Ormonde School closes on its first day
A disappointment SGB was forced to close the school due to poor sanitation and a lack of books and textbooks. Parents of over 700 learners said they were disappointed by the Department of Education.
ORMONDE: Hundreds of pupils from the newly built Ormonde Primary School returned home with their parents on the first day of school, following the school governing body’s decision to lock the gates, due to poor sanitation and a lack of books.
The school was expecting over 700 learners and was supposed to officially open this morning, Wednesday, January 13, since construction commenced in 2014.
Today was supposed to be a day the teachers and parents will forever remember as the official day the school started teaching.
It is, however, alleged that the school does not have a municipal account, hence there is no electricity and the toilets and taps are not connected to a municipal drainage system.
Chairman of the SGB, Teddy Nair, said: “The department brought a generator and 20 mobile toilets to the school, but those toilets are not safe for the children, because they do not lock and the small ones could fall in.
”Also, we are still waiting for books; we need the department to start delivering so teachers can start teaching.”
Nair informed the COURIER that they communicated these challenges to the Department of Education on various occasions, but nothing was done to address the problems.
The response from MEC Lesufi Panyaza’s office will be published in the next edition of the Southern COURIER. Get a copy to read the department’s side of the story.
