Joy as new classrooms opened at Victoria Primary
PUPILS at Victoria Primary School in Tongaat sang with gusto on Friday morning during a ribbon cutting ceremony to thank the Divine Life Society of South Africa for building four new classrooms.
The addition means the school can now enrol more pupils.
Principal Lajeeth Maharaj said during apartheid they were supplied with prefab classrooms which over the years had suffered wear and tear and were no longer conducive to teaching.
Despite trying to maintain the structures, he said it had become impossible to teach in a 60-year-old prefab structure.
Desperate to ensure his pupils received the best education in the best environment, he wrote to the society requesting help.
A few weeks later, members of the society arrived at the premises to evaluate the conditions, eager to bring about positive change.
“Due to us being a school of choice in Tongaat, we start registration in October but we need to be mindful of enrolment numbers.”
The school has 800 pupils with 35 classrooms.
Each grade has three units and with the new classrooms Maharaj said they could enrol an additional 200 pupils for Grade 1 next year.
The society, which invested R1 million on the project, also built four toilets.
The society’s Mawalall Chatrooghoon said their philosophy was to help uplift society. “We want to improve the quality of education in underprivileged communities,” he said.
The society’s school building project started in 1987 and has helped almost 600 schools.
It is focused on building crèches in rural areas.
A representative of the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Selvan Chetty, said the community needed to work hand in hand to have a literate nation.
“With organisations such as the Divine Life Society, it’s possible and we’re honoured to have such kind souls.”