Restoration Of School Infrastructure In KwaZulu-Natal
DBSA is responsible for planning, packaging, designing and implementing the province’s school infrastructure in accordance with the KwaZulu-Natal spatial planning guidelines and the national norms and standards.
Since 2012, the DBSA has been involved in the construction of new schools and refurbishing existing schools to the required standards set by the Department of Basic Education. In the year under review, the Bank supported the national Department of Basic Education and the provincial Departments of Education of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and recently the Free State and North West, building 129 new schools and refurbishing 420 schools since 2012.
This year the DBSA was appointed by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, and was responsible for planning, packaging, designing and implementing the province’s school infrastructure in accordance with the KwaZulu-Natal spatial planning guidelines and the national norms and standards. The project reached practical completion in September 2019 and cumulative expenditure at the end of the year under review amounted to R9.5 million.
In this role the DBSA focuses on:
- refurbishing storm-damaged schools
- replacing asbestos schools
- constructing new schools
- providing water and sanitation
- renovating, repairing and upgrading special schools, early childhood development centres, agricultural schools of excellence and maritime schools of excellence
- civil and structural maintenance
- implementing the Sanitation Appropriate for Education Programme
In KwaZulu-Natal we have refurbished a total of 234 storm-damaged schools, benefiting 146 339 learners in the province in the current financial year.
Emalahleni Primary School, situated in Ekuvukeni Township in Ladysmith in the uThukela District Municipality, is an example of how we have made an impact. The school has 21 classrooms and two ablution blocks which were all damaged by a storm. The damaged classrooms required new roofs, work to the superstructure, replacement of existing floors and veranda slabs, fixing and installation of windows, installation of electrical fittings and cabling, new ceilings and replacement of internal teaching infrastructure such as writing boards. The project also constructed new ablution facilities and cast concrete walkways providing wheelchair ramps across all buildings.
The refurbishments significantly improved the school and contributed to an increase in enrolment from 710 to 835 learners. The new concrete walkways have improved the school’s accessibility to people using wheelchairs and the construction of new ablution facilities has upgraded sanitation facilities. The school principal and the chairperson of the school governing body expressed their appreciation of the improvements brought by the project, especially the security provided by the refurbishments from vandalism and future floods.
storm-damaged schools refurbished.
KwaZulu-Natal learners in the province benefitted from the project.