Greenville Primary probes storeroom fire
Greenville Primary School is investigating the cause of a fire which broke out at one of its storage rooms yesterday morning.
Books and a cupboard were destroyed in the blaze.
According to school governing body chair Ashley Le Bron, while investigations were still under way, it was believed that one of the pupils set fire to the books and a cupboard in the storeroom due to frustrations with the poor infrastructure and lack of facilities at the crumbling Bethelsdorp school.
The incident occurred at about 10am.
Le Bron said while the fire brigade was called, parents helped put out the flames with buckets of water.
Pupils were sent home at 11am.
“It is believed that a pupil was ‘gatvol’ and was expressing his frustration.
“He was seen running up the stairs towards where the fire broke out,” Le Bron said.
The pupil is believed to be 13.
Greenville has in the past been hit by vandalism and crime.
In February, parents shut down the school and almost came to blows with the principal, who they accused of having done little to tackle the myriad problems during his 12-year tenure.
Broken windows and doors, smashed ceilings and dilapidated classrooms and roofs are just some of the issues.
The Herald previously reported that the school only has electricity in its administration block, while more than 500 pupils, both boys and girls, were made to share one ablution block.
This month, brazen thieves stripped classrooms of almost 30 chalkboards, making it difficult for teaching to resume without any paper or ink for the printers and a lack of electricity for overhead projectors.