Almost two years after the Department of Education promised to build a new school for Dundee Junior Secondary learners, the school now lies in ruins on Oldacre Street.
When the 600 or so learners were moved out of the old premises in June last year, and temporary classrooms set up at the department’s offices in Forestdale, vandals and vagrants moved in.
Appeals from parents and the community to the department to install security measures went seemingly unheard. First, the roofing was stolen, followed swiftly by the window frames, doors and electrical cabling. The department has still not responded to queries about why the school was allowed to be systematically demolished.
Dr Imran Keeka, then DA Shadow Minster for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, visited the school in May this year and expressed concern that a public facility such as a school was allowed to be ‘totally destroyed’.
Vandals then resorted to smashing down the school’s walls and now only one column remains among the rubble and litter left behind by the vandals. SAPS officials have also stated the site is now a favourite hang out for drug peddlers.
The rationale behind removing learners from the school was due to safety concerns, after parents complained of snakes ‘invading’ the classrooms and the toilets being in an unhygienic condition.
Watch below for a video highlighting the school’s descent into decay:
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