The purpose of his visit is to conduct an assessment and establish the extent of damage caused by a fire which erupted at the school on Friday morning.

Departmental spokesperson, Howard Ndaba, explains that Makgoe’s aim with the visit is also to see what measures can be taken in order to restore the school’s operations as soon and as practically possible.

Only two classrooms survived the fire. The cause is still being investigated at this stage.

Ndaba further explained that Makgoe will be accompanied by senior officials of the Infrastructure Unit, the Phumelela Local Municipality Mayor, and the Executive Mayor of the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality.

The fire has left 1050 learners and 31 teachers with no school to attend, as 23 of the 25 classrooms were damaged.

Furniture, computers, learner support materials, and other documents were destroyed in the fire. In the meantime, the plan is to divide the learners into two groups that will be accommodated by the other two schools in Vrede.

“This is excruciatingly hurtful, given the fact that we do not have enough schools in the area. This incident is taking us back, as we will be required to rebuild another school - and the funds are not readily available,” concluded Makgoe.

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