More than 200 learners at the Mohwibidu Primary School in Moletjie Ga-Setati, outside Polokwane, have missed three days of school this week due to a lack of sanitation facilities.
This comes after the school’s ablution facility completely collapsed in 2019. The service provider who supplied the school with mobile toilets ended his engagement with the school on Tuesday, 31 January, leaving the learners with no place to help themselves.
On Thursday, ActionSA provincial chairperson Sello Lediga visited the school and found parents of the learners camped outside the school, desperate for better sanitation and for classes to resume.
The School Governing Body (SGB) wants to institute legal action against the Department of Education, and the party says it is considering supporting the SGB in court.
“It cannot be that 29 years into the democratic dispensation, in a new dawn, over 200 learners are sitting at home because their school does not have facilities for them to relieve themselves,” said Lediga.
Meanwhile, Education Department Media Liaison Officer Mike Maringa refused to answer any questions sent to him. He says the allegations are baseless and he won’t entertain them.
Last year, Scrolla.Africa reported on the infrastructure challenge in the province plaguing the department.
Between March and June last year, the Department of Employment and Labour closed down five schools due to structural and infrastructure challenges.
The Jack Lavhengwa Secondary School in Makhado was also closed down for contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The school’s 250 learners and 24 educators were using pit toilets that did not have a roof, doors or toilet paper.
Pictured above: ActionSA visiting the school
Image source: Supplied
