Schools closed down by Labour while Education underspends

Some closed schools include Ratjeke Primary School in Bolobedu and Mbetana Primary School in Sedan village among many others. The most recent to be closed is Matsambu Primary School in Nkuri village in Giyani. The school was found not to be compliant with the OHS Act 85 of 1993 as amended, which specifies that if the state of the building threatens the health or safety of persons, then the building should be prohibited with immediate effect from being occupied or continued to be used in terms of Section 30 of the Act.

“Most classrooms at Matsambu did not have doors and windows and students were exposed to weather elements. The floors, walls, and roof were all not in a good condition. The school had two separate toilet buildings for male and female learners. The urinals were all broken and missing. Most of the toilet seats were damaged and not in good overall condition,” explained Lerato Mashamba, Deal spokeswoman. One of the schools which caused a media outcry earlier this year is Ratjeke after parents of the learners took their children out of school due to the dangerous conditions at the school.

Also read: Ratjeke receives two mobile classrooms after intervention

About 238 learners were forced to attend classes outside, due to the life-threatening structural conditions. They told the Herald at the time that the reason they refused to allow their children to attend classes, is they were concerned about their safety. “The school was built in 1976 by our parents with mud bricks. Since then the school has never been renovated. Some of the walls have caved in and we had three incidents where rotten planks fell on the floor,” said Mashohla Nkwana, a parent and leader in the community. In June the school received mobile classes after the Democratic Alliance, visited the MEC of Basic Education’s office requesting they provide the institution with temporary shelter.

Also read: School partially closed after inspection

A whole block of classes in Mbetana based in Sedan outside Letsitele is still prohibited for use after Deal deemed it unsafe for use. Four months down the line nothing has changed, forcing learners to be squashed into the available classrooms. News24 recently reported that the provincial Department of Basic Education underspent R523.3 million in the 2021/2022 financial year. The money which was returned to the treasury could have helped with the structural problems which the schools have. Mike Maringa, media liaison officer at the Department of Basic Education, told the Herald that he could not get hold of the infrastructure unit to explain the infrastructural challenges in the province.