Desperate matric pupils who are yet to start their academic year at Alphendale Senior Secondary took to the streets in protest on January 27.
Alphendale has been unable to open for the new school year due to infrastructural damage at the school caused by theft and vandalism, amounting to more than R5.5m
The matrics only attended school for two hours a day from January 23 to 25, but due to health and safety risks, had to be sent back home.
Principal Gavin Appollis said without water and sanitation services, it was not safe for pupils to attend school.
A matric pupil who preferred to remain anonymous said: “The official from the department came here in the week and told us he expects 100% pass rate from us irrespective of the challenges we have at the school without infrastructure.
“Coming to school for two hours every day is not feasible for us because some of us are coming from as far as Mdantsane and we have to pay R60 a day for transport only to receive two hours worth of teaching.
“The teachers tried their best to teach us over those two hours but it was so rushed that nothing was gained from the lessons. We are writing exams in three weeks but haven’t even had assignments yet because the school doesn’t have a photocopy machine left to print our assignments on.
“We can’t even do our technical subjects we can only do subjects that do not need equipment such as maths.
“We are not asking for much because Alphendale is an under-resourced school already so we have learnt to cope without much. All we want is water and electricity.
“We have pupils who get food for the first and last time during the day from the nutrition programme at the school and pupils who need school to get away from the dangers in their home environment.
“We feel as though the teachers are too apathetic to the situation and we are protesting so that our voices are heard because we are very worried about our futures and it seems as though the teachers don’t have a plan.
“We as pupils can’t be worried about infrastructure because we are supposed to be focusing on studying.”
Appollis said teachers were equally concerned and had expected the Department of Education would have responded quicker in getting the repair work done.
“The process of procurement and tendering that the department is undertaking is dragging along.
“Us as teaching staff did not envisage we would still not have water and sanitation infrastructure and live cables lying around because we expected the department to work faster.
“One of the cleaners and a matric pupil have already experienced electric shocks as a result of the live cables.
“The pupils’ gripe is directed at the department because as teachers our primary concern is tuition.
“The department must provide the infrastructure to enable us to teach.
“The minute the contractors hired by the department switch on the water, then we can return to school.“
While pupils were protesting, department officials and contractors were busy conducting cost assessments of the damage at the school.
The department said while repairing the infrastructure at the school was a priority, proper procurement processes had to be followed.
One contractor who preferred to remain anonymous said: “There is a lot of work to be done and to do thorough repair work would take as long as a month. But I do see a possibility of doing a few quick repairs that would take about a week, in the interim that could enable the school to open.”
