By REGINALD KANYANE
The North West Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Education, Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation welcomed the delivery of 20 mobile classrooms and the resumption of teaching and learning at Morokweng Primary School in Morokweng.
The North West Provincial Legislature deputy speaker, Viola Motsumi, and acting chairperson, Papiki Babuile convened a meeting with the Department of Education, school management, and School Governing Body (SGB), where the committee sort urgent intervention on the dilapidated school infrastructure.
Motsumi said the school building was not conducive to learning and teaching. She said parents and school management had informed the committee that, the department had promised to build them a new school since 2012, but nothing was done.
“The committee is happy with the resumption of teaching and learning as well as mobile classrooms. When we visited the school during oversight, we could see that there was no school there.
“The infrastructure was dilapidated and no one could allow their child to attend school because it was not safe. During the two intervention meetings with the department, school management, and parents, we instructed the department to develop a comprehensive plan that will ensure that the new school is built,” she said.
Motsumi further said that, the department provides mobile classes as a temporary measure. She added that they also needed to know how the department will cover the lost time as learners spent over a month without attending classes.
“The committee had also urged the department to fix its infrastructure directorate as there are too many internal quarrels that affect service delivery,” said Motsumi.
Aggrieved parents, prohibited their children to attend school since June 2022, calling for the department to build a new school. They cited that the current school building is dilapidated and is a ticking bomb as learners are not safe.
Meanwhile, the North West MEC for Department of Education, Wendy Matsemela said: “We can confirm that there is a resumption of teaching and learning at the school. This is due to an outcry by parents who complained about the conditions of the school.
“Classes resumed on Wednesday with a recovery plan in place to cover the lost classroom time. Since the beginning of the third quarter, on 19 July 2022, learners could not return to school because parents wanted a new school.”
Matsemela further said the school has received 20 mobile classrooms to mitigate the challenging school environment. Two more will be delivered as soon as they arrive to be 22 in number. She also lauded the community for their patience during this time.
“We are thankful to the school community of Morokweng Primary School for their patience during this time. Indeed, our learners deserve better, safe, and dignified spaces for learning.
“Currently, processes are unfolding for the building of a new school. In terms of lost teaching and learning time, extra classes are being administered to meet the lost time,” she said.
Matsemela added that the school will not close during the September break as part of a recovery plan to catch up and conclude the syllabus.
The Guardian 