Calvinia schools reopen after protests over funding woes

HANTAM Primary School and Hantam High School in Calvinia reopened on Friday following protests that were held on April 24 due to the non-payment of school funding. 

Members of the school governing body (SGB) said the schools were not able to operate as the municipal accounts were outstanding and the electricity was switched off due to non-payment to Eskom.

“Underprivileged schools cannot function without funding, with over R1 million owed by each school in outstanding accounts. Our concerns are being dismissed as being trivial,” they said.

Tyres were set alight during the protest, and parents summoned the MEC for  Education to Calvinia. 

“It appears as if action is only taken if we burn tyres,” some parents remarked. 

Cosatu provincial chairperson Jacques Cupido added that the community and parents were at their wits' end over the department's failure to address the ongoing problems affecting the schools.

“While funds were made available to the primary school on April 24, we have not heard anything about the high school.” 

He added that pupils had not been attending school for the past two weeks. 

Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said the closure of Hantam Primary School was unjustifiable. 

“The school has uninterrupted electricity and water supply, sufficient learning and teaching material, and the school infrastructure is intact,” said Van der Merwe.

He added that school funding of R328,000 was paid for the School Nutrition Programme on April 22.

“An amount of R68,000 for municipal services, R20,000 for maintenance and R48,000 for learning and support material will be paid on April 25.” 

Van der Merwe warned that the department would not hesitate to obtain an interdict to prevent the illegal closure of the school.

“We view the action taken by the school governing body as irresponsible and not in the best interest of pupils.” 

He stated that a direct payment was made towards the municipal account of Hantam High School earlier this week.