‘New classrooms needed, not a patch job’
WHILE repair work will get under way at Pinedene Primary, Ravensmead, in mid-March, according to the provincial education department, representatives of the school say it really needs 13 new classrooms and a school hall.
For the past week, teaching had taken place place outside under trees as the school was falling apart, said School Governing Body chairperson Randall Botha.
He said cracks in the walls were so bad in parts that he feared a total collapse of the building.
Yet provincial education department spokesperson Millicent Merton said that an engineer had inspected the school building last week and deemed the structure safe.
Botha said: “This is about 13 classrooms with cracks so severe that asbestos is seeping through. About 50 pupils and their teachers work outside because their safety cannot be guaranteed. The school needs new classrooms and a school hall urgently.”
On Monday, parents received notices that their children had been moved for their own safety and the problematic area had been cordoned off with tape.
Botha said the school had communicated with the department on the issue for the past two years.
SA Democratic Teachers’ Union provincial chairperson Jonovan Rustin said it was in breach of teachers’ conditions of employment to teach outside.
Rustin said if the situation was not addressed properly, the union would have to file a dispute on behalf of its members.
“Teachers cannot provide instruction outside a classroom. This also affects the well-being of the pupils. The department must give clear timelines and if the pupils’ safety is in question, they must be placed in an alternative school or temporary classrooms must be provided,” Rustin added.
PRACTISING safe sex came under the spotlight yesterday as the world celebrated International Condom Day.
The Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) used the day to promote safe sex through the use of condoms in an entertaining and creative way. Its theme for the day, aimed at encouraging people to protect themselves while having sex, was “Safer is Fun”.
AHF South Africa country programme director Hilary Thulare said: “We fight HIV and Aids every day, and prevention remains a major focus. We can win the war on Aids if more people stay (HIV) negative.
“AHF South Africa is so committed to the effectiveness of condoms in preventing new HIV infections that in 2018 alone we distributed over 5 000 000 Love and Icon condoms at AHF clinics, and supported sites, road shows, campaigns and events along with governments and international agencies.
“Using condoms can be both fun and sexy. Contrary to the popular belief that condom-wearing reduces sexual pleasure, it has been shown that wearing a condom prolongs an erection.” This year marked the rolling out of the largest number of events on International Condom Day in the AHF’s 32-year history.
AHF regional policy and advocacy manager Larissa Klazinga said: “Our message about condoms is simple: they are the cheapest way to protect against HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and they prevent unplanned pregnancies and have far fewer side-effects than other forms of contraception or prevention. Use a condom every time you have sex and use it correctly, because they make sex 10 000 times safer.”
The AHF is one of the world’s largest non-profit healthcare organisations, and has been fighting to rid the world of HIV and Aids since 1987. It provides medical care and services to more than a million individuals in 43 countries worldwide. Of those people, 500 000 are from the 13 African nations it serves.