Sinenjongo High School matrics have continued to get stellar results despite writing their finals off the premises for the past three years because the school’s hall – torched in 2020 rioting – remains a ruin.
The violence that started on the night of July 20, 2020 was sparked, according to residents, by City Law Enforcement moving land invaders off a site in Freedom Way where the Joe Slovo market was before the Covid-19 restrictions left the field empty (“Residents speak out against violent protests,” Tabletalk, August 5, 2020).
That night, Marconi Beam Primary School’s library was torched. Sinenjongo’s hall and a City garbage truck were set alight the following night.
It’s been almost three years since then, but the hall’s windows remain boarded up and the outside walls still carry the black scorch marks of the fire.
Ward councillor Anthony Benadie said it was up to the Western Cape Education Department to comment on the torching of schools, but he added: “The relevant departments have been receiving information saying that even if the damages are fixed, there’s a threat that these buildings will be damaged again.”
Kerry Mauchline, spokeswoman for Education MEC David Maynier, said the gutted hall had been assessed in 2020, but further tests were needed to see whether it could still be saved or whether it would need to be demolished.
“Once complete, the final scope of the project can be decided and implemented. This is expected to happen within the first half of this year,” she said.
In the meantime, the matrics have had to write their exams in the Joe Slovo Community Hall, about 500 metres from the school, and yet, despite these conditions and the slow pace at which education authorities have moved to fix the hall, Sinenjongo has recorded a matric pass rate for 2022 that is above 80% for the 12th year in a row (“Class of 2022 beats the odds,” Tabletalk January 25).
But it has not been easy, according to Khanyisa Mbekweni. He was in matric at Sinenjongo in 2020 and said the destruction of the hall had only fuelled the uncertainty of the time.
“I know matriculants from every year have issues they have to deal with. But I have to say it was tough for us in 2020. There was a worldwide shutdown, and times were very uncertain. Then we had our school hall burnt. It was scary just being in the area of Joe Slovo. People were always quite tense, and although I understand now, at the time, we felt like we were being attacked or judged for trying to further our studies.“
In a statement last week, the WCED said there were 48 incidents of burglary and/or vandalism at 42 schools across the province during the December and January school holidays.
“Items stolen or damaged included bathroom fixtures and water piping, water pumps and meters, drain covers, fencing, windows and doors, computers, IT and audio-visual equipment and cabling, lights and electrical equipment, kitchen appliances and tools, bicycles, garden tools, and consumables like toilet paper and black bags,” said Ms Mauchline.
The total cost caused by the damage and theft was still being calculated, she said.
She urged the public to report any suspicious activity at schools to SAPS or the Safe Schools hotline at 0800 45 46 47.
Milnerton SAPS did not respond to calls and emailed questions about whether anyone had been arrested in connection with the Joe Slovo riots.