The new and improved Perivale Primary School in Lotus River officially opened its doors on Thursday 12 October.
Western Cape Minister of Education David Maynier welcomed staff and learners to the new R86 million state-of-the-art facility.
“This morning we celebrated the opening of the new Perivale Primary School buildings in Lotus River, and officially welcomed teachers and learners.”
The building, which is a replacement school, has added an extra 520 places for learners with a new total capacity of 1 240.
“It is a substantial improvement in functionality and safety over the old buildings. The new buildings were constructed alongside the original school site, which has now become the new sports field.”
The initial project which began in 2020 stalled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, amongst other reasons.
“The contractors also faced intimidation by those attempting to put their personal gain ahead of the interests of our children.
“This has become a pattern at our school build sites, and we applaud the community and the contractor for resisting these attempts to muscle in on the project.
“It cannot be that we have to fight to be allowed to build safe, beautiful schools for our children. And I can promise you that I will take on anyone who tries to prevent us from building schools where they are desperately needed.”
Maynier added that the R86 million spent constitutes a major investment in the children of Lotus River and their future learning.
The Western Cape Department of Education aims to spend R830 million more on infrastructure this year, which is a 50,6% increase in spending on infrastructure in public schools.
“We appeal to all communities to support this important work, so that together we can ensure that we provide quality education to every learner, in every classroom, in every school in the Western Cape.”
Meanwhile, school principal, Zaahier Jacobs, said learning and attendance has improved within the new facility.
“The learners are enjoying the new facilities of our new school building. The infrastructural development and aesthetic enhancement of the new building has significantly contributed to an improvement in the performance of learners, learner attendance, and staff morale.”
