EFF land invasions in Phambili High School

THE Democratic Alliance in Kwazulu-natal has written to Education MEC Mthandeni Dlungwana and his colleague, Ravi Pillay, the MEC for Public Works, to urgently intervene in resolving the chaos that has broken out at the Phambili High School in Rossburgh.

This follows an alleged EFF land invasion of the school. It is alleged EFF members forced their way on to the premises and removed desks, chairs and other equipment from two classrooms.

The DA strongly condemns this incident and is asking Dlungwana to show leadership by restoring order at Phambili.

The school has a long history of violence regarding classroom invasions, illegal tenants and hijacked buildings.

In 2015, illegal tenants were removed from the main school building. In February, pupils embarked on a violent protest over illegal tenants occupying the school.

It currently has 1 013 pupils enrolled but only 17 classrooms. This has resulted in gross classroom overcrowding and pupilparent unhappiness. After the February protests, in the presence of the police, illegal tenants vacated three classrooms.

Phambili High School was formed in 1986 as a finishing school for the children of freedom fighters and student activists, who were kicked out of public schools for fighting apartheid.

It moved to its current Rossburgh premises after

Laerskool Saamwerk closed in

1997.

The illegal tenants moved into the premises in the late 1990s, after the former caretaker of the school failed to return the keys and started renting out rooms to locals.

The Durban High Court ruled in 2005 that the tenants be removed to municipal temporary housing but that was not implemented. Tenants are still illegally occupying buildings the school desperately needs for classrooms.

The EFF has now also jumped on the bandwagon. It is shocking that the party is denying quality education to pupils, at a school dedicated to teaching pupils who were denied quality education by the apartheid government.

The EFF is perpetuating the educational inequality and injustices of the past.

I have also written to the provincial police commissioner, General Langa, asking for an investigation of the police inaction during the land invasion.

The DA will continue to fight for the right of pupils to have a proper learning environment.

With schools reopening next week, we are concerned about increased violence when the pupils and their parents realise that their classrooms have been invaded.

It is a shame that the EFF, whose leaders claim to prioritise education, here want to prevent others from having access to education. RISHIGEN VIRANNA DA KZN education spokesperson