PARENTS in this village are not happy.
They said their children are forced to walk 20 kilometers to the nearest school after the closure of Mavungu Andries Secondary School in Tshakhuma Village, Limpopo.
This challenging situation has placed a significant burden on pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, forcing them to make two long trips to neighbouring schools.
The closure of the school in February has affected 164 pupils, prompting both the pupils and their parents to call on the Limpopo Department of Education to reconsider the closure and reopen Andries Secondary School.
The pupils have since been placed at five different schools, including Tshiemuemu Secondary School, Gwamasenga Secondary, and Nndamuleleni Secondary.
But grade 12 pupil Khangalo Matorho has expressed doubts about the quality of his exams due to the exhaustion from travelling a long distance to and from school.
"I didn't write my exams well because we walked more than one hour, and by the time we got back home, we felt tired and couldn't study. We hope they (education department) hear our cries," he said.
It’s reported that the situation also resulted in some learners dropping out. Their parents argue that they were not consulted before the learners were transferred to nearby schools, despite their contributions to building staff classrooms.
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Concerned parent Lufuno Mudau said: "We are calling on the government to attend to our pressing concern as we are now compelled to use our little Sassa grants to pay for school transport, while the abandoned school faces acts of vandalism."
Tshakhuma Sanco deputy chairman, Osly Nyamande, claimed that proper processes were not followed for the school closure.
“We had a series of problem-solving meeting together with residents, leaders and the circuit manger with no solution in place. We will not rest until the department attends to our concerns, and we wish that the school reopens next year,” he said.
Melta Nemukundela, a member of the SGB said that they were informed about the closure due to a shortage of teachers in subjects such as Tshivenda and English.
“We are deeply concerned over the dropout rate and the financial challenges faced by parents as most of them are unemployed,” she said.
Limpopo Department of Education spokesman Mike Maringa denied the allegations, saying: "It is a green lie. The infrastructure is the responsibility of the Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure; we hand over the schools back to them after rationalization."
When questioned about the lack of scholar transport, he said: "You often find that parents are not happy with the merger centre and they end up opting for schools that are far away. If it's a school of choice, transport is not provided."
Witness Tiva, the spokesman for Public Works, Roads, and Infrastructure said: "The school in question is not reflecting as having been transferred back to the department in terms of section 42 of PFMA. However, the department referred the matter to our client, the DoE to also check in their records as well."
