By Ndivhuwo Mukwevho
- Construction of a new R168-million school started in 2021 but has now stalled, with 90% of the work done and no clear update.
- Learners are still using mobile toilets and old braille machines while studying in unsafe prefab classrooms.
Partially blind learners at Rivoni School for the Blind in Limpopo are still learning in poor conditions, despite a multi-million rand project to build them a new school that was supposed to be finished last year.
After years of protests between 2016 and 2020, the Limpopo Department of Education promised a new school and boarding facilities. Construction finally began in 2021 in Njakanjaka village, near Elim, but now, years later, the nearly R168-million project has stalled.
Learners continue to live and study in crumbling prefabs with mobile toilets that are rarely cleaned.
About 90% of the construction work is complete, but it remains unclear why the site has been abandoned or when it will be finished. The department has failed to give any updates.
Foster Chauke, a former learner who helped lead the 2017 protests, said it’s heartbreaking that nothing has changed. “We were promised a new school, and now it’s 2025 and learners are still in the same terrible conditions,” he said.
Rivoni is one of only six schools in Limpopo for visually impaired learners and has produced top-performing matriculants over the years. But even basic tools like working braille machines are lacking.
“Learners are still using outdated braille machines, which slows down their ability to read and write,” said Chauke. “And they are forced to use filthy mobile toilets.”
Community member Sylvester Mulaudzi from nearby Watervaal said locals have been pushing for answers, but none have come. “Construction stopped early last year and no one has told us why. The workers left and the site was just abandoned.”
He added, “These learners need a safe, clean place to stay. What we have now is not fit for any human being, let alone partially blind children.”
Nelson Ramasimu*, a matric learner at Rivoni, said he no longer knows what to expect. “We were told we’d move into the new school last year. Then this year. But nothing has happened. We’re just stuck waiting.”
He said if there were other options, he would have left. “This is the only school in the Vhembe area that can take learners like me. But the place is not good for learning. We don’t have a choice.”
The Limpopo Department of Education did not respond to Scrolla.Africa’s questions about the cause of the delays.
*Indicates that names have been changed.
Pictured above: The learners protesting.
Image source: Ndivhuwo Mukwevho
