Cape Town - Decades after being promised that their prefabricated buildings would be converted into permanent structures pupils and parents at Kensington High School celebrated on Thursday when their new multimillion-rand buildings were officially opened by President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma, who was greeted by loud applause from pupils, said he was happy that the programme, which was initiated in 2011, was changing poor schools into schools that pupils wanted to go to.
“There remains a lot of work to be done still, but we derive satisfaction and encouragement from the fact that progress is being made to improve our schools and to build new schools so as to invest in the future of this country.”
He said children should be taught in a secure environment.
“This school is your ticket to a better future,” he told pupils.
The former so-called plankie school has had a makeover of more than R40 million and Zuma, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, Deputy Basic Education Minister Enver Surty, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, Education MEC Debbie Schäfer and other officials visited the new buildings on Thursday.
It includes a media centre, two computer laboratories with uncapped internet and facilities for the disabled.
The school’s buildings were replaced as part of the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative and 24 other Western Cape schools form part of the programme.
Zuma said that through the programme mud schools in the Eastern Cape were being replaced.
“Our children should be taught in decent schools. Our teachers should work in decent schools which are conducive to learning and teaching. It is for this reason that we have embarked on a programme to replace mud schools, plankie schools and all inappropriate structures.”
Grade 11 pupil Sinobomi Finlani told Zuma pupils would keep the school “in the best of conditions” for future generations.
“Words alone can’t express our immense gratitude.”
Principal Trevor Jacobs said the event was a historical moment for the school community, which had waited for almost 40 years to have their buildings replaced.
Last week, the new buildings of another Western Cape school that used to be housed in prefabricated buildings, Die Duine Primary in Lotus River, was also officially opened.
Cape Argus