Safety issues delay school’s launch
Parents voice their frustration
Noncompliance with safety regulations has delayed the opening of a new school in Ekurhuleni by two months. Parents of grade R pupils at Mayfield primary school in Daveyton are frustrated by the delay which has kept children at home for weeks now. The prefab school was built last year, raising hopes of parents in the area who registered their kids for this year.
But now the school has been left idle while some pupils in other grades have been accommodated in neighbouring schools.
The City of Ekurhuleni has refused to grant the school a safety compliance certificate until safety concerns that had been raised are rectified to the municipality’s satisfaction. “We raised compliance issues in terms of the national building regulations regarding safety with the project manager,” said Ekurhuleni spokesperson Themba Gadebe.
The decision has come as a blow to parents such as Nomsa Khuzwayo, who now is forced to take her five-year-old daughter with to work daily because of the situation at the school. “I take my child with to work because there is no one to take care of her,” she said. “I feel very frustrated because I don’t know how long my employer will allow me to bring my child to work and it breaks my heart because I wake the child up at 4:30 am to prepare her because I start work at 6:30 am.” Another parent, who did not want to be named, said she had hoped her two children would start the year going to the Mayfield school for grade R and grade 4.
“It has been an inconvenience. I cannot afford to take my kids to another school. I will wait for the school to be finished,” she said. Another parent said she paid R400 a month for her grade 6 child’s transport to another school as she could not wait longer.
When Sowetan visited the Mayfield school, parents were waiting at the school parking lot where buses were seen dropping off their children from three schools in the area. This arrangement excludes grade 1 pupils. Gauteng department of education spokesperson Steve Mabona said the finalisation of the occupational certificate would determine the date for the school’s launch.
“We can assure the public that the school will be launched in or before March,” said Mabona.