KwaZulu-Natal Education head Nathi Ngcobo, Education Minister Angie Motshekga and KZN MEC Mbali Frazer inspecting the work of Nkonkoni Primary School pupils in Umlazi on the first day of school 2023. Picture: Bongani Mbatha/African News Agency (ANA)
Durban — Day one of the 2023 KwaZulu-Natal school calendar got off to a mixed start following disruptions at some schools while at others teaching and learning resumed smoothly on Wednesday.
Various government officials were out in full force to monitor day one of the 2023 school calendar.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and KZN Education MEC Mbali Frazer visited various schools.
They started at Kwazubumnandi Early Childhood Development Centre in Umlazi, where the minister inspected the facility for compliance and suitability for taking care of young children.
Early childhood development centres were moved from Social Development to Education. The team then proceeded to Nkonkoni Primary less than 1km from the crèche.
Motshekga lamented that the infrastructure backlog at both schools were part of a huge challenge the department was facing. Motshekga said the crèche did not have enough space and the primary school urgently needed another ablution facility because of the large number of pupils sharing one facility.
The Daily News also learnt that the fencing of the primary school was blocked by local business forums fighting over the tender. The building material is gathering dust in the schoolyard.
Despite all the challenges, Motshekga said she was impressed by the enthusiasm shown by teachers and school management to teach, no matter what the conditions are.
“Infrastructure backlog is a huge challenge for the education sector. The demand is much higher than what we can do, especially in the province, which has more than 6 000 schools with over 2.8 million pupils.”
At KwaMgaga high school, parents demanded that school management pass all the pupils. Motshekga said their demand was impossible and her officials were attending to the problems.
Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said to ease registration congestion the province was planning to introduce online registration towards the end of the year. Pre-registration was important because people were migrating to cities in large numbers.
Dube-Ncube said in the first 10 days some parents would still be looking for spaces to place their children.
At Greyville Primary School in Durban central parents disrupted classes demanding the suspension of the principal, whom they accused of mismanaging school funds. The principal used the school’s bank cards to fund his personal life, they said. School governing body (SGB) chairperson Nobuhle Ndadane said that they had previously asked the principal to account for financial issues at the school, but nothing had been done. She said that they had written and held numerous meetings with the principal, but he was not co-operating.
Ndadane said they had raised operational issues with the department, but they had not been addressed prior to the school reopening.
“We have screen shots of him purchasing groceries and clothing using the school funds. We expect to meet the department soon and will reveal all the proof of the allegations. We closed the school because we want the issues to be addressed,” said Ndadane.
Some parents took their children home; others waited with them in their cars. Senamile Biyela, the mother of a Grade 1 pupil, said it was a matter of importance but they would’ve loved to see their children start on the first day. She arrived at the school at 7am and stood for two hours while the protest was under way. Education Department head Nkosinathi Ngcobo said the department was not aware of the allegations against the principal. Further investigations would be conducted into the claims.
“Our district official reported back that the matter was diffused and the pupils allowed into classrooms after talking with the parents.”
Daily News