Share

OUT OF A MINE INTO A SCHOOL!

accreditation
Pupils at Sibongindawo Primary School.        Photo by Kopano Monaheng
Pupils at Sibongindawo Primary School. Photo by Kopano Monaheng

WHEN these pupils sat down to write their first term assessment tests, they were stuck in cramped classrooms as their school was housed at an old disused mine.

But this year Sibongindawo Primary School pupils from Wilge Village, near Phola in Mpumalanga are writing their tests in a proper school!

Eskom Development Foundation and partners built the R34 million school to give children better access to education.

The school was officially opened by Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza and Eskom in July last year.

Principal Elias Sithole said pupils started writing their assessment tests on Monday.

“Gone are the days when education was difficult for the pupils and us.

“Back then three of our teachers had to teach grade 3s and grade 4s in the same class – at the same time!”

Elias said they now had seven permanent teachers and three casual teachers to teach 480 pupils.

The school’s computer lab, library and sports grounds are still to be completed.

Brenda Kruger, project manager for Eskom Development Foundation, said after Eskom learned about the poor teaching conditions at Sibongindawo, they decided to build them a new school.

The new school adopted Sibongindawo as its name to remember the past.

“We took action to make sure children are taught in a proper school,” she said.

The school also uses solar panels to light the school.

Another school that received help from the foundation was Imbalinhle Primary School.

Their old school was located close to a mine and noise pollution had made teaching unbearable.

Eskom built the new school farther away where it is quieter.

Get the best in Soccer, News and Lifestyle content with SNL24 PLUS
For 14 free days, you can have access to the best from Soccer Laduma, KickOff, Daily Sun, TrueLove and Drum. Thereafter you will be billed R29 per month. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won't be billed.
Subscribe to SNL24 PLUS
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
What do you value most personally?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Earning tons of money
17% - 2 votes
Career Progression
8% - 1 votes
Work-Life balance
75% - 9 votes
Vote
Let us know what you think

Contact the People’s Paper with feedback on stories and how we could make dailysun.co.za even better!

Learn more
Do you have a story for the People’s Paper?

Click below to contact our news desk and share your story with SunLand!

Let's do it!