Deputy minister happy with progress at Rivoni school

By Kaizer Nengovhela

Last Wednesday (1st), the Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr Reginah Mhlaule, accompanied by the MEC for Education, Mavhungu Lerule Ramakhanya, Makhado Mayor Samuel Munyai and Hosi Mkhari visited Rivoni School for the Blind to inspect progress on the upgrading project at the school.

The R168 million project was initiated by the Department of Education after they had noticed the serious lack of proper facilities at the school. Construction work started in June 2021, and includes staff rooms/offices, a dining hall, kitchen with laundry facilities, two houses for the hostel managers, a recreational area, an administration block, two classroom blocks, a workshop, a laboratory (consisting of four workshops and four labs), two toilet blocks, four hostels for the learners and a gatehouse.

In 2018, the learners at Rivoni closed the R578 road in protest against the outrageous conditions they were living under, from stinky, dirty rooms, showers and classrooms to foul-smelling courtyards from overflowing sewage. The learners demanded that the department address the situation.

“Our government has done a lot to improve the lives of our people, but we acknowledge that there is still much to be done. It is only through the good working relation with the traditional leaders that we can close the gap of service delivery. The teachers and learners were very committed, but there was a very big shortage of classes, ablution facilities and hostels. I am happy that the children will soon have decent shelter and ablution facilities. I have no doubt that this will encourage them to work hard and attain good results at the end of the academic year,” said Mhlaule.

The managing director of the construction company (Clear Choice Builder), Mr Sipho Manonga, said that they were aiming to complete the project by the end of June 2024. “We know that the school has a serious shortage of shelter, and we will make sure that we meet the completion deadline. We have been on site since 2021 and there is nothing that can stop us from fulfilling our duties on time,” he said.

The school principal, Ms Conny Mabaso, thanked the department. “We do not have enough words to say thank you. We will display our gratitude by producing excellent results at the end of the year,” she said.

Univen student Nduvho Madzivhandila represented South Africa at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Spain as part of Huawei’s Seeds for the Future programme. Photo supplied.