Chiloane vows to build new Alra Park school within 18 months

Parents are unhappy with the lack of progress in the provision of a new school building for Alra Park Primary School.

Learning and teaching have been disrupted for more than three weeks, with parents preventing pupils from going to school due to what they describe as dilapidated classrooms.

Speaking during a visit to the Ekurhuleni school on Monday, Chiloane said the school will reopen for some pupils next week so they can catch up on their work. 

In the meantime, pupils will continue learning in mobile classrooms.

"I do understand why they protested, the school is quite old, it's 85 years old. Some of these infrastructures were built not for today by the previous regime,” Chiloane said. 

"These ones have dilapidated very quickly, and they've become very dangerous for our children. Within the next 18 months, they should be having their kids in a new school.” 

Parents are also unhappy at the lack of kitchen facilities for the feeding scheme and the unpaved school grounds, which they say result in an unhealthy amount of dust in the school. 

The new school is expected to cost around R80 million to R100 million to build.

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