Building of new classrooms at overcrowded Dunoon school stalled

Inkwenkwezi Secondary, the only high school in Dunoon, Cape Town,and is overcrowded with an average of about 45 learners per classroom. Photo: Peter Luhanga

The only high school in Dunoon township in Cape Town is overcrowded, since a project to build more classrooms has stalled.

Inkwenkwezi Secondary School has more than 1,500 learners enrolled for 2024, with an average of about 45 learners per classroom. Many parents have to send their children to Bloubergrant High, about 2km away or Sinenjongo High School in Joe Slovo Park, about 7km from Dunoon.

“We have three primary feeder schools, but our high school cannot accommodate the entire Dunoon,” said Sinethembe Matomela, chairperson of the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) Dunoon branch. “Most of our kids have to go outside Dunoon and it’s costly for parents,” said Matomela.

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) awarded a contract to erect 14 new classrooms at Inkwenkwezi Secondary, to be completed by March 2023. But it stalled due to payment issues between the main contractor and subcontractors, said Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for Western Cape education MEC David Maynier.

Since then only seven classrooms have been completed.

Mauchline said the classrooms are to be built using the “Moladi” building system, which involves moulds with reinforced concrete. “There is a limited number of contractors certified to use the system,” she said.

“When the primary contractor started experiencing financial issues, and defaulted on its payments to subcontractors, work came to an abrupt halt with seven classes still incomplete,” said Mauchline. The department had to terminate the contract “by mutual agreement”, she said. Another contractor would be brought in. She did not give a timeline.

School principal Nokuzola Tyobile did not want to comment.