Shoddy workmanship at Nokuthula Special School LSEN compromising learners’ safety

Learners and teachers at Nokuthula LSEN school are exposed to a terrible environment due to the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) failure to fix the structural defects.

The GDE has failed to fix the structural defects at Nokuthula Special School LSEN since 2018. The structure of the school has been made worse by the hailstorm that damaged 12 classrooms last year in December and the heavy rains in February that also damaged the retaining wall of the school. This is a safety risk for both learners and teachers.

Today, the DA conducted an oversight inspection at the school and was disappointed to discover that the department has not yet fixed the school. The dormitories are still not occupied because they have not been issued with an occupational certificate.

See the photos here, here and here.

The environment in which the learners are taught is not conducive to learning and teaching.

Furthermore, the hydrotherapy pool has never worked, which is much-needed equipment to assist the learners with special needs to ease the pain in their joints and help with exercises.

Nokuthula Special School LSEN is one of many department projects that have been poorly built, yet R300 million has been spent on building the school.

The DA demands that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane must urgently send the Geoscience engineers to determine the structural damages and ensure that the structural defects are fixed.

We will also submit written questions to MEC Chiloane to ascertain when will the structural defects be fixed at Nokuthula Special School LSEN. We also want to know how much will be needed to fix the school and the timelines.