One year on, new school still not open as it has not been named

A brand new school that was built by the department of education in Patensie has been standing empty for more than a year, simply because the school has not been given a name.

This is according to DA MPL Yusuf Cassim, who conducted an oversight visit to the school this week.

The building of the school was part of the national Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (Asidi) programme which aimed to eradicate schools built with inappropriate and unsafe materials.

In a statement, Cassim said the school had been in the pipeline since May 2014.

“Further delays caused by the lack of an electricity connection meant that the keys to the school were only handed over to the department six months ago, once all contractors were paid and the electricity connection finalised,” Cassim said.

He said it was shocking that the school had not been opened because it had not been given a name and that no principal had been appointed yet.

Education MEC Fundile Gade’s spokesperson, Vuyiseka Mboxela, said she would provide an official response but said there were other schools waiting to be opened.

Mboxela said the reasons included that a scientific and safety evaluation of the new buildings still needed to be done.

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