THE Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, the MEC of Education, Zolile Monakali and members of the executive officiated the sod-turning of the school a day before the State of the Province (SOPA).
The previous school is said to have asbestos structures which will be demolished.
Saul said the delivery of social infrastructure remains a priority to the government.
“The school will be a level eight Secondary School , meaning there will be eight classrooms per grade. It will also comprise of a large administration block, 40 ordinary classrooms, three large ablution blocks, two computer classrooms, one library, three science laboratories, a woodwork classroom, two multi-purpose classrooms, a school hall, a nutrition kitchen with roofed dining space as well as sports facilities. Additionally, this school will be fully accessible to learners with disabilities,” said Saul.
He said learners at the school will be accommodated in mobile classes while the construction is ongoing.
“It will be a great inconvenience, but it is necessary. It will be difficult but it is for the greater good for the community and the province as well. We want to preserve the history of this school and that is why we will be constructing on the same grounds, he said.
He said the construction of the school will not only result in a bright new building but also address the challenges in the community.
“Many job opportunities will be created during the construction phase of this school. This brand-new and beautiful school will also afford the opportunity to quality education to our learners in a safe space with advantageous circumstances. This school, when completed, will be the epitome of progress in the community. The community must cherish this building and use it for the benefit of the community,” he said.
Saul urged the community to protect the costly structure.
“This school was vandalised and burgled in December. There were 30 computers that were stolen from this school. We cannot allow such criminal acts to continue,” said Saul.
Monakali said a lot of hard work was put into making the project a reality.
“Once the construction of this school commences, and after it has been completed then the community must take ownership of this school. The ZF Mgcawu District has the highest number of vandalism at schools in the province. About 80% of the schools that were vandalised during the festive holiday, were in this district. Every time we renovate a school, that school gets vandalised. The culprits of vandalism do not just fall from the sky, but they are from this community. We want to call on our community, the community needs to be actively involved in safeguarding our schools including its resources, Monakali said.
