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Gwayibanjwa Upper Secondary School in the Eastern Cape is one of many Mthatha schools that were left with structural damage due to a severe storm.
- The Eastern Cape Department of Education says storms last week damaged classrooms in more than 50 schools.
- The department also says it will need millions of rand to rebuild infrastructure in damaged schools.
- The Weather Service says Very strong winds from the intensified multicellular storm damaged homes, vehicles and the nearby airport, uprooting trees and causing heavy downpours that led to localized flooding.
For a province battling a massive buildup of school infrastructure, severe storms that damaged more than 50 schools have dealt a severe blow to the Eastern Cape.
That was MEC Fundile Gade Education’s message during their assessment of schools that were damaged when a multicellular cluster storm ripped through Mthatha and other parts of the OR Tambo district municipality on Tuesday, leaving a trail of destruction.
Gade’s spokesperson, Vuyiseka Mboxela, confirmed to News24 that the department will need millions of rand to rebuild 51 schools.
Most of the schools are located in the OR Tambo district municipality, which was the hardest hit by the severe weather.
Mboxela revealed that 33 of the 51 damaged schools in the province are in and around Mthatha.
On Monday, Gade visited Jumba and Ngwayibanjwa upper secondary schools in Mthatha to assess the extent of the damage.
The MEC said: “This hail storm is just another unfortunate setback to our plans, as [are] still struggling with the enormous accumulation of infrastructure in the province, which makes many communities in our province request the construction of their schools. “
PHOTOS | Eastern Cape Storm: Severe weather wreaks havoc at Mthatha Airport, damaging schools and homes
Jumba has 121 students who write tuition exams, while Ngwayibanjwa has 114 students who also write 12th grade exams.
Gade assured the public that the damage to the schools had had no effect on the psychological state of the lean.
“They have not been affected, but of course emotionally. Some have had to acclimatize in the context of being grouped differently due to the lack of classrooms and hallways being used but as I was involving the principal and them [pupils]I got the feeling that there is no anxiety about the exams, they treat this as normal, “said Gade.
Local media reported last week that the storm had killed three people, including an eight-year-old boy.
All three were reportedly crushed to death by the collapsed walls of their houses.
Residents on social media reported that hundreds of animals died in torrential rains or drowned in floods.
The South African Meteorological Service confirmed on Wednesday that Very strong winds from the intensified multicellular storm damaged homes, vehicles and the nearby airport, uprooting trees and causing heavy downpours that led to localized flooding.
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