Some parents blamed for Mphini school’s state
MPHINI - The Mphini Primary School Committee Chairman Muzi Dlamini, has admitted the mess in the learning institution.
This comes after some parents decried the condition of the school, accusing the current administration of failing to sort it out.
The parents, who banned the Head teacher, Nomsa Nkambule, from setting foot at the school, claimed that the current administration was refusing to approve meetings aimed at fixing the challenges faced by the institution.
The parents claimed that the challenges would have not lasted for this long had the administration allowed meetings as requested.
During a visit to the school, it appeared that it was in a seriously dilapidated condition.
Issues
Bheki Sikhondze, a member of the interim committee recently selected to deal with issues of the school, had revealed that the conditions were not conducive for learning. He said pupils were exposed to harsh weather as some broken window glasses had not been fixed for years.
Sikhondze shared that some classrooms did not have doors, exposing school property to danger. He also stated that the school was operating without a bell, resulting in the pupils hitting poles with stones during the break and lunch hour. He said the school was without a national flag. He also mentioned that there were no proper toilets, resulting in the teachers digging and building their own.
Indeed, some classrooms were found wide open as there were no doors. There were no window frames in some of the classrooms. Some windows had broken panes. New toilets supposedly built by the teachers were shown to this reporter. It was observed that some of the teachers’ houses were not in a good condition as some had beehives, while others had been abandoned. A swamp, which is a result of leaking water, was observed. A brick was placed on top of the tap to minimise leakage. Some of the veranda poles have marks as they serve as bells.
A maize tank was exposed to livestock which grazed in the school due to holes in the school fence and cow dung next to the maize tank was found.
Classrooms
Textbooks were found in some of the wide open classrooms. It was also observed that the furniture was broken in most of the classrooms. There were holes in the floors. Building material was kept along with textbooks in one of the classrooms.
Sikhondze and some parents were found in the school during the visit.
However, in an interview yesterday, Dlamini (Muzi), said the school committee and the Manzini Regional Education Office were working tirelessly in making sure that the condition of the school was brought to normal. He said efforts were let down by some committee members, who he claimed influenced parents to fight the administration. Dlamini said the main challenge was that some parents were perpetuating violence as opposed to engaging in peaceful meetings aimed at solving the problems affecting the school. He stated that the root cause of the differences among the committee was some parents’ refusal to pay E120 contributed towards the building of the new toilets.
Dlamini said the parents agreed on the amount during a meeting and that pupils’ report cards would be withheld if parents failed to pay. He said the division was caused when the school withheld report cards for those pupils whose parents had not paid. “Fighting each other will never be a solution but delay efforts to solve the challenges. Parents with influence from some of the committee members are fighting the administration as opposed to working towards finding a solution. Without expanding much on the issue, I must state that the situation would have not escalated to this far, had it not been for the influence and personalising the issues by some of the committee members,” he said. He stated that the situation was so volatile that the head teacher left the school after she was attacked by some parents, who held her hostage in her office.
Dlamini was asked why the challenges lasted for so long without being attended to. He was also asked about the committee’s initiatives when it took over. Dlamini was asked if he was happy about the prevailing situation as chairman.
Happy
In response, he said he was not happy and the truth of the matter was that the challenges were not new since they started many years before they were elected into office.
“I do not believe in mentioning people’s names but many people have tried and failed to solve the challenges. Our committee has tried all in its powers to improve the school,” Dlamini said.
Asked to at least point at one success of the committee, Dlamini stated that the school, in collaboration with Micro-Projects, had built new toilets and a new administration block. He said some residents were committed to seeing an improvement in the school.
Contributed
He made an example about the chief of the area, stating that he contributed a lot towards the construction of the administration block.
He said there were many projects in the pipeline.
“When you talk about developing schools, you need to understand that the money does not come from an individual’s pocket. You need to understand that every cent needs to be accounted for. We are trying to fix the challenges,” he said.
Asked why they did not prioritise the doors and windowpanes to protect the school property, Dlamini stated that everything was done step by step, depending on the aivalibility of funds.