils are protected from these vicious attacks by the protesters.
“During the protest, the pupils also assaulted the deputy principal,” said Mtima.
Mtima said pupils had also demanded that the school give them new grade 11 report cards, stating that they had passed all subjects in 2017, although they had failed.
Education department acting head Ray Tywakadi called for calm at the school...