NO TEACHERS, 3 NEW SCHOOLS WON’T OPEN

NHLANGANO – Three communities have raised concerns after they learnt that the same number of newly-built schools will not open next year because there are no teachers.

Two of the schools are under Hosea Constituency while one is under Kubuta. They are currently named Dlume High, Mlotjwa Primary, both under Hosea, and Mentiwa High in Kubuta.
The first two schools were built by Micro-Projects while the latter was built with the assistance of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and the community members. Some of the community members stated that they were hoping the schools would be ready to admit their children next year. They stated that the silence had all along been haunting them until they went to enquire from the Shiselweni Regional Education Offices (REO) if the schools would operate beginning of next year.

It was said by the community members that they never got clear responses as they were told that the office was still communicating with superiors on the way forward. The parents’ gripe was that they were hoping they would be relieved of transport fares as of next year, given that their children would attend local schools. Currently, pupils from Ondiyaneni where Dlume High is located attend either Hosea or Sandleni schools, which are over 11 kilometres from the new school. Pupils who were hoping to attend Mlotjwa Primary next year are currently using Hosea and Ngozi primaries, which are both estimated to be about eight kilometres from the new school. Kubuta pupils attend Mpompotha and Ekuphakameni high schools, where each pupil spends E20 on transport every day. The community members stated that they could not afford the transport fares on their children, especially after the recent transport fares hike.

Leaking

Nomsa Masuku said she was living in a leaking two-room house and could not fix it because the little money she made from the odd jobs she got was used on transport for her two children. She said in a day, she spent E40 on transport. “We are frustrated by what is being done by government because the construction of the classrooms is complete,” said Masuku.
Other community members said the reason they were convinced that the school was not opening was because there was no uniform or any admissions, as they believed that the admissions should have been done by now so that when schools opened next year, lessons would begin.  Some shared that there should be a sample of a school uniform so that they could buy it before schools opened. The case of Hosea is not about the transport issues only. Parents of pupils attending schools around Hosea said they wished the schools could start operating so that their children would learn.

“We spent money on school fees for our children to be disturbed by protests all year long and now they have performed poorly,” said a parent. This year, Hosea had a number of protests wherein the pupils were demanding the release of incarcerated Hosea Member of Parliament (MP) Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza. In one instance, the pupils even torched the school’s administration block. There was also a fight between pupils after one opened a bluetooth speaker while the morning assembly was in session and another pupil switched it off, something which sparked the fight. Worth noting is that each time the pupils protested or there was a fight at the school, the pupils spent time at home as the school would be closed for days; something that the community members said they did not want to see happening again.

“We never got any refunds and some of our children wanted to learn,” added Sizwe Dlamini, who is also a community member. They stated that they were even at a stage of fencing the school so that when it opened next year and the other schools close by decided to protest, their children would be secure inside the school premises. Dlamini added that if he had things his way, his children would even repeat the classes they were in but in the new school. They shared that they were hoping the schools would open so they did not have to have to deal with high bus fares as they did not wish to send their children back to the current Hosea schools. When reached for comment, Deputy REO Gugu Dlamini shared that the REO Siboniso Gumbi wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education and Training, informing them about the complete classrooms at the school and requesting for posts as well.

She shared that their superiors had not responded to the letters sent to them. “The schools will not open pending the posts of teachers to the schools,” she added. A comment could not be sought from the Minister of Education and Training Lady Mabuza and the Principal Secretary, Bheki Gama, as their phones were not available on local networks.

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