Snakes at school
“Principal not using funds for structural repairs”
High school pupils at a Limpopo village have to use cardboard boxes as desks as the dilapidated structure that was built by the community 40 years ago is falling apart around them.
Kgothatso Seapela, 18, uses wire to tie up his desk together to make it steady.
“I sometimes fall during lessons because this desk is unstable,” he said.
The Raphatlha High School at Sefihlampyana village in Senwabarwana has holes in the walls that even small animals can fit through.
Mangala Monnye, a 19-year-old Grade 9 pupil who sits next to a cracked wall, said he was wary of the wall but there was no other space to move to.
“When it rains we are in trouble as classrooms become waterlogged due to the leaking roofs,” said Monnye.
The windows are also broken and many have no handles.
The school, with the enrolment of 253 pupils in grades eight to 12, was built in 1978 by the community. The miserable looking school serves the villages of Sefihlampyana, Inveraan and Danzight.
Limpopo education department spokesman Sam Makondo said they had summoned the principal of the school to explain why the money for norms and standards was not used.
“Maintenance of the school should be done through the use of the norms and standards money. We have discovered that that money has not been spent and we want the principal to come and explain,” Makondo said.
He said it was not acceptable that the school can deteriorate to such levels “while schools are getting monies for norms and standards”.
Norms and standards in education are policy-driven objectives through which the department seeks to facilitate the achievement of conducive teaching and learning environment at schools.
During the visit to the school, apart from the cracking walls and floors, Sowetan also noticed old and broken furniture and other equipment. The desks and chalkboards are in unusable conditions.
Moloko Modiba, a parent, said it was painful for them as the community to see their children attending school under such hazardous conditions.
Even more dangerous for the pupils are snakes, which are a menace to them, according to Rodney Ngoepe, who is in Grade 11. He said a snake fell from the roof during a lesson on Tuesday.
“We are not safe at this school. We just attend because we have no other alternative,” the 21-year-old Ngoepe said.
School governing body member Erica Makobela said it was high risk for the pupils and teachers to use the structure.
“The department has deserted our children by allowing them to attend school under these conditions. It’s really a disaster,” said Makobela.
The school’s principal, Harrison Ntjana, refused to comment.