Elim Primary School's governing board (SGB) is pleading with the Limpopo Department of Basic Education to build new classrooms as the current classrooms pose a danger to the learners.
"In 2021, the Limpopo Department of Basic Education visited the school for assessment after the previous SGB wrote several letters to the department, but nothing has been done yet. For the past two years, the current SGB was giving the department time to give feedback on their visit in 2021, but it seems this is going to take forever," said Thompson Mahlaule, the chairperson of the SGB.
Mike Maringa, spokesperson for Limpopo Department of Basic Education, said the panel of contractors to renovate schools and construct new blocks had been appointed in December and the assessment process was underway. Maringa further said all the earmarked and assessed schools would be attended to in due course.
According to Mahlaule, the school is one of the oldest around Elim and was built in 1932. The school caters for pupils from Grade 5 to 7 and has an enrolment of 298 learners, which also means that it currently has too many learners for the number of classrooms.
Limpopo Mirror visited the school last week. The windows in the classrooms were broken and some of the walls showed signs of cracking. Some of the desks used by the children are broken, while the ceilings of some classrooms have started to collapse.
Currently, the boys have no place to practise playing football. A football pitch is in the process of being erected. The principal's office is very small and does not even provide space for filing or any other furniture.
"This is really a danger to the learners and the teachers," said Mahlaule. He added the SGB felt the department should try and build modern toilets for the teachers as they are currently using pit toilets.