Durban - The notice of disconnection of electricity has placed a Chatsworth primary school principal - and dozens of others - in a "catch-22" situation.
She now has to decide whether to pay her school’s outstanding utility bill of R75000, cram over 50 pupils in a classroom or tell teachers employed by the SGB to go.
“Our school caters for children mainly from impoverished, single-parent or child-headed homes. We provide them with uniforms, shoes, stationery, meals and grocery hampers.
“At a recent meeting with the city and its stakeholders, principals explained their struggles.
“The truth is, we just don’t have enough funds coming into the schools.”
She said their school received R25000 a year from the Department of Education.
“That amount does not cover half of our costs for the year. We have to purchase textbooks, furniture, pay the telephone bills and utility bill, which is normally between R5000 to R7000 a month.
“We also have to employ a cleaner and a security guard, which are both not provided by the department. We also pay SGB employed teachers, so that the children are not crammed into a single class.”
Many pupils, she added, were exempt from paying school fees, which cost R900 a year.
“We hope the department and municipality can reach a resolution that will not violate our children’s basic rights.”
A fellow Chatsworth primary school principal said her school had been without electricity for a week after the mayor’s decision to disconnect those who are in arrears.
“We were affected for about a week and we could not print worksheets or tests and access our work email. Fortunately since the meeting, our electricity has been reconnected.”
She said the department needed to allocate more money to schools - to help ease their monthly bills.
“Government should be paying for lights and water. If not, then they should increase the amount they give us every year,” she said.
An Avoca Hills primary school principal said they were recently forced to pay R25000 for their electricity to be reconnected.
He added that Section 21 schools were faced with many challenges.
“Although we receive some funding from the government, it does not cover all the costs, especially the utility bills. Many of our pupils are from informal areas and are exempt from paying school fees.
“Since the disconnection and having to pay R25 000, I have been left with barely any funds to use for the pertinent needs of the school.”
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