Francesca Villette
SOME have waited nine months to be part of a formal class, and yesterday the hopes of 86 children were fulfilled in Dunoon.
But it was a bitter-sweet moment for some parents who could only watch as other pupils received a formal education while their children continued playing in an empty classroom.
Four teachers were appointed to teach pupils in grades 1 to 5 at a previously disused temporary school, which had recently been the centre of controversy after parents invaded it.
The land on which the temporary school stands had been leased by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) from the City to accommodate pupils while a new Sophakama Primary School was being built.
Sophakama was opened in June, and has 1 600 pupils and 32 classrooms.
There are 35 mobile classrooms at the temporary site, and when construction of the school was completed, the Sophakama pupils moved to the school and the mobile classrooms stayed empty.
Parents of about 133 pupils then invaded the unused school last month and demanded that their children be registered at schools in the area. The department recently announced that formal schooling would begin at the vacant facility.
Parent Nokubonga Tukani’s 14-year-old child is supposed to be in Grade 7. But because teachers were only provided for grades 1 to 5, she felt it was unfair that her child would still be without formal education.
“I am happy that things progressed and some pupils are receiving an education. But I am sad that my child was not accommodated,” Tukani said.
Gloria Gqobo takes care of her grandchild, who is in Grade 1.
While her grandchild was placed, she said she felt for parents of the Grade 6 and 7 pupils.
“I can’t be as happy as I would like to be, knowing that some parents are still struggling,” Gqobo said.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer’s spokesperson, Jessica Shelver, said that in the last registration drive, the WCED had six pupils who required placement in Grade 6 and 7.
“There was space for these pupils to be accommodated at Sophakama Primary School, and so the six pupils enrolled at (the school).
“Yesterday, our officials found that there were eight new pupils who needed to be placed in Grades 6 and 7. Our officials are working with Sophakama Primary School to place these pupils at the school as well,” Shelver said.
According to her, district and curriculum specialists have developed “catch-up” curriculum tasks to support the pupils.
An extensive resource document has also been compiled as a daily guide for teachers to direct and assist pupils where they need help.
“We will now assess each pupil individually to determine their level of functioning and possible backlogs to establish a baseline for departure,” Shelver said.
Yesterday, only 86 out of 113 pupils arrived at the mobile school.