On Monday (1/6), parents staged a protest outside the school premises, burning tyres while learners stood outside the school grounds. It is understood the police are also at the scene.

The closure of the school by parents and community members follows ongoing complaints that learners are allegedly being forced to study in deteriorating temporary structures without electricity after the original school building was demolished years ago.

More than R40m was reportedly allocated in 2022 for the school’s rebuilding. However, community members claim there has been no visible progress on the project.

Classrooms

A source told OFM News the temporary learning structures have allegedly deteriorated to such an extent that teaching and learning have to stop whenever it rains because classrooms leak.

Videos previously shared with OFM News show an empty site with bushes, heaps of rubble and what appears to be a small dam inside the school yard, with no visible construction taking place.

‘It’s been six years’

“We, as community members of Ward 35 in Welkom, have decided that we are going to close down the school today. It’s been six years, and the school has not been built.

“The building was demolished in 2022, several contractors were appointed, but nothing materialised until now. So we have made a decision that we are going to close because we want all relevant parties, from the human settlement department to responsible MECs, and the department of education. 

“We want them to come and tell us why they are not building the school.”

Community members said the mobile classes are now in a bad condition, and they want to see the school being built and employment being created.

Free State Education spokesperson Howard Ndaba said the electricity supply had been cut by the Matjhabeng municipality because the school allegedly owed the municipality around R1 million. The school had agreed to pay R10 000 to the municipality.

The department of public works was supposed to address issues relating to rates and taxes, while acknowledging that other schools are facing similar situations, he added.

The department decided to demolish the old school because the infrastructure was in poor condition, and mobile classrooms were brought in while awaiting the appointment of a contractor to build a new school.

“The mobile classrooms belong to the department,” said Ndaba. He disputed claims that the structures were shacks. “The delay has been caused by non-performance of the contractor, and we are going to get a new contractor so that we can start with the process.”

Ndaba previously said the frustration of community members was understandable and the department would “try their level best” to ensure the project is placed back on track. An inquiry has been sent to the department on the latest development. This is a developing story.

In 2024, another school was forced to shut down by parents, teachers, and SGB members of Thato Secondary School, complaining about the dangerous conditions the school poses to staff and learners.

Parents had said the school should not be in use as it is in a state of dilapidation, with falling ceilings that pose a danger to their children and educators. The school was closed and declared unsafe in 2018 by the department of labour.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi dg

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