School’s donated facility not secured

Parents at Ncipizeni Junior Secondary near Corhana outside Mthatha say the department of education has failed to live up to its 2008 pledge to have the school fenced and secured.

School governing body chairperson Lindile Mabi said, as a result, the school had been hit by vandalism and theft.

“We have been writing and visiting the department but to this day nothing has happened and instead we just get told the budget is not enough,” he said.

In 2006, the Daily Dispatch reported that business tycoon Sisa Ngebulana undertook a R2m project to build the school 10 top-notch classrooms, an administration block, hall, library and a computer laboratory.

This was to replace the ramshackle, overcrowded school building.

Mabi said during the handover ceremony, the department was invited and pledged to fence the school.

“Ngebulana was willing to fence the school but at the event he was reassured by a representative that the department, in gratitude for Ngebulana’s effort, would fence the school. But this has never happened,” said Mabi.

Mabi said food for the pupils, cleaning equipment and computers donated by Ngebulana were some of the items that had been stolen.

Department spokesperson Mali Mtima said the department’s priority for the current financial year was to finalise the construction of more than 800 schools – mostly mud structures that needed to be urgently eradicated.

“As a result we have decided to stall all other projects until next financial year because we are also faced with the challenge of about 400 disaster-hit schools and often in these cases the schools need a complete infrastructure overhaul,” Mtima said.