Conditions at Rehlahleng has the DA concerned
"The school currently has inappropriate sanitation, no proper walls around the school and no showers - learners are forced to use plastic containers," said DA's Suzan Phala.
STEELPOORT – The DA in Limpopo has urged the Limpopo Department of Education to improve the conditions at the Rehlahleng Special School at Ga-Mampuru.
The party said it is concerned with the poor and inappropriate conditions to which learners are being exposed at the school. This was noted during an oversight inspection. The school will cater for 148 learners this year, compared to 88 in 2018. Due to a lack of space, the school has turned away 22 learners since January 13.
“There is only two blocks of classrooms, that were built by a nearby mine, and these are insufficient. Fifty grade R learners are also being accommodated in a zinc container structure with no air conditioning.
“The school currently has inappropriate sanitation, no proper walls around the school and no showers – learners are forced to use plastic containers,” said DA’s Suzan Phala.
She said in the 2018 special schools report submitted to the portfolio committee by the Office of the Premier, the school was meant to get 10 posts that would be filled by the end of the 2018/19 year. These posts included a professional nurse, social worker, house parents, security guard and a cook.
To date only one post has been filled. She said Rehlahleng Special School is also in dire need of more teachers and assistants. Security is a major concern at the school, as it was broken into and laptops were stolen last year.
The party said it will write to Premier Stanley Mathabatha asking that he visit Rehlahleng Special School to witness the harsh conditions with which these vulnerable learners are faced.
The spokesman for the Limpopo Education Department, Sam Makondo, said they will visit the school to do their own inspections.
