LIMPOPO – The Public Servants Association (PSA) says the situation at the Benedict and Hope Centre Special School in Ga-Molepo, Mankweng, reflects little care by the Department of Education and is tantamount to discrimination against vulnerable learners.
PSA Limpopo Spokesperson, John Teffo told BONUS that they conducted an oversight visit to the school on 25 August and what they saw impacts the health and safety of learners.
“The school caters to learners with mental and physical disabilities, necessitating specialised care. This is, however, lacking as the environment is dirty and cleaning standards are poor. The school recently reopened without any disinfection taking place, exposing learners and employees to Covid-19 infection,” Teffo said.
He explained that the school’s boarding house has no ventilation as windows are welded and cannot be opened, and the congested facility caters for 100 learners with no possibility of social distancing.
“These learners are sharing two broken and often blocked toilets. The three showers are shared by 35 learners and the only washing machine and tumble dryer are not working, forcing cleaners to hand-wash clothes.
“The School Governing Body (SGB) is absent, leaving the school principal with unfettered power,” he said.
The PSA has since called on the MEC of Education, Polly Boshielo, to urgently intervene, as Teffo says the situation could result in loss of life.
BONUS approached some parents of the school for comment on the situation.
“When visiting my son, I noticed that the children are being bathed in zinc tubs, often, in cold water. Some of the caretakers at the school do not take good care of our children at the boarding house. It’s excruciating and painful to hear from other caretakers, who explain what really happens behind closed doors while we’re at work, thinking that our children are educated, safe, healthy and clean. Our children live in horror at the school,” she said.
The woman told BONUS how she once found learners in a classroom with no supervision during a random visit.
“I was told that the teachers would go home and leave the Gr 7 learners to supervise the younger grades and that these learners were also cooking over weekends as the kitchen staff were nowhere to be found,” she said.
“I don’t understand how this school operates because as a government school, the department should be able to provide. As parents, we have even been asked to clean the school premises as well,” she said.
An employee who opted to remain anonymous, said because of tall grass, there are snakes that roam the boarding house.
“Furthermore, these children are fed dinner at 15:00, with nothing for the rest of the evening as staff want to leave early. There is a school bus parked on the premises which is meant to collect learners from their homes everyday, but it has been stationary for a while. The only learners attending class are the ones from the boarding house while others are at home and even when they attend class, the children just watch TV and don’t get taught at all.”
Spokesperson for Education, Tidimalo Chuene commented that the District Director for the school, Tinyiko Nkuzana is fully aware of the situation and was disturbed by some of the challenges.
“Nkuzana met with members of the management team on 31 August to work on a plan to address internal problems. The plan will be monitored regularly until the situation improves. The boarding house facilities are no longer up to the preferred standard,” she said.
Chuene added that an infrastructure team visited the school to do an audit of the facilities and prepare a report on their findings. “This will comprehensively guide measures to be put in place to urgently address all identified concerns,” Chuene said.
