Greytown school reopens after department acts on safety concerns

Teaching has resumed at Indlovana Primary School in Greytown after the school governing body (SGB) halted classes last week, citing dangerous and deteriorating infrastructure that put pupils and teachers at risk.

The reopening follows urgent engagements between the SGB and the Department of Education last Friday.

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The department has since provided temporary relief measures, including the delivery of four mobile classrooms over the weekend.

SGB chairperson Nana Mkhize said the decision to reopen came after a lengthy, and at times tense, meeting with officials, who committed to addressing the school’s infrastructure crisis.

We are relieved that there is progress. The department has assured us that the school will be fixed, and we are seeing some intervention with the mobile classrooms.

“We remain hopeful that the school infrastructure will soon be fixed and our children will learn in a safe environment,” said Mkhize.

The mobile units are intended to accommodate Grade 3 and 4 pupils, who had been learning in some of the most severely affected classrooms.

In the interim, the school hall and another centre are expected to be repaired this week to provide additional teaching space for the four affected classes.

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However, safety concerns remain. Mkhize said a contractor working on site recently fell into a hole inside one of the damaged classrooms, highlighting the dangers that led to the shutdown.

“Fortunately, he was not injured, but it shows how unsafe these classrooms are. These are the same conditions our children were expected to learn in.

A teacher was injured and had to undergo an operation after she fell into one of these holes beneath the mobile classrooms.

“Three children were injured when a ceiling fell on them, but the department was not treating this with the urgency it deserved,” she said.

Grades 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 returned to school on Monday, while Grades 3 and 4 will resume classes on Tuesday following the delivery of the mobile classrooms.

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While welcoming the department’s response, the SGB said the reopening is conditional on continued progress, with the expectation that permanent repairs will be carried out without delay.

“We appreciate what has been done so far, but this is only a temporary solution.

“Our children deserve a safe and proper learning environment,” Mkhize said.