The construction of four classrooms at Mafenya Primary School, which was started in 2002 and was due to be completed a year later, has not yet been completed.

The 478 learners and 19 educators are forced to take lessons in the unfinished and dusty-floored building that has no doors and window panes. Teachers at the school say it is impossible to conduct lessons during rainy days and in extremely cold weather because rain comes in and the place becomes very cold. To keep the education fire burning, teachers have placed cardboard boxes in the windows and learners have smeared cow dung on the floor. No electric cabling has been done.

The deputy-principal at the school, Mr Azwinndini Mufamadi, says they have tried all they could to have the department finish up the construction, but in vain. He said they have written several letters and held countless meetings with parents and department officials but nothing fruitful came out of these. “We were told that the department had terminated the contract with the contractor because of underperformance, but the contractor claims that the government did not give him enough funds and that is why he abandoned the building. The department says no one is willing to buy the tender to finish up our school because the remaining job is too small and contractors say there is nothing to gain from that particular tender. The department once promised us that workers from Public Works would come and finish up the building but they have never fulfilled their promises…”

Mufamadi says the school is situated in a remote rural area and most of the parents and guardians of the kids are not working. “Poor parents cannot afford financial contributions to finish up the building because most of them are tragic victims of poverty. We want the Department of Education to finish up the building because the situation is affecting our day-to-day running of the school. The educational performance of the kids is also affected because they cannot concentrate fully on their education in a building that is not fit for human occupation.”

The acting senior manager for the Department of Education in the Vhembe District, Dr Moses Rathando, says the department is aware of the problem at Mafenya Primary School. He said the issue has been discussed at several meetings and the department is doing its best to have the building finished. “We have put Mafenya Primary School on our priority list for schools that need urgent infrastructure attention.”