Agricultural school to help feed broader community

THE newly launched Clarkebury Agricultural High School in Engcobo will bring much-needed relief to the local community as it will create jobs and food for the area.

These were the words of school principal Ayanda Mathayana, speaking yesterday at the relaunch of Clarkebury as an agricultural school.

“I want to thank the department of education for giving us the equipment we need to teach our pupils the practical side of agriculture.

“We are going to sell the products that we produce here to the community, and some will be hired to work in the school,” said Mathayana.

He said the school used to have agricultural science as a subject, but pupils are now doing agricultural management practice and are exposed to all careers in agriculture.

Chief director in the office of the education superintendent-general, Dr Soyisile Nuku, said as the department they were trying to make one of the government’s commitments, fighting poverty, more practical.

“If our agricultural schools are teaching pupils theory alone, they will not succeed in fulfilling our mandate. Hence we decided to give the school all the necessary equipment for them to do practicals,” he said.

Nuku said they would provide all the agricultural schools all the equipment they need.

Chief provincial specialist Thozamile Binase said the school would produce fresh, nutritious food for pupils, and also help pupils pursue careers in agriculture.

“The community will benefit from this through the skills transfer, and it will also help introduce locals to new and innovative methods of farming,” he said.

Binase said the school would also benefit from a supply of agricultural equipment, animals and financial support from the department to ensure its success.

“There are 13 agricultural schools in the Eastern Cape, which are aimed at rural development. We are also launching here the marching drill to help with the problem of discipline in our schools,” he said.

Binase said since the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools, pupils had become unruly.

“We decided to introduce this marching drill, working together with the police and the South African Defence Force,” he said. —