Some children passed Grade VII at home, no high school
BULEMBU – Imagine attending primary school for seven years, write the final examinations, pass, only to be told you cannot proceed to high school.
This is the plight of some children in Bulembu, about 19 kilometres from Pigg’s Peak.
At least 20 children have no option but to remain at home as they cannot continue to Form I despite having passed Grade VII. These are pupils who completed Grade VII at Dudusi Nazarene Primary School, which is situated in Bulembu.
Every year, it is a norm for children who passed Grade VII to be enrolled in high school so that they can continue with their education. Though some schools prefer top performers, head teachers often state that they take in pupils on a first-comefirst-serve basis.
However, this is not the case for the children who are now scattered around a community known as Malandalahle in Bulembu. The children are not able to continue with high school because the nearest schools are about 20 kilometres away in Pigg’s Peak. These are Pigg’s Peak Central High (PCH) School and Mhlatane High School.
GHOST TOWN
Bulembu is mostly considered a ghost town because it does not have many facilities such as shops, or public hospitals and transport there is unreliable due to the poor road that leads in and out of the area.
According to one of the parents, his child had been at home since 2021. He said this was because there was no school willing to take him and the only schools available were those further than 30 kilometres. He said it was impossible for his child to travel every day to school as it would require the use of buses on different routes.
More parents expressed concern about their children not being able to find places in some of the schools. They said this was not right because it was as if their children were only meant to attain primary education and that secondary school was not for them.
They also said there was an old school which was closed when the Havelock Mine in Bulembu shut its operation. This is still the nearest school but all that remained were damaged structures and it would require renovation.
Meanwhile, the head teacher at Dudusi Nazarene was called to seek answers on the future of the children who had been failing to enrol for Form I but her cellphone rang unanswered. The Chairperson of the school, Sipho Dvuba, was also called but there was no response from his cellphone.
The Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Training Bhekithemba Gama said this situation called for an assessment of the need for a high school in the area. She said the ministry would need to send the regional education officer (REO) to assess the situation.