Limpopo School Ceiling Collapse Leaves 20 Injured, SA Divided As Parents Demand Mobile Classrooms

• Grade 3 pupils were injured when parts of a classroom ceiling collapsed at a school in Limpopo
• Parents of learners at Dingamanzi Primary School in Giyani want the department to bring in mobile classrooms
• South Africans were divided by the incident, with someone suggesting that the parents fix it themselves

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

LIMPOPO – At least 20 Grade 3 pupils have been injured after a part of the ceiling collapsed at a school in Giyani.

Learners had just returned from break when the ceiling collapsed in a classroom at Dingamanzi Primary School in Limpopo. A teacher at the school confirmed that 48 learners were in the classroom at the time.

20 learners were first taken to a clinic, before some of them were referred to a hospital for further examination. The learners have all since been discharged.

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Parents embark on a strike

Parents of learners at the school have since embarked on a strike, demanding that mobile classrooms be brought in. They claim that the block where the incident happened had been declared unsafe by the Employment and Labour Department.

They have also withdrawn their children from the primary school in Giyani.

Education Department refutes unsafe claims

Limpopo Education spokesperson, Mike Maringa, has dismissed the allegations made by parents, saying that the block was newly renovated.

“The block was never declared unsafe. This is a newly renovated block, fairly new, it's not even six months old,” he said.

“There is construction now underway at the school. We provisionally moved learners into the block so we could give the contractor space to work on the other blocks. The notion that it was declared unsafe is incorrect,” he added.

He concluded that investigations were underway with the contractors, the school governing body and officials from the department to determine what led to the collapse.

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How did South Africans react?

Social media users were divided by the incident, with some suggesting that the parents take it upon themselves to fix the damage, while others blamed a lack of maintenance and the African National Congress.

Nozi Mlotshwa suggested:

“Parents can donate money to fix the ceiling, so it can be repaired over the weekend. This way, the kids can return to class on Monday with a brand-new ceiling. Otherwise, waiting for the Department of Education could take 10 to 15 years for the repairs to be completed under the ANC.”

Venissa Pillay said:

“Have classes outside until the roof is repaired, or find a hall. It's vital, as we are nearing year-end.”

Lucky Njoms added:

“So, the government will release a tender for people to fix it, whereas if the municipality had workers, they would go around each school monthly to do maintenance, and all it would cost is their monthly salaries and the tools owned by the municipality.”

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Xola Mpoza stated:

“They vote for the ANC in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.”

Matsimela Honky noted:

“Rather than going to fix it, they withdraw their kids🤣.”

Vasuthavan Govender stated:

“Unfortunately, this is the state at many schools and departmental buildings. Maintenance and repairs seem to be relegated to the background.”

Ncuthukazi Zanie stated:

“I blame the ANC government.”

Russell Wightman agreed:

“Expecting maintenance from the ANC is stupid.”

Garth Berry asked:

“Why don't the parents come together and repair it? While I was at school, we had a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) that did fundraising throughout the year. Massive projects were done at the school, even a stadium was built purely on funds collected from the parents of children of the school.”

Source: Briefly News