EC Education Dept replaces mud school with R8 million prefab facility

The Eastern Cape Department of Education has replaced the mud-structure Jongimishini Primary School with a new bungalow-block facility as part of efforts to eradicate mud schools and improve learning conditions in rural communities.

The upgraded school was officially handed over to the community of Forty Village, outside Tsomo in the Chris Hani District.

Government spent R8 million to erect three prefabricated classrooms, one crèche structure and 15 brick-and-mortar toilets.

The project was identified in 2021, completed in 2024 and handed over to the community this month.

Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade says the project was an immediate intervention to ensure a safe teaching and learning environment.

“We are quite happy and we are able now to, at least, source all the learners around with the magnitude of the classes that are there. We have spent around R8 million, when I am also calculating the safe programme that has been built through the DBE safe programme,” Gade said.

He explained that funding constraints had led to the decision to use prefabricated structures rather than conventional brick-and-mortar construction.

“These were the mud schools at that time and I then gave an instruction to say, no, in a space of three years, we needed to have a school here in the form of the building that we have. But when we looked in terms of the funding, we could see that we are not that much capable, and with time, we could not build the school as expected, and then we opted for alternative infrastructure building, which at least could be faster than building the brick-and-mortar one,” Gade said.

Community members say the mud structures had negatively affected both learners and teachers.

School representative Viwe Dinga says absenteeism had been a persistent problem under the old conditions.

“When we were using the mud structure, there was a high rate of absenteeism among both learners and teachers. When I tried to hear from them what the real problem was, they were complaining about their health, that they had developed asthma and fever, because sometimes I had to take one grade outside and teach that grade outside the whole day,” says Dinga.

Community member Qhamani Mabhentsela says the new facility had been welcomed by learners and teachers alike.

“We are excited. Now we have new classrooms, learners are excited, each teacher has her own classroom, unlike before because they used to share classrooms. Now that is no longer an issue,” Mabhentsela said.

Local Traditional Council spokesperson Ludwe Gcinca welcomed the handover but expressed hope that the prefabricated structures would eventually be replaced with permanent buildings.

“It has been a long time waiting for this kind of infrastructure to come. As it is still a prefab, we appreciate it as the family, and we would like to see the school working together with the royal family, because we also give them the support they need,” Gcinca said.

The government said the eradication of pit toilets in rural schools remained a priority.