Serving the needs of day-students in Dirkiesdorp
Since 2010 the Siyathemba Secondary School is no longer attached to a hostel, but serves as a day-school. This decision was taken by the Themba Trust in order to make way for day scholars from Dirkiesdorp and surrounding areas. The school in the village of Dirkiesdorp, Injabulo, has been seriously overcrowded during the recent past, with almost 900 children squeezed into classrooms suitable for 300 only! In 2009 the Themba Trust made available some of its facilities at the Themba Centre to accommodate Grades 4-6 from Injabulo as a temporary solution. As from January 2010 the Themba Trust closed the hostel attached to Siyathemba, in order to enable this school to serve day-scholars from the area of Dirkiesdorp in order to temporarily help address the acute needs of the community, while the Department of Education finds a suitable long-term solution.
Also, hostel facilities at both Themba hostels were seriously in need of renovation, and the Themba Trust could only afford to renovate one hostel at this stage. The old girls hostel is now earmarked for renovation as part of the plans of the Themba Trust to establish a private boarding school in the near future.
Until the end of 2013, the Mpumalanga Department of Education is renting the building used by Siyathemba Secondary School from the Themba Trust. The intention is that the government will build new school buildings in Dirkiesdorp during this period, to enable the move of Siyathemba into the village and closer to the day-scholars it will be serving in future.
The village of Dirkiesdorp is growing day-by-day and this has resulted in an ongoing increase in children needing education. The Themba Trust is pleased that a school it initiated 15 years ago to serve the poor, rural community is now fulfilling that purpose in a new way.
The Themba Trust aims to continue supporting Siyathemba Secondary School through provision of Christian Religious Education and accommodation for its educators, where possible.
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