- Sinako High School in Makhaza has been without electricity since the school year began, affecting students’ ability to study.
- A Grade 12 student staged a protest demanding the principal’s resignation, citing non-functioning toilets, vandalized fences and ongoing electricity issues.
- The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) confirmed the school owes Eskom over R400 000 and is under financial mismanagement investigation, promising to address the concerns in the coming week.
Some concerned parents who have children studying at Sinako High School in Makhaza are worried about the state of the school, saying it may affect their children and their studies. They said since the school year began there had been no electricity, which made it hard for the learners to study properly.
Parents and learners spoken to, who refused to be named for fear of harassment, described school’s state as “terrible”, and nothing was going right.
One parent said she wanted the government to account for all the wrong things at the school. As if teaching the children in the dark was not enough, parents were also asked to buy stationery for their children.
“How can we buy books at a no-fee school? Most of the parents are unemployed. Some of them struggle even to buy uniforms for their children, and yet they are told to buy books!” Moreover, said the parent, since her child started at the school three years ago it has not had a single parents’ meeting.
One Grade 12 learner said he staged his own demonstration at the school on Monday 10 February, demanding that the principal resign for “being incompetent”.
“Not having electricity at the school is nothing new. Last year the electricity would come and go, but this year it seems to be permanent. We are behind in our school syllabus because we don’t study. The toilets are not functioning properly and the fence has been vandalised.”
Bronagh Hammond, Director of Communications at the Western Cape Education (WCED), said the department was aware of various concerns raised by the community, one being the shortage of electricity due to an outstanding account payment to Eskom.
“We are addressing this with Eskom to try and find a solution,” she said. “The school account has been terminated as a result of the non-payment of their account. The amount currently owed is more than R400 000. The school does not have these funds. The WCED district office has only recently been made aware of the situation and is trying to resolve the matter.”
Hammond added that the school had been bailed out of its Eskom debt before. She said the school was also currently being investigated for financial mismanagement. A decision on how they will proceed still needed to be made.
“Schools receive Norms and Standards funding, which is to contribute towards various expenses such as municipal bills and maintenance of the school, including the toilets. The complaint about the toilet facilities is being addressed. The stationery for the school was ordered, but there is a delay from the supplier. Attempts to resolve this are also being addressed.”
Hammond said the WCED will address each of the concerns over the course of next week.