The DA conducted an oversight inspection at Khulanolwazi Primary School today to investigate infrastructure concerns and the extent to which they pose health hazards to learners.
This is in response to several complaints from parents who are worried about the unclean and appalling condition of the school’s ablution facilities.
Khulanolwazi Primary School learners are exposed to broken and unsanitary toilets, which do not have running water and no doors. This is a serious violation of learners’ rights to dignity and privacy. The inhumane state of the toilets poses a health and safety risk for learners.
Only two out of eight toilet blocks are functioning, which is unacceptable and has resulted in parents shutting down the school for two days last week.
Only 80% of learners were at school, with this high level of absenteeism it will contribute to the increasing learner dropout rate in the province.
Please see the photos here, here and here.
The mobile classrooms are dilapidated and need to be urgently replaced to ensure a conducive learning and teaching environment.
The department is aware of the terrible state of this school’s infrastructure and yet has not yet done anything to fix it.
The DA is demanding that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane must, urgently fix the school toilets and provide all the necessary infrastructure to ensure the delivery of quality education.
Since his appointment, MEC Chiloane has been absent and constantly fails to respond to pressing issues affecting his department. It is high time that he focuses on his duties as the MEC, as failure to do this is a dereliction of duty.
The DA will submit written questions to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain when the school will be replaced with a brick-and-mortar structure and when the department will fix the toilets at this school.