Cape Town - There was a mad scramble by the Western Cape Education Department to find a building in which to teach pupils from Scottsdene Secondary School, after the Eerste River community foiled the department’s plan to accommodate them temporarily at a new primary school in the area.
The department planned to accommodate the pupils from the high school at the newly-built primary school that was completed last month and is only due to open next year.
On Monday however, Eerste River parents said they did not want the school used as they had waited a long time for it to be built.
They blockaded the entrance to the school as pupils from the high school were to be bussed in to start using it.
MEC for Education Debbie Schafer said the department was saddened that the Eerste River community denied the Scottsdene pupils the chance to use the school.
“I am disheartened at how some of these community members have opposed this temporary measure in such an uncaring manner, given that the school building is standing vacant and it is for the benefit of young learners in the Western Cape.”
The plan was to have the Scottsdene pupils use the school for the remaining school terms while prefabricated classrooms were installed at the high school.
The protest by the parents had led the education department to hurry the setup along.
“Public Works has undertaken to fast-track the installation of mobile classrooms at Scottsdene Secondary School, with work
starting on 12 classrooms on the school’s parking lot this week. Meanwhile, contractors have started civil works on the school’s sports fields to accommodate a further 14 mobile classrooms. Public Works expects that it will take about three weeks to install these 14 classrooms.”
She added that there had been consultations with the Eerste River community and the interim school governing body to discuss the temporary relocation.
“I also invited members of the interim SGB to meet with me to discuss the planned relocation and how it would greatly benefit learners from Scottsdene. They rejected this offer.
“The members of the community stated that they did not want learners from Scottsdene Secondary School to occupy the new school building for various reasons.”
Eerste River parent Ron Martin said one of the reasons was that the community had been waiting for years to have a primary school in their area.
“Our kids have to go to Forest Heights Primary School and have to cross a busy highway to get to school and, in the 17 years that I have been living here, there have been 11 fatalities.”
He said residents did not want their kids going to a school that was damaged but rather one that was unused.
“They need it because they virtually trashed their school. The kids there run riot and who knows how they will use this school.”
Aside from those two reasons, he said residents were unhappy as they were not consulted about he plan, saying it was “done behind closed doors”.
Ward councillor for the Forest Village area, Gordon Thomas, said he received a call from the provincial government that it had found a “plan B” for the pupils.
He said Eerste River parents felt “sorry for the pupils” but did not want a “second-hand school”.
Scottsdene principal Karel Cupido said: “We are working hard to find alternative accommodation for the pupils.”
Cape Argus