Chaos outside the Cape Schools as parents demand places for their children

The police were called to intervene after the parents closed the primary schools of Solomon Mahlagu and Blue Ridge in Kraaifontein on Monday and Tuesday. Photos: Vincent Lali

There were chaotic scenes in Wallacedene, Kraaifontein, on Wednesday when parents moved their children, with their desks and chairs, from the Solomon Mahlagu primary school to Blue Ridge Elementary School in protest.

Blue Ridge Primary, a new school, opened on January 15 and is directly in front of Solomon Mahlagu on Thakudi Street. On Wednesday, parents and community members took desks from Solomon Mahlagu through the street to Blue Ridge, to put them in the empty classrooms of the school.

The protest followed two days of interruptions on Monday and Tuesday when dozens of parents blocked the tickets to both schools. They demanded that their children be transferred to Blue Ridge.

Last month, parents too protested To prevent new students from being from Wallacedene, they register in Blue Ridge.

They argue that some classrooms in Blue Ridge remain empty, while Solomon Mahlagu students have to endure bad learning conditions. The school lacks a computer laboratory, a science laboratory, a library and a recreation courtyard. Parents claim that the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has prioritized students from other areas in Blue Ridge.

The police were called to intervene on Wednesday after the closing of the two -day school.

Mother Patricia Jola expressed her frustration, saying: “We currently celebrate our graduation meetings and ceremonies outside even when it’s cold because old school (Solomon Mahlagu) has no room,” he said.

“Our children return home with wet books because the school is leaks, and sometimes they faint in heat.”

The leader of the community, Chippa Arosi, said that the WCED had initially asked community leaders to form a task team to facilitate the transfer process. “The department never communicated with us after establishing the task team. We send letters, but they did not respond, ”he said.

WCEd spokesman Bronagh Hammond denied the statements that the department had not committed to the task team. “Unfortunately, certain members of the community have decided to interrupt students’ rights to education for their own demands,” he said.

Hammond said the community had had the option to register its children in Blue Ridge from grade R to grade 3.

But the parents said they wanted this to extend to all grades.

Hammond emphasized that Blue Ridge is a new school, not a replacement for Solomon Mahlagu. “Under no circumstances will we tolerate threats to close schools or any action that interrupts education,” he said.

“We will only get involved with the group once all students receive their basic rights and attend school,” Hammond said.

Parents carry out school desks of the Solomon Mahlagu primary. They want their children to be transferred to Blue Ridge Elementary School.

Originally published inBasis.