The parents told the Herald during a visit to the school that the condition of the school is so bad that it poses a danger to their children. “The school was built in 1976 by our parents with mud bricks. Since then the school has never been renovated. Some of the walls have caved in and we had three incidents where rotten planks fell on the floor,” said Mashohla Nkwana, a parent and leader in the community.

“We will not be taking our children to school until the department come to us with something concrete. We have been promised a new school for many years and up until today, nothing has been done. We also do not want the school to be built on the same site where it is today as the site is not suitable for a school to be built on,” he said.

The spokesperson for the department, Tidimalo Chuene, told the Herald that Ratjeke Primary School is one of 50 schools that are on the financial budget for this year. “Ratjeke Primary School is on our priority list for infrastructure development projects, including a fence at a new site where new and replacement buildings will be constructed to cater for the merged Ratjeke and Mahekgwe schools,” she said.

She said the school was given six mobile classrooms for use while waiting for construction to begin. “Community representatives were engaged in the progress towards the building by the department’s circuit, district, and provincial office. They were informed around the inability to advertise for a tender, as there was a directive from the treasury in February this year on not to procure above a certain threshold,” she said.

Also read: Mobile classroom collapses in Sekgosese

She said the community was given an undertaking that process of advertising will start as soon as possible. “It is disturbing to note that learners from Ratjeke Primary and Rama Secondary schools have been taken out of class by community members to put pressure on discussions with the department around this matter. “This is deemed to not be in the best interest of learners who are now falling behind in their studies,” she said.

“We also had a report that two mobile classrooms at Ratjeke were burnt down. We condemn this act in the strongest terms and urge the community to come forward with information that will assist the police to apprehend those responsibly. We are continuing with stakeholder engagements at various levels to deal with all issues at hand, with priority being the return of learners to school,” she said.

The two mobile classrooms were torched on Tuesday, May 17 by unknown persons, and the incident was reported to the Mokwakwaila SAPS. According to Sgt Tinyiko Manganye of Mokwakwaila, the suspects are unknown but an investigation into the situation is continuing.

Anyone with information can contact WO Nthai Modjadji, branch commander in the area on 060 996 0062 or the investigating officer, Sgt Ronnie Nakana on 073 976 8285 or contact crime stop number 086001011.

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