The Citizen reports that according to a report on a survey conducted by the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU), thousands of pupils throughout the country were facing the danger of school buildings collapsing on them.  

The report found that more than 70 schools countrywide had infrastructure problems that required urgent attention.  According to the union, the recent tragedy at Hoërskool Driehoek, in which four pupils were killed after a walkway collapsed, prompted the investigation.  Johan Kruger, director of operations at SAOU, said:  “The SAOU launched a national survey to obtain an informed picture of the degree of compliance with the regulations and standards of public school infrastructure.  The survey to date has identified more than 70 schools with infrastructure problems that can be categorised as requiring urgent attention to parts of the buildings.  The average age of the schools is 68 years.  School maintenance is woefully inadequate.”  A school, for example, that faces danger is Ennerdale Secondary School, where learning has been disrupted in the past two weeks because of fears that the school’s walkway, which connects two buildings, may collapse.  A spokesperson for the department of basic education on Thursday referred enquiries regarding the condition of the schools to the individual provinces.

• Read the original of Gcina Ntsaluba’s report on this story in full at Bloemfontein Courant

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