Mud schools still stuck

Rights groups have turned to the courts to force the Department of Education to do more to eradicate mud schools in the Eastern Cape.

The department agreed in court papers filed late on Friday to provide prefabricated, temporary school structures at five "mud-hut" schools in the province.

The Grahamstown Legal Resources Centre, acting for the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria, and five schools, took the Eastern Cape and national education departments to court in January to force them to identify all mud schools in the province and publish a timetable for their rebuilding.

There are an estimated 500 mud schools in Eastern Cape.

In its 2001 annual report, the national department promised to replace all mud schools by 2010.

The Legal Resources Centre quoted former President Thabo Mbeki's State of the Nation speech of 2004, in which he said: "By the end of the financial year we shall ensure that there is no learner learning under a tree."

In 2007, former Eastern Cape premier Nosimo Balindlela said: "The mud-structure eradication programme will see all mud structures replaced by permanent structures by the end of 2008."

But education department officials have now admitted that only 150 of the 500 mud schools will be replaced by 2015.

In a responding affidavit, education department director-general Bobby Soobrayan defended the department's track record.

He said it had set up its "accelerated schools infrastructure delivery initiative" in 2011 to eradicate mud schools.

He said 49 new schools had been built in Eastern Cape since 2011. Another 49 are almost complete and 120 schools are being planned for construction in 2015.

But Ann Skelton, director of the Centre for Child Law, argues in court papers that the department's "accelerated initiative" is at least 18 months behind schedule.

"Though we acknowledge that the initiative was set up in 2011 to deal with the backlog we note massive underspending". She said the infrastructure programme was "shrouded in mystery".

There was no justification, said Skelton, for the lack of timetables for the renovation of schools.

In one instance, community members spent R200000 on fixing Nyangilizwe School, near Mthatha, and not long after builders arrived, contracted by the department, to renovate the property.

The education department did not agree in Friday's court papers to create a list of all mud schools in the province and publish timetables for their replacement. It said it listed all mud schools not earmarked for renovation.

The Legal Resources Centre has taken the Eastern Cape department to court repeatedly to force it to provide pupils with essentials.