School could close if department doesn't pay up

26 April 2017 - 14:05 By Katharine Child
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An empty classroom. File photo.
An empty classroom. File photo.
Image: Gallo Images/Thinkstock

About 500 children at Clarens Primary School in the Free State could be without a place to be educated‚ as the school has less than R500 in its bank account.

The school relies on government funding but did not receive its money from the Free State education department in November‚ school officials say.

If the school closes‚ the children would lose their single nutritious meal a day.

The school governing body has launched an urgent court application in the Bloemfontein High Court to force the department to pay up. The matter will be heard urgently on Friday afternoon at the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein.

Clarens Primary is a no-fee school and receives all its funding from the education department twice a year in November and May‚ according to court papers.

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The papers say the school staff are sceptical about receiving funding on the 15th May.

The principal paid R13 000 of the R22 000 electricity bill with her credit card to prevent the electricity being cut off after coming to a payment arrangement with Eskom. The parents have paid for two government teachers who have not received salaries since the beginning of the year.

The legal papers state that the school has tried since November to get the cash from the department and contacted department officials regularly.

It did not even receive a response to the legal letter of demand it sent the department on Friday.

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The court papers say: "The end of the month is approaching. More payments need to be made‚ and these payments simply cannot be made‚ because the Department has failed in its duty to pay over to the School the allocated budgeted amounts that are necessary for the School to function. The School has already relied on loans and such additional funds as the SGB has been able to collect. There are no further funds to draw on.

"If the money that is due to the School is not paid soon‚ the School will have to close. The School cannot function if there is no electricity and if other essentials cannot be purchased."

The Free State education department could not immediately be reached for comment.

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