The Benjamin Mahlasela High School building, which was to be renovated to accommodate the Amasango Career School, has been officially condemned.
The Benjamin Mahlasela High School building, which was to be renovated to accommodate the Amasango Career School, has been officially condemned.
District Education head Amos Fetsha told Grocott's Mail Tuesday that the Department of Public Works advised him that the building has to be demolished as their engineers discovered that the structure is plagued by defects caused by unstable earth.
The building has become a free for all since its closure last year, with people stripping it and either selling the materials or using them to improve their homes. Headsman Ngetho, who lives nearby, said he often sees young men riding donkey carts stripping and collecting material from the school.
"Just a few days back they came in here and took the pavement bricks," he said.
"The police know about this and I've seen the police just driving past and doing nothing about this."
The structural defects were discovered during an engineers' evaluation conducted to determine the costs of renovating the dilapidated building for Amasango, which is currently housed in the old railroad yard.
"They [engineers]found out that the land is not suitable for any building and poses a great danger," Fetsha said.
"They said there was never supposed to be a building erected in that area in the first place." Fetsha said the engineers' report revealed that the building has been sagging over the years. It advised the Department of Education to identify a vacant plot for the school elsewhere.
Amasango Principal Linda Ngamlana said the school has identified land in Mayfield, but they are waiting for their plans to be approved by Makana Municipality.
Benjamin Mahlasela opened its doors on 23 September 1996 by then Mayor Mzukisi Mpahlwa. Sadly, the school closed in April 2013, following a steady decline in enrolment. Fetsha previously has said that contributing to the school's closure were lack of respect from both learners and teachers.
The school was also set to double as a skills development centre. Fetsha explained that during the day normal schooling was to take place, but in the afternoon it would be opened to the public as a training centre for skills such as sewing, plumbing, mechanics, bricklaying and electrical. No date has been set for the demolition.
