E Cape schools in dire straits – AG

Pupils suffer as millions spent on overtime, external consultants

AHORRIBLE picture of the state of collapsing infrastructure in some provincial schools, including those where children with special needs attend, has been painted by the provincial auditor(AG) Sithembele Pieters’ office.

In a report submitted to the Bhisho legislature recently, the AG’s office laments poor infrastructure in some schools they had visited, while it also reveals that the provincial education department “did not have a policy on the maintenance of infrastructure in schools”.

The Saturday Dispatch reported that 340 schools were still made from mud, and that only 182 schools had been built to replace mud structures – at a cost of R7.9-billion spent out of a special Accelerated School Infrastructure Development Initiative national budget of R11billion.

The AG’s report presented to the legislature’s education portfolio committee, reveals that 40% of schools visited recently had adverse findings on water, while 60% of their toilets were not conducive for use, and electricity at 30% of the schools, was not up to scratch.

The report comes after the AG’s team visited various schools across the province, including those in rural and urban areas.

During their oversight sojourn, the team found crumbling buildings, broken windows, overflowing toilets, leaking and collapsing roofs, dangerously exposed electric wires, and hundreds of children falling sick as a result of illnesses caused by bad sanitation in some provincial schools.

The AG’s report states that at 65% of the schools they had visited, infrastructure was found to be ina and this badly affected learning and teaching in those schools.

At Efata school for the blind and deaf in Mthatha, the AG found that the flooring was dangerous as parts of the floor no longer had tiles and this tripped pupils up.

They also found leaking roofs and pipes which are said to be damaging the physical infrastructure.

At St Thomas school for the deaf outside King William’s Town, it was found that the zinc roof sheeting had not been adequately maintained.

“Rust and corrosion have resulted in water entering many buildings and causing significant damage to ceilings, while, on the other hand, the school has been closed from time to time due to a water shortage,” states the report.

It further says the school’s toilets require urgent attention as they are in a state of disrepair, while doors and windows also need attention.

At Vukuzenzele special school in Bizana, it was found that showers in the bathrooms were not specifically designed to cater for the special needs learners.

The AG said at ET Tabane Primary School in Ugie, prefab structures that were more than 40 years old were used and that some of them now had openings, which exposed learners to rain and cold.

The school was found to have flooded toilets where only seven of them had to be used by 1 994 learners.

“The school water system is slow and there is a lot of sewage around the school, with a septic tank over 40 years old exposed to primary school learners,” states the report.

As a result, hundreds of learners at the school, mostly at foundation phase, have been affected by illnesses caused by bad sanitation, according to the AG.

At Nompucuko Combined School in Kenton-on-Sea it was found that poor drainage was causing unhygienic conditions at water taps used by learners for drinking, while at James Ndulula Primary in Uitenhage, there was sewage and water flowing into the school from a nearby residential area.

At Osborn Senior Secondary in KwaBhaca, overflowing toilets, overcrowded classrooms and uncompleted infrastructure were some of the highlights.

Sigcau special school in Flagstaff was found to have cracked and dangerous walls, broken ceilings, and a water pump that was not functional.

“The water engine built in 2013 was suppose to draw water from the dam and pump it to the reservoir tank, but the dam does not exist,” states the report.

At Gqubeni Junior Secondary in Mthatha, almost the whole floor is rotten, while some holes in their walls were patched with zinc.

At Byletts High on the East Coast outside East London, hand wash basins were found to be falling down, while leaking geysers were damaging walls and floors.

At Bhisho’s ZK Mathews and Ngqushwa’s Masibonisane senior secondary schools, exposed electric connections are common throughout their classrooms.

At Xolilizwe Senior Secondary in Willowvale, there are no proper sanitation facilities as the pit toilets are full and filthy.

At Mamfeneni Primary in Dutywa there is no designated restroom for females and as such, the female staff are currently using the bathroom which was designated for learners using wheelchairs, thus there is currently no restroom for learners using wheelchairs.

At Forbes Grant High in Ginsberg outside King William’s Town, toilets were in a state of disrepair and in need of urgent attention.

At Clarkebury Senior Secondary in Ngcobo, things could get no worse; learners were relieving themselves in the bush. There were no toilets. The AG said all this was while the department had paid R31-million in overtime payments to its staff and R253-million on external consultants in the 2016-17 financial year.