New classrooms for an overcrowded KZN school

NEED

Education in South Africa is not producing the desired results, largely due to poor infrastructure and insufficient resource allocation to schools. 50% of schools in South Africa are rated “very poor” and many educators work in classrooms marked by poverty, social problems and overcrowding. Learners in poor and rural district, such as Zululand, are at an increased disadvantage and continue to perform worse than more urban provinces. Learners often have to make long and strenuous journeys to get to school, and drop-out rates are high, especially at the level of secondary education. Research shows that in South Africa a leaner who drops out of school before completing grade 12 has as much chance of finding employment as someone who does not receive any formal schooling at all. In order to address unemployment and drive socio-economic development, it is therefore critically important to provide quality education and well-equipped schools in rural South Africa.

OVERVIEW

Ncemaneni Combined School offers Grade 1-9 education to over 380 children in Zululand. The school is overcrowded, with up to 52 children sharing one classroom. Learners wishing to continue their education after completing Grade 9 at Ncemaneni, must travel 12 kilometres to the nearest high school. The construction of two new classrooms will release pressure from the most populated classrooms as well as allow the school to offer secondary education. The classrooms will also be made available to adult literacy students during the afternoon.The Department of Education has already granted permission for the upgrade and has agreed to furnish the classrooms once the buildings are complete. The Izzi Trust, together with the School Board, will oversee the construction of the classrooms. An experienced building contractor from the area has been engaged to manage the building process.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• Ncemaneni Combined School is the only school in the area. This project will provide the school’s children with facilities to continue their education after Grade 9.
• The project has a strong buy-in from the principal and the school governing body.
• The school is well managed, under the leadership of a highly motivated and passionate principal.
• The building contractor is an organisation with 30 years of experience in building classrooms in the area.

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS

An investment of R447,581 will fund two new classrooms that will accommodate learners in Grades 11 and 12 as well as adult literacy students. Approximately 90 new learners and 25 ABET students will be accommodated in the new facilities. In addition, the project will benefit all children at the school as they will no longer have to travel long distances to complete high school.

Overcrowding in Grades 9 and 10 will be alleviated. In addition, the school will accommodate numerous primary school leavers from the surrounding area, who would have otherwise had limited opportunities to continue their education.

ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITY

The Izzi Trust is an umbrella organisation that originated from the community outreach programmes of three private schools in Gauteng. Most of the organisation’s activities take place in Gauteng and the Northwest Province. The project in Ncemaneni represents an expansion of the organisation’s focus, but it does not represent a change of overall direction.

The Trust’s strategy is to offer a response to direct needs expressed by the beneficiary schools and communities. It does not necessarily follow a comprehensive needs analysis of the beneficiary schools, but its approach emerges from direct contact and engagement with beneficiaries as well as the leverage of skills both within the organisation and the target schools.

The organisation is target driven and committed to expanding its programmes in depth for the benefit of the target schools and the surrounding communities. The Izzi Trust is a well-managed organisation that follows a model of transparent governance with good financial oversight. The various outreach programmes are highly integrated and there are established channels of communication between the programme staff and beneficiaries.

RISK PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Concept: This project enables a well-managed school to provide quality education to children in Zululand.
• Design: Expanding and improving the educational facilities of a rural school means offering children the opportunity for a complete basic education. The Department of Education has approved the expansion of the school and is committed to supporting the project.
• Capability: Izzi Trust has selected experienced community contractors, which have managed the construction of over 4, 000 school buildings in Zululand to date.
• Control: The Izzi Trust is a transparent organisation in terms of its financial operations as well as governance. The highly engaged school board provides in-school oversight and direction for the construction and well use of the resources.

Key Risks - Low

• Sustainability: The project does not make any provision for building maintenance. However, the School Board has already shown commitment and diligence in the maintenance of existing school facilities.
• External: The cost of the project, according to quotation, might change due to price increases, prior to project start.