Durban — KwaZulu-Natal’s school infrastructure damaged by natural disasters was allocated a budget of R2 687 657 by the Department of Education on Tuesday.
Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka, in his budget speech on Tuesday, said many schools were damaged by floods, a tornado and fires.
Some schools badly affected by natural disasters were not mentioned, such as Phoenix Secondary and Nkosenye Intermediate School in KwaNdengezi, near Pinetown. Both schools were damaged by fire.
At Nkosenye Intermediate, the office, exam papers, textbooks and furniture were destroyed in the fire. At Phoenix Secondary, the library and administration block were damaged and when the Daily News visited the school on Monday, there were no signs of construction.
Classrooms at Bonela Secondary were damaged by a fire several years ago.
The department has been providing interim interventions, including mobile classrooms where required, ensuring that teaching and learning continued uninterrupted. Hlomuka said the department had also started repairing the damage, with rehabilitation work completed at several schools.
“Some of the projects have encountered challenges, prompting the department to terminate the contracts of certain contractors and replace them with others.
“This is done in line with our aim to ensure that we receive value for money on all the projects we undertake and that our learners ultimately have access to high-quality classrooms equipped with the modern technological gadgets,” Hlomuka said.
The department, Hlomuka said, had eight projects in the pre-construction stage for which they anticipated appointing contractors in due course.
DA KZN Education spokesperson Sakhile Mngadi urged Hlomuka and his department to show commitment to the creation of an ethical, progressive government. Mngadi said a stand-alone infrastructure development agency must be created to manage the affairs of all government infrastructure projects and pool resources, particularly for the maintenance of quintile 1-4 schools.
“The recommendations included working with school governing bodies (SGBs) and local communities in keeping schools safe and establishing the KZN Education Evaluation Authority – an independent body evaluating the government’s performance and the conceptualisation, implementation, and monitoring of education reform, free of political interference,” Mngadi said.
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Daily News