Cape Town - Irate parents at Portland Primary School in Mitchells Plain have described the school’s 43-year-old building as a ‘ticking time bomb’ that could collapse at any time.
Safety concerns over the dire state were allegedly flagged as far back as 2012 and again last year, after a pupil was injured while walking up steps.
Some classroom walls are cracked and windows are missing, while five sets of steps at the school are cracked or splitting.
Pupils have to constantly be cautious.
Frustrated parents protested outside the school on Thursday, with many claiming no learning will take place until the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) treated the matter with urgency.
A parents and education activist, Ezra Williams, questioned whether the department was waiting for a tragedy to happen before attending to the hazardous defects.
“What made parents reach this boiling point is that the department cannot give time frames to when exactly alternative facilities such as mobiles will be available.
“In a meeting on Wednesday night parents were informed that 13 units or mobiles will be given to the school, but this doesn’t make sense because the department is expected to close 18 classrooms.
“This means there will be overcrowding in some classrooms.
“The safety problem concerns the entire school, it’s a ticking time bomb.
“If the school was in the suburban areas the problem would have long been solved.
“The building was condemned in 2012.
“Since then, no action has been taken to prevent the inevitable,” said Williams.
Another parent called for the WCED to be held accountable, saying their children were still recovering learning time lost from rotational timetables and the return of this would cause more problems.
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said following a visit by senior WCED officials, a block of 18 classrooms will be cordoned off to mitigate risk.
“This follows an assessment by a forensic engineer that four of these classrooms were deemed to be a risk.
“The WCED has recommended the placement of additional mobile units at the school as a short-term solution.
“The school will implement a rotating timetable for some grades while the mobiles are being procured and constructed.
“The district will be supporting the school with the learner resource packs for additional support.
“Learners whose parents are unable to have their children at home during the rotation period will be accommodated at the school and supervised,” said Hammond.
When the Cape Times asked when the mobile classrooms were expected, Hammond said: “I cannot say at this stage.
“The process has begun, however, it is dependent on a variety of factors.
“We are prioritising the matter.”
Sadtu provincial secretary Jonavon Rustin said they were unaware of the situation and would immediately investigate.
Parents for Equal Education SA (Peesa) founder, Vanessa Le Roux said: “I am glad that the SGB and parents took a decision to place the safety of their children first, the WCED is violating the rights of learners to be educated in a safe environment, and that is totally unacceptable.”
ANC provincial spokesperson on education, Khalid Sayed said the WCED should bow in shame and an alternative accommodation be provided as a matter of urgency.
Cape Times