PEOPLE from Malavuwe village and the surrounding vilages outside Thohoyandou are threatening to march to the department of education to protest the circumstances under which their children are forced to learn.
“We are worried because the conditions at Fhatuwani Secondary School are not conducive to learning. In some classes there are potholes inside the classroom, the walls are cracked, pit latrines could collapse at any time, and the roofs and ceilings are collapsing. This disturbs the learners, especially when it rains,” Norman Tshifura, chairperson of the school governing body for Malavuwe Secondary School, said.
Tshifura said Fhatuwani Secondary School was built in 1974, and the buildings were dilapidated.
He said residents demanded that the department built a new school that also catered to modern technology.
Some 500 learners from gr. 8 to gr. 12 attend this school, which received a 82,6% matric pass rate in 2013, despite these conditions.
Tshifura further said they had sent many reports to the department, and delegations had also gone to the department but nothing had been heard from the department since 2004.
According to Thomas Makhanthisa, chairperson of the Malavuwe Civic Association, they were promised new school buildings. “There is no library or science laboratory even though our learners do science subjects. We are also worried that instead of building new structures, the department intends to renovate the old school,” he said.
Makhanthisa said the school was not safe for learning or teaching.
Gr. 11 learners, Aluwani Mukwevho, agreed that learning at the school was a problem. “If the department could build a new school which also had a computer- and science laboratory, it would help to improve the matric results,” he said.
Education spokesperson, Phuti Seloba said residents should contact the department to discuss any issues. “We understand they contacted the department in 2004, but the doors are still open to come and speak with the department.”
