The Eastern Cape Premier, Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, together with the MEC for Education, Fundile Gade, handed the Etora Primary School over to the community of the Hala Tribal Authority in Ngcobo, last week.
The state-of-the-art school boasts an array of modern amenities including a nutrition and media centre, as well as science and computer laboratories.
The construction of the sprawling facility started in May 2019 and was completed in October 2021, with more than 32 Eastern Cape-based small medium and micro enterprise (SMMEs) in the construction sector benefiting, as well as a total of 28 471 jobs created.
The 25-classroom school will see the merger of four small primary schools in the Kidston/Lepetuka education cluster, bringing the number of learners at Etora to 340.
At the handover, Mabuyane said the Eastern Cape government hoped that this school would bring a positive change to the learners and parents of that particular area.
“The people of this area have a vision of seeing this area being developed to a city, since even Ngcobo town was also started here.
“If we can concentrate in this area, surely its development could be very fast. Government has started already to bring a change here.
“For instance, the Department of Transport is busy planning to make a tar road that goes straight to the hospital,” said Mabuyane.
MEC for Education, Fundile Gade, said the country has two types of schools – primary and secondary.
“This makes it hard for us to achieve the target we want. For example, if you are coming from the former Transkei area, you will see schools that start from Grade R and run to Grade 9, something which is awkward in terms of the Senior Phase.
In other provinces, a senior secondary school has a duration of five years. So this rationalisation and alignment of schools is taking us close to the goals that we have set for ourselves,” said Gade.
