School governing body chairperson Lionel Stevens says that Carinus Primary in Cradock, Eastern Cape, was built 60 years ago using asbestos. Now the ceilings are collapsing.
Parents at Carinus Primary School in Cradock, Eastern Cape, say the education department put their children at risk by failing to address damaged asbestos in the classrooms.
This week the department promised to fast-track renovations, but parents are sceptical.
Ceilings have collapsed while learners were inside classrooms, exposing them to dilapidated asbestos roofs.
Parents closed the school in protest, but allowed the school feeding scheme to continue.
After meetings with officials, Principal Neville Fleurs says teaching will resume on Tuesday. Until they get new classrooms, the 1,045 learners in grades R to 7 will rotate through 11 classrooms.
“I hope this time the government will heed our calls,” said school governing body chairperson Lionel Stevens.
He said the school was built 60 years ago using asbestos. “Asbestos was banned by the government due to its health risks. This school needs about R1-million to reconstruct it. We only have an annual budget of R38,000.”
Stevens said learners have narrowly avoided injury. In 2012, a roof collapsed. Officials came to assess the safety of the buildings, but nothing further was done.
On 18 March 2026, a ceiling collapsed in what used to be the grade 1 class.
Despite regular cleaning and disinfectants, Stevens says a heavy stench of urine and excrement from learners’ toilets permeates from rotting chipboard walls.
A parent, who asked not to be named, said there had been “discussion for several years with government officials, but they keep lying to us”.
The parent said, “This is one of the reasons small towns have poor pass rates and high crime rates because children don’t get quality education.”
Democratic Alliance shadow MEC for education Horatio Hendricks said, “These [school] closures mean uncertainty, lost teaching time, and growing anxiety about safety. Children are being denied their constitutional right while teachers are placed in untenable conditions.”
Department spokesperson Mali Mtima confirmed that an inspection was done by an infrastructure team.
“They are facilitating replacement of the asbestos issues. Some roofs are cracked. They made a request for an accelerated procurement for the roofs. Additionally, the district had a meeting with stakeholders, including the mayor, to discuss a way forward. We are awaiting recommendations for the next move,” said Mtima.
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Did You Know?
- Cradock was founded in 1813 on the banks of the Great Fish River to cater for the migratory farmers who settled in this ruggedly beautiful area with its excellent grazing, abundant water and healthy climate.
- Cradock was officially renamed Nxuba on 26 August 2022. This change was officially gazetted by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, and it was part of a broader effort to rename towns with colonial or apartheid legacies in the Eastern Cape.
- Home to an actual Harry Potter’s grave: A British soldier with the name Harry Potter, who died during the South African War (Anglo-Boer War), is buried in the Cradock cemetery. His grave was discovered in 2002, long before the fictional character became a global phenomenon.
- Location of the last surrender of arms in the South African War: Cradock was the final place in South Africa where arms were officially laid down at the end of the South African War, with the event occurring four days after the Peace of Vereeniging was signed in 1902.
- Birthplace of Afrikaans publication: The first-ever article published in the Afrikaans language appeared in the local newspaper, the Cradock News, on December 4, 1868. This was a report on the separation of the Eastern Cape from the Western Cape, and the paper achieved the largest circulation in the country at the time.
- Second oldest cricket ground and library in South Africa: Cradock’s cricket ground and library are both the second oldest in the entire country, a testament to the town’s early establishment and development of civic amenities.
- Host to a total solar eclipse viewing by a Prime Minister: In 1942, the South African statesman and Prime Minister Jan Smuts came specifically to Cradock to witness a total eclipse of the sun, as the town was the best location for viewing the celestial event.