NC high school suffers extensive fire damage
THE NORTHERN Cape Department of Education said the administration block, 11 classrooms and the ablution blocks were damaged after a fire erupted at Garies High School on Saturday.
Department spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said firefighters from Springbok, Aggeneys and Vredendal had to battle to put out the blaze under extremely windy weather on Saturday.
“Firefighters will keep monitoring the situation.”
He said there were 216 pupils, including 12 matric pupils, and 11 educators at Garies High School. “The school hostel accommodates 136 learners, which represents 73 girls and 63 boys.”
Van der Merwe stated that answer scripts, learning and teaching support material and school furniture were destroyed in the fire.
“The department is devastated by the damage caused by this fire and is busy putting plans in place to provide immediate assistance. Fortunately, the school hall, two classrooms, the woodwork room, storeroom and an unused ablution block were not affected by the fire.”
Van der Merwe indicated that the MEC for Education, Zolile Monakali, and the head of department, Moira Marais-Martin, would visit the school on Monday to assess the extent of the damage and to determine the way forward.
