R12m upgrade for city Struggle school

AN UNUSED section of Arcadia Senior Secondary in Bonteheuwel will be stripped to the brick, while the section where teaching still takes place will be upgraded, said the provincial education department.

Former pupils this week took to social media to express their shock at the condition of the building, with one saying the school was pivotal in the Struggle.

“I hope the government renovates it to its former glory,” said a Facebook post.

Another user said the school has been vandalised badly over the past few years and was set on fire by pupils.

“Truly sad. The school is, however, undergoing a full renovation over the next year,” said the person.

Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said pupil numbers meant the building did not need to be utilised.

They were investing in an upgrade of the school site that was in use as part of its scheduled maintenance programme, and works were under way, Hammond said.

“As part of the current/ planned work, the vacant (not in use) buildings will be stripped to the brick work (the removal of any existing roofs /windows) so to avoid further vandalism on the site.

“Should a need for additional classroom space arise in the future, the upgrading of the stripped buildings will be considered.

“However, at this stage, the learner numbers do not require this,” Hammond said.

It will cost R12 million for the upgrading, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Hammond said.

Work on the building being used includes the removal of existing roof cover; new profile metal sheeting roofs; and unblocking of sewerage and or stormwater subsurface reticulation.

SA Democratic Teacher’s Union provincial secretary Jonavon Rustin said materials used to build schools in the 1970s and ’80s had not been able to withstand the times, especially if it had not been maintained as it should.

He urged the department to beef up security at the school.