Today, Minister Schäfer and Minister Grant visited the site of the new Sinenjongo High School in Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton.
The brand new, state-of-the-art, R47 million school is fast nearing completion since construction commenced in February 2015.
The Sinenjongo High School project is due to be completed in December 2016, in time for the start of the 2017 school year. It has been a collaborative effort between the Western Cape Education Department, the Department of Transport and Public Works’ and Rabie Property Group.
This morning, Ministers’ Grant and Schäfer were joined on site by the Principal of Sinenjongo High School, Ms Kuselwa Nopote, as well the Managing Director for Rabie Property Group, Mr Leon Cohen, and the group’s Communications Manager, Ms Maggie Rowley, for a site inspection.
The new school will consist of:
- 33 classrooms,
- 8 specialist classrooms,
- 4 science laboratories,
- Ablution and storage facilities,
- An administration block,
- A computer room, school hall, and media centre,
- A dedicated sports field.
The new Sinenjongo School will accommodate more than 1200 learners who mainly reside in the surrounding areas of Milnerton.
While construction has been underway, the learners of Sinenjongo High School have been temporarily accommodated at a temporary school site under the very capable leadership of their Principal, Ms Kuselwa Nopote.
Under Ms Nopote’s leadership and with the assistance of the Rabie Foundation, the schools NSC results have more than doubled from 43.9% in 2009 to 90.6%.
Ms Nopote said “I am very excited about the new school, and so are all our teachers and learners. We can’t wait to get into the new school building. We are also looking forward to having a school hall and a sports field”.
The development of this school is a wonderful example of how the private sector can invest in education
Rabie Property Group have become a valued part of the Sinenjongo High School community, having adopted the school as its major Corporate Social Investment beneficiary in 2007. They have continued to provide support for the school, sponsoring additional teaching posts in maths and science, as well as a number of programmes aimed at increasing proficiencies in English, maths and science. The Rabie Property Group also played a significant role in identifying the new school site.
“Education provides the key to escape poverty and the future of our country depends on a commitment from both the private and public sectors to improve the standard of education for the benefit of all. We are fully committed to Sinenjongo and the successful turnaround that has been achieved there has only been possible due to the reciprocal commitment of the Education Department, the principal, the teachers and learners,” said Mr Leon Cohen, Managing Director of the Rabie Property Group.
We are very grateful for their commitment to the school, which is testimony to our belief that much can be achieved through effective partnerships based on a shared vision.
The Department of Transport and Public Works’ project team has done exceptionally well to deliver a state-of-the-art facility within budget and the required time, ready for the start of the new school year. This is just one of the projects that the WCED and DTPW are collaborating on, with the WCED having budgeted R1.29 billion in 2016/17 on building and refurbishing school infrastructure across the province.
The R47 million Sinenjongo High School project has also seen the creation of Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) work opportunities through the project, including the vital skills training component. A total of R6 million is expected to go towards targeted contractor businesses, R5 million to suppliers and manufacturers, and R5 million to targeted local labour, which saw 111 local labourers employed on site.
We are pleased to have delivered a school that the community can be proud of, and its learners can thrive in, which is in line with the Western Cape Government’s Provincial Strategic Goal 2, to improve education outcomes and opportunities for youth development.
We are confident that school will continue to be an institution of excellence, and that their transformed environment will encourage them to reach even higher.
