Cape Town - Education MEC David Maynier officially opened the new Perivale Primary School in Lotus River.
The school’s new buildings opened after two and a half years of construction.
The replacement school, at a cost of R86 million, added an extra 520 places for learners and is able to accommodate 1 240 learners.
The site of the old school has now become the new sports field, with the new buildings constructed alongside the original building.
The project started in 2020 but was subject to delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and intimidation of contractors.
“I’m very concerned about delays and disruptions to school builds in general. We just simply cannot afford these delays, we have to get these schools built as soon as possible. I’m going to take on anybody that delays a school build in the Western Cape,” Maynier said.
The Western Cape Education Department aims to spend R830 million more on infrastructure this year, a 50.6% increase in spending on infrastructure in public ordinary schools.
“What I want to do is not only replicate what we’ve done here, but actually increase the number of replacement schools that we put in place every year and possibly even double that rate over the next three years,” Maynier said.
Principal Zaahier Jacobs said the original building was more than 60 years old, with evident signs of erosion.
“The building infrastructure was very dilapidated and through the new school building, it led to new great opportunities for the development of the community,” Jacobs said.
The building consists of 36 classrooms and specialised classrooms, library, science laboratory, resource centre and a computer lab.
Sports facilities added to the new building include a multi-purpose field for soccer and rugby, and a tarmac area for sports such as netball and basketball.
“For us as educators, our job is to sell hope to our learners but now we can sell hope to our learners in a dignified manner,” Jacobs said.
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