Schoolchildren left in the lurch
Parents and pupils from Lotus Gardens were left worried and confused when, instead of celebrating the first day of school, they were turned away.
Uncertainty lingers around the immediate future of hundreds of primary school children who were supposed to start school at a new primary school in Lotus Gardens on Wednesday. The Lotus Gardens Primary School in Phase 4 was completed in October last year, but has since been plagued by a series of disasters, resulting in excited children and their parents being turned away on the first day of school.
This was in spite of the fact that they were informed via SMS that they should report to school on Wednesday.
Angry parents told Rekord they were informed that the school had not yet been issued an occupational safety certificate and that the water supply to the school had not been restored. Later the same day they were, however, told that the school year would kick-off the following day (Thursday).
“We came here and found nothing. First they told us to leave, then they told us to come back. I don’t know what is going on,” a concerned parent, Solly Molekwa, said.
Another concerned parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said her child was being deprived of a proper education. “Every day that they fail to solve the problem is another day that my child is missing school. I am afraid that he will be at a disadvantage,” she said.
Ward Councillor Sam Mashola said that the matter had been resolved and, as he promised, school commenced on Thursday. Rumour has it that the children will be placed in nearby schools, but the Education Department remained tight-lipped about what they planned on doing to rectify the situation.
Most of the children reported to the school on Thursday, when it seemed that everything was in order again after a mob threatened to burn down the school, but many questions remain unanswered.
“How long will they be able to keep this up without a proper water supply and, more worryingly, without an occupational safety certificate?” Eunice Sekatane commented.
According to unconfirmed reports, the contractor is not willing to commence with repairing the damage caused by the storm because he has not yet been fully paid. The contractor declined to comment, but indicated that he was meeting with the government department responsible this week to try and resolve the matter.
Spokesperson for the Education Department, Phumla Sekhonyane, said a team had been dispatched to the school. She was not, however, prepared to give any further comment until a full report had been compiled.
Meanwhile, parents remain concerned about the future of their children. “What is going to happen to our children if this issue is not resolved soon? Will other schools in the area be able to accommodate so many additional pupils?” Sekatane said.
Parents felt they were lied to and their children were robbed of an education.
