By Anita Dangazele
- Vulingcobo Senior Secondary School in Chiliza Village near Dutywa has about 900 learners but not enough proper classrooms for them.
- The Eastern Cape Department of Education says it needs R78-million to build proper facilities but has no budget to start.
About 900 learners at Vulingcobo Senior Secondary School in Chiliza Village, near Dutywa, are going to class in poor conditions. Many classrooms are prefabricated structures that teachers say have been in use for more than 30 years.
When classrooms run short, Grade 8 to Grade 11 pupils sometimes write their exams outside.
A teacher at the school, who cannot be named because they are not allowed to speak to the media, said the school tries to keep learning going.
“We only do this when it’s sunny and not when it’s raining or windy,” the teacher said.
The school was established in the late 1980s. Community members say they have been asking the Eastern Cape Department of Education to build permanent classrooms for years.
Village elders have made many trips to the department’s provincial offices in Zwelitsha, in Qonce, to ask for help.
“I don’t know how many times the elders have been to the department. The department has been promising to build us a school,” the teacher said.
The teacher said hopes rose last year after the school’s problems were reported in the media. But the community says nothing has happened since.
Eastern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Mali Mtima said the department is worried about conditions at the school. But Mtima said there is no money to start building.
“There is not enough budget to start construction of the school,” he said.
The department estimates it needs R78-million to build proper facilities. Mtima said the department is trying to find funding.
Pictured above: Learners study in prefabricated classrooms at Vulingcobo Senior Secondary School.
Image source: Supplied
