Johannesburg - The first day of the 2016 academic year started with district offices scrambling to accommodate late applicants, furniture shortages in schools and hundreds of children left stranded outside an unfinished new school.
Excitement that had punctuated the early morning rush turned to disappointment and agitation as hundreds of children who were due to start school at Ormonde Primary in the south of Joburg arrived to a notice indicating lessons will start only in two weeks time.
It read: “Due to the fact that the school has no municipal water connection and no toilets, it’s the decision of the governing body to close the school at 10am on Wednesday and then keep the school closed until January 25, 2016.”
Just like that, the little ones, dressed in their brand new uniforms, shiny shoes and carrying backpacks with stationery for “big school”, had to go back home.
undefinedWhile some parents left, scores more camped outside the principal’s office, demanding answers as their children played on the lawn, oblivious to the seriousness of the situation.
“It is very disappointing and I really hope that they find a solution soon because I have to return to work and there will be no one to look after my child,” said Themba Poza, who was even more enraged by the fact that no attempt was made to inform parents ahead of time that the school would be able to open only at the end of the month.
These sentiments were echoed by another parent, Virginia Makhitha, who said the school’s failure to open on time had dampened her daughter’s spirits as she had been excited to start her first day of Grade 1.
Makhitha, who was on Wednesday part of the meeting at the school with education officials, school governing body members and parents, said a solution to the school’s water problems needed to be found soon, as she and other parents were not willing to wait for two weeks for classes to begin.
Following a meeting with the school management team later in the day, Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said it had been resolved that the school would open on Wednesday, with 20 executive flushable toilets to be delivered there.
Lesufi said the department also had approval to install septic tanks to connect main toilets for the pupils to use.
But by 8pm on Wednesday, one of the parents phoned by The Star had not been made aware of the new developments.
Other glitches were experienced in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, where Lesufi unveiled the new Chief Albert Luthuli Primary School, which he calls “the school of the future”.
Read: New Gauteng school cost R92.9m
However, its sister school - Chief Albert Luthuli Primary 1 - was nothing to be proud of.
Unlike the new school, the other school doesn’t have a phone line or internet connection.
The DA’s Michele Clarke said that when she visited the school, which was opened in 2013, she discovered it was overcrowded. “Introducing paperless classrooms to Daveyton is commendable, but there is little point in spending R92 million on one school when others in the area are without the infrastructure they most need,” she said.
Lesufi has said the department was short of 300 641 chairs and 250 000 desks, but they had been procured and would be sent to schools.
Speaking at the opening of Chief Albert Luthuli Primary School on Wednesday, he said all new schools in the province would be built in a similar way.
He noted: “We are doing away with those traditional building of schools where it’s just two blocks and everyone can just walk into the school premises.
“With this school, we are taking a larger chunk of space and separating Grade R from the higher grades.”
He said Grade 7 pupils at the school had a paperless classroom instead of traditional teaching methods.
They were given laptops on Wednesday. The school has a sports field, a community hall and a nutrition centre.
The school was opened by Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.
Another sore point in the province is Roodepoort Primary School, west of Joburg, where on Monday, 15 black teachers started reporting at the district office, instead of at the school, citing security concerns.
This followed last year’s violent clashes between teachers and parents who were against the appointment of a new principal.
Lesufi said that through the Funza Lushaka bursary scheme database, the department had found 11 replacement teachers for the school as the old teachers were not willing to go back.
On what action would be taken against them, Lesufi said: “We just need to check if it’s misconduct and then we’ll be able to deal with these issues.”
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By midday, parents gathered outside the school to pick up Grade R and Grade 1 pupils, who finish earlier than the other grades.