Pupils at North West school left in limbo as parents close school

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The first day of the new academic year did not go smoothly for a school in the North West. Masamane Primary School, more than 100 kilometers outside Mahikeng did not open.

Parents have closed the school, complaining about several issues including unhygienic flushing toilets and the poor quality of drinking water.

The school is in the spotlight again. It was also closed for a number of weeks last year with parents raising the same concerns. One of the community members in the area says the Department of Education in the North West has failed to address infrastructure challenges at the school.

“The reason why children are not at school today, is because last year October, the Department of Education had promised us to renovate some of the classes. And then we were waiting for some answers from them. We didn’t receive anything from them, till today. We don’t have toilets and water at the school,” says parent Tshireletso Gabokojwe.

Some parents are not happy that their children are not at school on the first day of the new academic year.

“I am very hurt that my child is not at school. It is my child’s first year at school. Now my child is not at school because of some challenges at the school,” a parent says.

“My children did not come to school at Masamane Primary. I am very hurt, I did not expect this to happen this month,” another parent explains.

The Education Department, however, is promising to visit the school soon.

“I have just received news that Masamane Primary School in Ratlou has been closed by community members. I’ll definitely make sure that next week I’ll go to that particular school, to check how best can I resolve the issues that are being raised by community members that side,” says North West Education MEC Viola Motsumi.

The department says most schools have received learners without any hassles, except disruptions related to a scholar transport dispute in one of the schools in Tswaing while other schools were damaged by storms recently.