Hundreds of high school pupils in the rural village of Bazangoma under the eDumbe local municipality face the uncertainty of continuing their schooling.
This raises concerns over the plight of matric pupils, who are missing out on classes as a result of the impasse involving the KwaZulu-Natal department of education, Bazangoma community committee and the local Inkosi Siphamandla Nkosi, who is supporting the residents.
The department is locked in a stand-off with the owner of the land the school is built on, and claims the school is unable to meet his “unreasonable” financial demands.
The land owner is adamant he will not lower his demands and give in to the department.
Speaking to Sunday World this week, Nkosi said it has been an uphill battle trying to get the department to listen to the cries of the community.
“Now they are threatening us with arrests because we told them that children cannot be forced to leave the school right in their backyard and travel kilometres away.
“The new temporary school has no electricity or water and no proper structures, only park homes,” lamented Nkosi, who said the scholar transport was also inadequate, leaving scores of pupils languishing at home.
The Bazangoma Secondary School was one of the top performing schools under Zululand district for the matric class of 2022, achieving an 85% pass rate.
Over the years, pupils have been attending the school, located on private land.
However, in March this year, the landowner, Milton Lushaba, locked the premises following a disagreement with the provincial department of education over rental fees.
The stand-off has forced scores of pupils to lose precious learning time as parents have vowed that their children will not attend the new school preferred by the department.
The school itself was built by the community before the department took over completing other structures.
EDumbe mayor Sibusiso Mkhabela pointed out that the municipality had committed to assist community members and pay off the rental fees for the duration of the year until a permanent solution is reached.
“The department is standing in the way, because we were ready to assist and agreed with the landowner that he will open the school,” Mkhabela said.
In the court papers filed at the KwaZulu-Natal high court in Pietermaritzburg, which Sunday World has seen, the department of education contends that the demands made by the landowner are unreasonable and will lead to an unnecessary financial burden for the department.
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