Learners at Masizakhe Primary School just outside Lady Frere in the Chris Hani West Education District will start a new chapter in their school careers as they will now have something to look forward to every day when they go to school.

The learners say that their new school building which was officially opened yesterday will make learning much more interesting and will enjoy coming to school to a well built and safe building.

The collaboration between Eastern Cape Department of Education and Department of Public Works and Infrastructure on new school building projects forms part of the Government’s National Development Plan which aims at eradicating mud structured schools in the country.

According to the school principal Vusumzi Dyasi, the old buildings posed a challenge for proper teaching and learning to take place at the school. He sighted overcrowding, lack of facilities to conduct experimental teaching and unsafe conduct conditions during raining season as some of the many challenges the school faced. "When it rains classes become flooded and most of the time we were forced to send learners home. We are happy with the new school, and we can now smile and look forward to better teaching and learning days” said Dyasi.

EC Education MEC Fundile Gade applauded the EC DPWI MEC Ntombovuyo Nkopane for the great work done by her department in building state of the art schools around the province. “This school is a guarantee that our children in and around this community have a chance at a better future,” said Gade. He also appealed to the community to safeguard and take good care of the school against criminals.

Elam Nkompela who is a Grade 6 learner at the school could not contain his excitement about the newly built school. "We now have new classrooms, toilets and science laboratory and all these things will expose us to morden learning just like other kids in other schools”.