SHAYANDIMA - Children at Shayandima will no longer have to travel long distances to attend overcrowded schools in other areas, as they will now use the Dambalwasshe Primary School, a public school provided by the government five years ago.

This followed an out of court settlement reached between the board of Awelani Christian School, the provincial Department of Education and the municipality.

Children at Shayandima could not utilize this school with eight classrooms provided for them by the department, as the principal of Awelani, a private school, was engaged in a long battle against the civic association for a stand where the school was erected.

The government built the school for the community to avoid overcrowding in the two local primary schools, Tshidumbi Higher Primary and Lurenzheni Lower Primary as they had 850 and 826 children respectively.

Immediately after the school was completed and ready to open in 1997, Molete applied for a court interdict on January 13 in the Thohoyandou High Court, claiming that the school cannot be utilized as it was erected in her stand, Number 1043. She also produced papers indicating that she had bought the stand from the municipality for R6 000.

The civic then claimed that Molete had "fraudulently secured" the stand as the site was reserved for a public school, not a private school. After the intervention of the provincial education office and Thulamele Municipality, the board of Awelani then agreed to swap their school with Manzere School.

The department also promised to give them R15 000 for their land and the provision of money for the building of classrooms to which they agreed on April 15, 1999.

The Superintendent General for Education in the province, Prof Harry Nengwekhulu confirmed last Friday that the school would open on 16 January, together with other schools, after the agreement was reached between the task team and the school board.

Community members, Avhapfani Mulovhedzi, Nndwamato Sirwali and councilor Mutshinya Nemakonde also expressed their delight about the opening of the school. "This issue has been dragging for too long. We are now happy that our children will no longer have to walk long distances while risking their lives when crossing roads," said Mulovhedzi.