Plans afoot to revive schools shut down in line with rationalisation

THE department of education now plans to revive some of the abandoned schools in Mdantsane that were closed down as part of the rationalisation programme.

According to the department this is to address the admission crisis experienced in Grade R, 1 and 8.

The provincial education superintended-general, Themba Kojana gave the Buffalo City Metro district director, Edgar Klaasen until the end of this month to device a plan on how to revive and “modernised” four of these schools.

The schools, some that have been subjected to a series of vandalism, were closed by the department as part of a rationalisation programme to close 2 077 small and unviable schools and merge them with bigger and better resourced neighbouring schools.

Speaking to the Dispatch yesterday Klaasen said the plan was to locate retired principals and teachers from the best performing schools to assist with the advocacy process and to elect staff that will be placed at these schools.

“The idea is to identify the abandoned structures, resource and restaff these schools to alleviate the Grade R, 1 and 8 admission challenge,” said Klaasen.

He said he was unable to say which schools would be revived as they were still identifying them.

“We will only know by the end of next week,” he said.

Earlier this year the Dispatch reported on Vulindlela Technical School in Mdantsane that was stripped bare by residents.

The school stopped operating last year when it was closed due to a low pupil enrolment.

Speaking at the Rubusana district office in Mdantsane last week where he met with district officials to assess the progress made by under-performing schools, Kojana said it did not make sense to close down schools and let the structures go to waste when every year when school reopens in January, there was a challenge with unplaced pupils.

“The pressure is on government to built new schools, yet there are structures that exist. The solution is to establish how best we can utilise those structures that belong to government,” said Kojana. The Dispatch has for several years reported on hundreds of parents queuing outside schools every morning throughout the month of January, desperate to secure a place for their children who are first-time primary or high school pupils.

Klaasen said the plan was to have these schools ready for the first intake in January next year.