Note to Editors: Please find an English soundbite by Haseena Ismail MP, here
An oversight visit to Manzini Primary School in Ekurhuleni has made it clear – the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) is failing the most vulnerable students amongst us.
Aside from glaring electrical issues, the school does not have enough furniture to be regarded as functional, and when there is furniture, for example chairs – they are broken. Tables, if we can call them that, are bumpy and make it impossible for learners to write on them.
This oversight visit highlights the need for urgent intervention to address issues that are detrimental to the learning environment. Alongside our colleagues in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, we will be demanding answers from the MEC of Education in Gauteng. Chief among those: how could you let this happen?
We can’t help but wonder if those responsible for this debacle, the Gauteng Department of Education, will send their children to Manzini Primary School? The best guess would be no – they wouldn’t. Electrical issues, like non-functional plug points, were reported to the department in October of last year – they still await a resolution.
In addition to the above, the school faces several other pressing challenges, including:
• Online application challenges: Parents are struggling to access the online application system, resulting in difficulties with admissions;
• Stagnant water at the entrance: A health hazard that poses a risk to learners and staff; and
• An apparent feeding scheme but no deliveries: Despite having a feeding scheme in place, the school has not received any deliveries, leaving learners without access to nutritious meals.
It should come as no surprise to the department that both learner and teacher absenteeism is at a high. How else, given the circumstances they are forced to be surrounded with.
We recommend that those at the head of the GDE urgently starts visiting these schools, not only to determine how deep the rot has gone, but to see for themselves what they have caused.
We are deeply concerned about the state of Manzini Primary School.
The school’s recently appointed principle is trying. They are trying to make do with the little that they have, but the GDE seems to have forgotten about the school, the students, and more importantly, about their futures.