Another setback for high school learners

Is Lesufi ignoring Mountain View high school's needs?

July 15, 2019

Heidelberg Nigel Heraut 2 minutes read

Once again the new school term for Mountain View High School heralded nothing good when a classroom was completely destroyed in a fire on Friday July 4.

The school with 650 learners has had a rough couple of months (to state it lightly). Not only has the school been targeted by thieves and vandals, but learners and teachers had to make do without electricity since December last year.

The ongoing problems at the school reached a climax when another classroom was set alight on Friday at around 14:00. Witnesses told police that they saw two males entering the school just before the fire started.

Colonel Amanda Viljoen (station commander) of Heidelberg SAPS has confirmed that a case of arson has been opened and that the investigation is underway.

A Classroom at Mountain View High School was totally destroyed in a fire that is believed to have been started by two men.

Workers of Lesedi Local Municipality’s plumbing department were on their way to Jameson Park on the R42 (Heidelberg/Nigel Road) when they saw smoke and went to investigate. They immediately started to douse the fire with hoses. If not for these men, the damage would have been unthinkable.

Mr Steven Nel (principal) was still on holiday in Mpumalanga when he received the devastating news. “I am frustrated that our school is being ransacked and destroyed by vandals. I am especially sad for our learners who are being severely affected by all these negative circumstances,” Mr Nel told HERAUT.

The electricity problem has been going to and fro between the Gauteng Department of Education and the local municipality, but HERAUT has obtained information from an expert that a switch (that will cost around R1 000) and not the transformer of the school is the cause of the fault in electricity supply.

However, the department is not prepared to fix this small problem in order to accommodate 650 learners who desperately want to obtain a good quality education. The department told HERAUT in the past that they do not have funds to fix the school’s electricity.

Thieves targeted the school earlier this year on April 1 (just before the second school term started) and stripped classrooms of electrical cables, light switches, wall plugs and anything valuable that they could get their hands on. Due to no electricity, the school’s alarm system cannot be activated.

Panyaza Lesufi (Gauteng Education MEC) tweeted on July 4 that residents can forget it if they think his department will fix schools that are vandalised by protestors. This happened after the Katlehong Primary School was vandalised during a protest action. He also stated that learners will be accommodated at nearby schools.

Lesufi said on numerous occasions that although he is a supporter of learners being taught in their mother tongue, he wants schools to become double medium. This raises question marks about the motive behind the electricity issue not being resolved and the ongoing vandalism of Mountain View High School.