Anxious and angry parents of Jeugkrag are still waiting
The tragedy in Vanderbijlpark at Hoërskool Driehoek in February during which learners lost their lives and some were injured was mentioned.
The situation at Laerskool Jeugkrag has taken a turn for the worse.
Their learners protested in front of the circuit office of the Department of Education on 16 August about the state of the building, handing over a petition, with no discernible response received from the department.
Mr Louis Thabethe, chairman of the School Governing Body (SGB), then commented that the staircases on the first and second floor are cracked.
The Standerton Advertiser received photos from a trustworthy source last week in which the deteriorating staircases are highlighted.
“Parents are angry, as well as anxious,” Mr Thabethe said. What will happen when the first rain begins to fall?”
According to Mr Thabethe, the staircases are moving away from the building and they began communicating with the department in 2006.
“We used to write letters and officials from the department arrived, took photos but nothing was done.”
Their strong-worded petition cites chapter 2 of the Constitution of South Africa that refers to a safe and healthy environment, the Child Care Act 74 of 1983 and the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1983.
The tragedy in Vanderbijlpark at Hoërskool Driehoek in February during which learners lost their lives and some were injured was mentioned.
The demands included the prioritisation of the safety of the building and staircases at the school, the deployment of qualified and accredited structural engineers, a comprehensive report be made available before the end of August, temporary classrooms be made available should the upgrading of staircases begin, the Department of Education and Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport prioritise the integrity of all building structures throughout the province and nationwide, as well as the department’s database of accredited structural engineers be made available to schools, should the need arise.
The petition, signed 16 August, gave seven days for positive action.
“The parents of the school will have no option but to shut the school down until its declared safe,” the petition concluded.
“We will not hesitate to escalate the action to an indefinite sit-in at the offices and approach the Human Rights Commission to pursue the infringements of our rights.”
The newspaper tried to contact Ms Sophia Bohata, circuit manager of Lekwa East on Friday, 16 August, but she was unavailable and a message was left.
We spoke to Ms Bohata on Thursday, 5 September and she said her head office is handling the matter.
When talking to the provincial spokesman of the department, Mr Jasper Zwane, a request was made to send the information to him via WhatsApp.
“I will forward it to the infrastructure team,” Mr Zwane said.
The SGB has scheduled a special general meeting for all parents in the school hall on 10 September at 5pm to meet the challenge head-on.
A letter from the Mpumalanga Department of Education, dated 26 August, received from another trustworthy source, stated that Laerskool Jeugkrag was assessed in 2017 on ‘Table B5’ for three consecutive years and the ‘DPWRT’ (Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport) has not intervened.
The memorandum also read that the same table was applied for the 2019/2020 financial year and a letter of concern will be sent to the HOD.
The newspaper will keep readers updated.
https://standertonadvertiser.co.za/95521/laerskool-jeugkrag-learners-protest-front-department-education/
