Seatides Combined School is slowly being pieced back together following the devastation brought by the Tongaat tornado last June.

The school celebrated the reopening of seven classroom blocks last Wednesday, alongside project co-ordinators the Gift of the Givers and a series of sponsors.

Former principal Kola Govender thanked the sponsors for their support during the rebuilding.

“Many people came forward with promises to help but those seated here today came to the party to help us with this situation,” he said.

The reconstruction had no support from the KZN Department of Education, as confirmed by an apologetic Simon Siyabonga Lushozi, the department’s education manager. Lushozi said the department is in financial crisis and that no new school infrastructure will be developed for at least the next five years.

“There was a lot of big talk from ourselves. Unfortunately, we’ve done very little, if anything,” he said.

Also read: No new school infrastructure in KZN for next five years, says DoE 

For the last 10 months, more than 900 pupils have been forced to complete classes inside prefabricated units on the outdoor fields. The majority of pupils will be able to move back into the rebuilt permanent blocks, although the foundation phase building, which houses Grades R-2, is still awaiting funding. Additionally, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure needs to complete stormwater and sewerage systems, neither of which have begun.

Nevertheless, the tireless work of NGOs and businesses that assisted have made a massive difference to the daily lives of the pupils.

Acting principal RG Naidoo welcomed the move back to the school blocks ahead of June exams.

“The prefab rooms are not ideal; they are cramped and hot. When it rains, the kids cannot hear the teacher because of the water hitting the roof and it’s muddy,” he said.

School governing body chairperson Jonathan Naidoo said he hoped the school would be back to 100% functionality by July.

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