Betty Moleya
Learning at Lotus Gardens Secondary School in Pretoria has been suspended for the remainder of the week after parents and the residents demanded mobile classrooms.
The action followed complaints on the safety of learners at the school, which has falling ceilings, leaking roofs and no doors, some toilets not working, one water tap and a classroom that collapsed six years ago.
According to parents, the institution is a far cry from its former glory when it recorded outstanding results.
“The school has about 1 400 learners and only six mobile classrooms are being assembled,” one parent said outside the school yesterday.
The parents blame the mismanagement of funds at the school for the unsafe infrastructure.
Parent Shai Mogano said that the school was declared unsafe by engineers.
“Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi came here and agreed that the school will be fixed and mobile classrooms will be provided.
“We asked for 40 mobile classrooms and they promised us a report before the end of the week. Nothing has been said.
“We have also spoken to the principal about the report,”she said, adding that they had tried all channels and there was no feedback."
Mogano said that it has been a month of no learning at the school, and there were no textbooks given to the learners.
“Learners come to the school, but are taught under trees, some in the assembly area, and were dismissed by 12 o’clock everyday,”added Mogano.
His concern was the sanitation at the school with the new mobiles being provided.
“The new mobile classrooms have toilets, that means our children will need to go back to the unsafe toilets inside the school.”
Shahid Ismail, another parent, also said that the poor condition of the school was the result of ongoing mismanagement.
“The problem started way back, there has always been mismanagement at this school.
“The unsafe infrastructures at this school is not the only problem. There is also a shortage of teachers at the school,” said Ismail.
Parents said that it had been a 15-year battle, with them sending multiple reports to the Gauteng Department of Education, and each year engineers sent to assess the school, yet there has been no feedback on those reports.
Learners said that they were worried about getting into unruly behaviour and activities because of not attending school, as they have time on their hands.
Yesterday, six mobile classrooms were being assembled in the school’s sports ground, and the parents and community said that they were promised that the mobile classrooms would be erected in two days.
Steve Mabona, spokesperson of Gauteng Department of Education, said they were aware about disruptions at the school, “and we assure that we will attend to all structural challenges at the school”.
“However, in the interim we have delivered mobile units to alleviate the pressure and continue with teaching and learning.
“We appeal to the community not to disrupt schooling,” said Mabona.
Pretoria News