KZN in race against time to ready classrooms

The education sector wasn’t spared from the rampant looting and destruction which tore through KwaZulu-Natal earlier this month, with more than 139 schools having been vandalised – some of which were razed to
the ground.

And with children across the country scheduled to return to class after their mid-year break on Monday, the province is now in a race against time to try and ensure they all have classrooms to return to.

Muzi Mahlambi – who speaks for the KZN education department – this week said his offices were working “around the clock” to have affected schools ready in time and that mobile classrooms would be provided if needed.

The provincial department is already squeezed, having suffered a R6.3 billion budget cut this year, and KZN education MEC Kwazi Mshengu has put the cost to repair damage in the millions.

But as National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) executive director Basil Manuel said this week, it’s crucial this is prioritised, especially against the backdrop of the current Covid pandemic.

“It’s extremely important that our schools are in shape to house children,” Manuel said,

“We know that two schools have been badly burnt. A number of others have had officeblocks burnt. But one of the things that jumps out for me is the number of school ablution facilities that were trashed.

“At last count, there were about 25 schools where they had smashed the toilets and the wash basins.”

He emphasised the need for adequate water and sanitation infrastructure in schools, especially with Covid a threat. Manuel also said the mental health of both teachers and pupils had to be considered. He pointed out that many of the affected schools were located on city borders or in townships and were predominantly black.

“Many of the children and teachers are from the same areas where this unrest happened. So we’re sending them back into buildings that bare the scars of that trauma for them,” he said.

A Durban-based teacher, who spoke to The Citizen on condition of anonymity, said while her school had not been affected, there had been concerns, especially on the back of the disruptions that have already been affected as a result of Covid.

And for those children whose classrooms have been completely destroyed, Wayne Hugo, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Education said mobile classrooms – and mobile toilets, where needed – were the preferred short-term solution.

He didn’t believe the state was in a position to be able to provide effective online education for all pupils, the only alternative.

But he cautioned against letting these temporary interventions become permanent, as has happened in the past where mobile toilets and container classrooms have been used for years.