MAILASKOP – The Department of Public Works is embroiled in controversy for erroneously building eight classrooms, approved by the Department of Education, at the wrong school last year.

Mirror learnt that the Department of Education once indicated that the Michael Denga Ramabulana Secondary School at Mailaskop Village was on the priority list for eight new additional classrooms to be built in 2003, but while waiting for the construction to start, teachers, learners and members of the SGB of Michael Denga Ramabulana school learnt through rumours that the very classrooms had been awarded to Ramabulana Secondary School in Nzhelele.

It is reported that the classrooms had already been completed. The SGB chairperson of Michael Denga Ramabulana School, Mr Robert Maselesele, said that the hearsay became reality after a representative from Public Works was sent to inspect the project at Denga, only to find that no construction had begun yet. He said that they requested the Regional and Provincial Department of Education to investigate the matter, so that they could get their classrooms, but the requests fell on deaf ears.

Mirror is in possession of a letter from the Manager of Zoutpansberg East Circuit, Mr PK Netshia, dated October 28 last year, requesting the Public Works Department to divert the eight classrooms to Michael Denga School. “The eight classrooms which were supposed to be built at MD Ramabulana Secondary School are being built at Ramabulana Secondary School, a very wrong school, as this school was not in our priority list,” reads part of the introduction paragraph of the letter issued by the office of the District Senior Manager of the Department of Education in the Vhembe District on October 28, 2003.

In the letter it was written that the cause of the problem is that the Department of Education is mostly not consulted when the handing over of sites is conducted. “We request that the issue of consultation and transparency be adhered to,” reads the statement.

Maselele revealed that they are more than prepared to march to the MEC for Education and the Premier’s office if their request is not rectified as a matter of urgency.

At Michael Denga Secondary School, there are four classrooms, and one is also utilised as an office. The school has close to 510 learners. They are also utilising the old building that belong to a village project and an-other old building, which was once used by a local driving school.

Teachers walk close to 10 minutes while going to conduct lessons, as the building are not close to each other. The school is also operating without proper sanitation. Attempts by Mirror to solicit information from both the regional and provincial offices of the department of education proved fruitless.