Threats to shut down the school have paid off for Klipspringer Primary. On Wednesday construction started on new classrooms to address the overcrowding.

In May the school governing body (SGB) and parents threatened to keep the children home indefinitely if the Mpumalanga Department of Education did not urgently intervene.

It follows a civil/structural engineer’s inspection report which stated that slab roofs in some of the classrooms have become deformed beyond their safety limits. Temporary classrooms were also declared unsafe to use.

Fearing an incident such as the one earlier this year, when a bridge collapsed on learners at Höerskool Driehoek, they handed a memorandum of demands over to the department on May 24.

The school is also severely overcrowded. They have about 781 learners, but a 180-pupil capacity. The SGB thus welcomed the department’s intervention plan.

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It will see the removal of four mobile classrooms and the construction of six new classrooms in a double-storey building, as well as two new grade R learner centres. Two blocks of toilets will also be added and the dangerous roofs will be replaced to make the four affected classrooms usable.

The project is expected to be completed in 10 months’ time. In the meantime, schooling will continue as normal, as the classrooms currently in use will not be affected. The construction areas will, however, be closed off for the children’s safety.

Klipspringer Primary was officially handed over to contractors this week. Patrick Nwobu, one of the directors at Kagiso Quantity Surveyors, is the principal agent.

Mbhetse Resources will provide the architectural works, and Sihlangu Semnikati Trading CC is the construction company. These are some of the constructors/engineers which were introduced.

The SGB is happy to see that the department is finally doing something about the challenges and that the additional classroom space will be sure to alleviate the pressure.
Catherine Mokoena, SGB chairman, said those involved with the development must make sure that they do not compromise the quality of their work.

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“This project involves kids and everything needs to be done properly. Do not take any shortcuts, then we do not have to redo anything. We want the best quality,” she said.

Kyle Oliver, the ward councillor, will be responsible for appointing a community liaison officer (CLO). “The CLO’s responsibility is to communicate with the community regarding the project. The person will be employed from when the construction starts until it ends,” he said.

A meeting between the SGB, school and constructors will be held every second Thursday to keep all stakeholders up-to-date about the progress.

Yet, Klipspringer is only one of the local public schools that is bursting at the seams, and yet is still required to take in additional pupils in the 2020 academic year.

It is unclear what action the department intends to take to solve the broader crisis. It indicated in its budget for the year that it would be constructing additional classrooms around the province.
Department spokesman, Jasper Zwane, did not respond to the newspaper’s questions regarding their long-term plan to address overcrowding in local schools. He could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.