Part of ceiling collapse in class at east school
“All the parents of the affected learners were immediately informed of the incident and the learners were sent to nearby clinics for assistance.”
Parents of learners at Zakhele Primary school in Mamelodi East blame the Department of Education for putting their children’s lives in danger after part of a ceiling collapsed on top of three learners and an assistant teacher.
The incident happened last week Tuesday morning when a ceiling board in a grade 6 classroom collapsed during lessons at a Mamelodi school, leaving pupils with minor injuries.
Parents have started a petition, threatening to shut down the school should the department do nothing about its state.
Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona said they were aware of the incident.
“All the parents of the affected learners were immediately informed and the learners were sent to nearby clinics for assistance,” said Mabona.
“We have dispatched our teams from the district office to investigate the matter and recommend any remedial actions. Our infrastructure unit has also visited the school to conduct the necessary assessments on the work required,” said Mabona.
He added there were plans to improve the infrastructure at the school.
“It was unfortunate that the school ceiling collapsed before the work commenced.”
He said the school was currently on the Estimate of Capital Expenditure (ECE) as a R49,6-million new and replacement school project being implemented by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID).
The project consists of demolishing of existing, old and dilapidated structures and the replacement thereof with new brick and mortar structures.
Mabona said an administration building, 13 classrooms, 3 grade R classrooms, a laboratory, computer room, library and Guard House will be demolished.
The demolished structure will be replaced, along with the construction of two additional classrooms, an additional Grade R classroom, an additional multi-purpose room, a tuck shop and nutrition hall.
The above was approved on March 16 last year.
Mabona added that on June 3, the school received an email from Siza Architects, informing them that they, together with other consulting firms, had been appointed by GDID to carry out additions and alterations to the existing school infrastructure.
“The appointed consultant team wanted to visit the school on Friday, June 4 to conduct a site assessment of the entire school. Unfortunately, the ceiling collapsed before they arrived. Some infrastructural changes will commence soon to prevent further deterioration of the school buildings.”
The 20 learners who were in class when the ceiling collapsed were in shock and scared of going back to class, according to SGB chairperson Theo Makopo.
Makopo said she rushed to the school after receiving a call from the school.
“We have previously complained to the department to fix the school but our pleas fell on deaf ears,” she said.
“The school has been in existence since 1957 and has never been renovated. This is also not the first time a ceiling collapsed in the classes.
“The department promised to rebuild the school from scratch as the school is very old.
“The safety of learners and teachers is not a guarantee with the current state of the school,” said Makopo.
“We had people coming to the school on a regular basis claiming that they are getting quotes to rebuild the school but nothing has happened up to date.”
Concerned parents said the safety of children and learners should come first and did not understand why the department was taking so long to fix the school.
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