Here for Solutions

The Ocean View community is facing insurmountable challenges when it comes to providing children with general education. Despite a proactive community trying to find solutions, they have been hit with continuous roadblocks.

“There's a huge need for another high school in the valley. Currently, there are around 400 to 500 students without a seat in a high school every year,” said Urshula Saindon, a board member of The Hope of the Valley Schools (HotVS), a non-profit organisation which has been advocating and fundraising for a new high school in the area since 2022.

They have secured R6 million in private funding to build the first phase of a new high school but after four years of trying to get the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) on board, the funds have not been able to be allocated to the project and now may be withdrawn.

At a recent meeting of the Ocean View Civic Association, chairperson, Melshaw Wyngaard said the only high school in the area, Ocean View Secondary, is currently overflowing and there can be up to 60 children in a classroom.

There is currently only one high school in Ocean View and another in the neighbouring suburb of Masiphumelele. However, there are 5 primary schools between the two feeding into the two high schools.

“If we can't train this child to learn to do something, how do they become citizens of our country? So when we say this is an emergency, it's a tragedy for the country. It's not just for Ocean View,” said social worker supervisor Sue Burger.

The organisation needs buy-in from the WCED to build the proposed new high school since the site, which is zoned for education, is on government land.

But the WCED rejected the proposal due to insufficient funds to operate the school.

In a letter to Saindon, in October 2024, Mr Salie Abrahams, the Deputy Director-General (DDG) for Education Planning said, “On the basis of the current departmental priorities, and against the backdrop of the fiscal uncertainty, please be advised that we will not proceed with your proposal at this time.”

The land is on the Kleinberg mountainside and currently houses Jupiter Street Primary School but is large enough to hold the new proposed high school as well. The Primary  school’s governing body is on board and has given permission for the high school to be built.

Juliana Rubain, another board member of HotVS, said they have done all the groundwork for the project including architectural plans.

Saindon believes that more funds will come once the school is built and that they are committed to continue fundraising for operational costs as they go but the initial funding for the first teachers’ salaries and resources would need to be provided by the Department.

The letter also stated that, “A project to develop a new high school option in Ocean View is in the Western Cape Education Department’s pipeline for planning to commence in 2025/26 to potentially open its doors in 2027.”

However, when asked about the status of the new high school this month, spokesperson Millicent Merton said, “The department has no current plans to establish a new school in Ocean View.”

Besides overcrowding, aging and degrading infrastructure, a lack of resources, gangsterism and overcrowded classrooms are some of the other challenges facing schools in the area.

With high rates of fetal alcohol syndrome and the lack of professionals and resources to diagnose and support special needs children as well as those with trauma and emotional issues, many children have no hope of developing skills for future employment within the standard academically focused school.

HotVS envisions the new high school to be a three stream school offering children learning pathways based on their strengths, namely academic, technical and vocational.

But despite the hurdles, the organisation and community remain hopeful and proactive that they can find ways to better support children on their education journey.

“We are not here for sympathy. We are here for solutions, for partnerships,” said Celeste Abrahams, principal of Jupiter Street Primary.

“Education is a shared responsibility. When businesses, civil society, communities and stakeholders come together to hold hands. That is the beginning of solving the problem.”