Today marks the first day of school for many children in South Africa. Teachers at Abram Hlophe Primary School in Katlehong had their hands full directing pupils to their new classrooms.
The learners of this newly built school had been attending classes in old containers for a period of 10 years. Gauteng education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi and Premier, David Makhura officially opened the school.
One of the teachers said they had been looking forward to this day. “We have been teaching in old containers and nothing motivated us there. We are ready for the first day and we have everything we need to observe Covid-19 regulations,” said the teacher.
A 13-year-old grade 7 pupil said he was excited about his new school. “I am happy that we have bigger classrooms and clean working toilets. The containers they were using as our classes had broken doors and they were very cold in winter. On rainy days, water would come inside and the toilets were not working,” he said.
