Parents protest at City school

Athenkosi Mvane

21 May 2013

Today parents of Khanya Primary School in Portlands, Mitchell’s Plain were protesting over the Western Cape Department of Educations promise to build a new school.

Teachers were chased out of their classrooms.

Parents at the school said a new school is needed as the current one is being vandalised and it’s not safe. 

One of the parents Synde Tutu said the government had promised them a site for the school, but now that they brought containers to the site the government they have no site where the school can be build.

Meanwhile the WCED said a plan is in place to build a new school for the 2013/2014 year, with the construction planned for 2015/2016. 

Ministerial Spokesperson Bronagh Casey said this all depends on whether the department can acquire the land earmarked for the building of the school. 

Casey said they had been trying to find a site suitable for the school, but a new school can not be built without the acquisition of a site.

“Last year Public Works started a process to acquire a piece of land adjacent to the Phillippi Stadium, and they are currently negotiation with the consortium that is renting the land to see if we could use that land” Casey added.