School parents threaten to picket over fencing

If the Eastern Cape education department fails to build a fence around Inkqubela Primary School in Kwazakhele, parents plan to picket outside the department’s Port Elizabeth office on Friday.

The school has been a target of vandalism for years, leading parents to close the school on August 24, saying they did not believe it was safe for their children after vandals smashed windows and damaged the ceiling.

Parents then protested outside the school on September 15, demanding that toilet pipes be unblocked and a fence built around the school.

School governing body deputy secretary Zinzi Nyembezi said they had given the department a second chance after telling Nelson Mandela Bay education district director Ernest Gorgonzola to have the fence built by September 30.

“We also agreed as parents to play our part,” he said.

“We cleaned up the toilets.

“There was going to be a second tap to be added to the school as well.”

He said the department failed to meet their September 30 ultimatum, but had sent a plumber to fix the blocked pipes.

“However, that plumber left a hole he had dug open.

“This was meant for a tap and we last saw him on September 23, but an official came to check if the contractor had finished the job.

“We don’t want this school to be closed because we can’t afford to take our children to other schools.”

Department spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani said the district had prioritised the school in terms of the fencing.

“I have been assured that Inkqubela occupies priority attention in the Nelson Mandela Bay district.”

“The department is in the process of procuring services of a provider to implement the fencing at Inkqubela Primary School.”

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