SEVEN grades, seven teachers and 300 kids . . . and just one room.
Worried parents of pupils at the Faith Mlaba Primary School in Ntuzuma, north of Durban, said the KZN Education Department does not care about their children.
Three grade one, three grade two, and one grade three classes have been crowded into the school hall since 2014.
The school has faced the problem of a shortage of classrooms for the past 10 years.
“The kids can’t concentrate because there is too much noise,” said a parent who claimed to have visited the school recently.
“I peeped through the window. What I saw was just terrible. The hall is divided into sections. The teacher stands at a wall so the pupils face away from the others but the noise is unbelievable.”
The department sent three mobile classes to the school in March but they are not being used.
“Why are those classrooms here?” asked a parent.
“We won’t be shocked if our kids fail and for that, we will blame the department. They are supposed to follow up to make sure the problem is solved.”
The school’s SGB chairwoman, Faith Mlaba confirmed that the school had received three mobile classrooms but pupils continue to work in the school hall.
“When the mobile classrooms were delivered, we were told that some features were not fitted and that is why they are not used,” she said.
She said together with the school principal they were trying all they could to change the situation.
Spokesman for the office of the KZN MEC for education, Scelo Khuzwayo said: “We are aware of the situation.
“We sent mobile classrooms but before they can be used they must be checked for safety.”
