“I am so happy that my grandchildren will now have a proper school. All of my seven children who attended their lessons here never had this opportunity,” said Mafeleba Nomgejo during the handover of Mdavuza Senior Primary School in the Eastern Cape.
Minister of Science and Technology Derek Hanekom officially handed over Mdavuza SPS to the community of Khalandoda Village in the Qumbu Educational District on Friday 18 October.
The wet and cold weather did not dampen the mood as community members streamed in to celebrate the formal acquisition of the school which has been in use since practical completion. The school was built at a cost of just under R10 million. Over and above new classrooms, it features a multi-media centre, a library, a science laboratory and a computer laboratory.
“We have come a long way as a country from 20 years ago. It is the culmination of our efforts that have made sure that the children of Khalandoda have access to quality basic education. Today we bid farewell to the old structures that were built in 1977 and welcome the new Mdavuza Senior Primary School,” said Minister Hanekom.
Minister Hanekom encouraged members of the community to take care of the school for their own benefit and the learners.
“I am confident that, as owners of this school, the community will ensure that the facilities are kept in good condition and that every attempt is made to protect this investment for future generations,” he said.
Retired teacher, Sitozama Ngamlana said she was over the moon about the new school. She said in 1989, when she was still a teacher; it was not easy because learners had to share a mud classroom and some lessons were attended under the shelter of trees.
As usual, the occasion was punctuated by song and dance as the community marked a new and more promising chapter in the educational journey of their children.
More than 37 schools have reached practical completion in the Eastern Cape where mud schools are being replaced with proper structures. The schools are being handed over to the communities every week since July as part of the One-School-a-Week campaign which forms part of the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI) aimed at replacing unsafe structures including mud school across the country.
