Kuils River learners fight for restoration of electricity
Silversands High School learners in Kuils River turn to social media as they fight for the restoration of their electricity supply, which has been out for weeks.
Image: Facebook
Learners at Silversands High School in Kuils River are asking for their electricity to be restored after struggling without power for weeks.
In a desperate attempt to get the necessary attention and electricity restored, the learners took to Facebook to amplify their cry for help.
Shockingly, they claim that they have had to resort to going to a neighbouring school to write exams and that their inquiries to Eskom had fallen on deaf ears.
One bright-spark learner from the CAT (Computer Application Technology) class explained: “Our electricity has been off for three months, and yet Eskom has not come to fix it.
“We tried calling them regularly and yet they have not responded, and I feel like they choose not to respond to us; they choose not to turn on our electricity.
“And we learners with CAT are struggling the most. We have to go to other schools, make arrangements there, and do our CAT practical there.
“We have a lab, we have computers, we have internet, we have the network to do everything, but we do not have electricity to finish it.
“I feel like we come to school to learn, not to struggle; we have been struggling in the dark. The struggle is real here at Silversands High. We want power.”
Millicent Merton, a spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department, said that communications with Eskom are ongoing at the school.
Merton explained: “The school has experienced a disruption to its electricity supply for the past three weeks, and the principal has been in ongoing communication with Eskom to expedite the necessary repairs.
“In the interim, every effort has been made to minimise the impact on learning.
“Alternative arrangements have been put in place for Computer Applications Technology (CAT) learners to complete their practical assessments at a neighbouring school.
“Additionally, the district has provided the school with inverters to help alleviate some of the difficulties caused by the outage.”
Attempts to reach Eskom for a comment on the situation were unsuccessful.