By Levy Masiteng
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (KZNDOE) has officially opened the R83.2 million Siyakhanyisa Primary School in Zidedele, King Cetshwayo District.
KZN Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka opened the facility on Thursday, accompanied by his Head of Department, Nkosinathi Ngcobo.
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“We are pleased with the work that has been done. We have a constitutional obligation to provide our learners with schools, learner support materials and the human resources they need to succeed,” said Hlomuka.
The project has delivered an expanded range of facilities designed to accommodate the school’s educational and administrative needs, the department said.
This includes 13 standard classrooms and five Grade R classrooms, three multipurpose rooms, a media centre, computer room and a team teaching and activity room.
The school also has an administration block containing the principal’s and deputy principal’s offices, a general office, a staffroom with a kitchen, stationery and general stores, a printing room, and separate sick rooms for male and female learners.
Additional facilities include four Heads of Department offices, teachers’ workrooms, a counselling suite and dedicated storage areas.
The school also has a National School Nutrition Programme kitchen, a garden store, changerooms and ablution facilities — 15 toilets for girls, 18 toilets and urinal spaces for boys, six teachers’ toilets, a toilet for the disabled, and separate ablution facilities for Grade R learners and their teacher.
The development also has a guardhouse, perimeter fencing, 46 parking bays, a flagpole, assembly area, hardened courtyard, combi court and soccer field.
“The facilities were intended to create a safer and more supportive environment for curriculum delivery, administration, sport and extracurricular activities,” the department said.
Hlomuka said the construction project had contributed to the local economy through the creation of 59 jobs, including opportunities for young people and women.
The project was implemented by the Coega Development Corporation, with Afriscan Construction (Pty) Ltd appointed as the contractor.
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The school replaces the park homes in which the institution previously operated.
School principal Ntethelelo Shandu, who presented a report on the school’s development, said the institution had been operating since 1978 and had continued striving for academic excellence despite previously being housed in park homes.
“We were once housed in park homes, yet our academic performance has always been of a high standard. With this new infrastructure, the sky is the limit,” said Shandu.
Hlomuka urged the Zidedele community to protect the school against vandalism, emphasising the importance of safeguarding the infrastructure for current and future generations of learners.
