Viedgesville Primary — a little school with big dreams

“A tiny school with big dreams to improve education” is how principal Thobela Ngubentombi describes rural Viedgesville Primary School.

Situated about 20km outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, the school was built by residents in the early 1990s. Its challenges are similar to those experienced by many rural and poor schools in the province. 

Viedgesville Primary grapples with severe under-resourcing. The school building is in a bad state, children and teachers use pit latrines and there aren’t enough classrooms or teachers. They have to make use of multi-grading, where two different grades are taught in the same classroom at the same time.

Without security or a fence, the school is prone to break-ins.

“The condition of most classrooms is bad — some are without a ceiling and another classroom has no door,” Ngubentombi said. 

The Eastern Cape education department admitted last month that it would take 37 years and billions of rand to fix all broken-down schools in the province. 

Ngubentombi said with only 132 pupils enrolled at the school and five teachers on staff, including the principal, Viedgesville faced the threat of closure. 

Education MEC Fundile Gade announced last year that nearly 1,000 schools in the province could be closed down in the next five years as part of the department’s rationalisation programme.

 “This is your school,” Ngubentombi told parents at a farewell for one of the school’s volunteers, Janet Wolfertz.

“Teachers will come and go, but the school will remain. Sending your children to schools in town and private schools is not assisting this school ... eventually, it will be closed by the department.

“Its closure will be a sad day for the community members who founded and built the school from their hard-earned monies and who made sacrifices and contributions.

“Let us all join hands, as the community, teachers and all those who have an interest in education development.”

Despite its many challenges, Viedgesville is supported by a community that wants it to succeed.

“Fortunately, we have committed educators, SGB and community members who are ensuring the school continues despite the challenges,” Ngubentombi said.

One of those is Pindelwa Mda, who was born in Jojweni, Viedgesville. She worked for Nestlé for 26 years before stepping down from her role as deputy head of global affairs in Switzerland in 2023.

Before leaving Switzerland, colleagues asked Mda if she planned to retire in the European country.

Her answer was simple: “I am going home; I have a lot of work to do.”

She started the nonprofit R_Ignite and adopted Viedgesville, the school founded by her late mother, Dorothy Zanyiwe Mda.

Education is key to the Mda family. Her 102-year-old father, retired lawyer, educator, author and anti-apartheid activist Mda Mda, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Fort Hare last month.

Mda said her aim was to ensure that rural children had the same opportunities as their urban peers.

“Many rural schools find themselves in a Catch-22 situation. Due to their lack of proper infrastructure, they struggle to attract good teachers and, as a result, pupil numbers do not increase.

“Such schools are always at risk of closure and when they fall below the 130-student threshold, the government may decide to close them.”

Mda worked on securing more teaching capacity for the school.

She hired a volunteer English teacher, Bulelwa Mda, to assist in improving literacy “but because of a dire shortage, she is assisting in all teaching areas at the school”.

Viedgesville also has two Peace Corps volunteers, who spend a year at the school helping with literacy and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) projects. 

The Peace Corps is a US government agency and programme that has partnerships with communities in 60 countries, working in fields including education, health and community development. 

Wolfertz was one of the volunteers and returned home in April, making way for a new volunteer.

Mda also secured a paint sponsorship to spruce up the school and two shipping containers, which were converted into an office for the principal and a library where children spend time reading and writing.

Her dream now is to build a brand-new school for the children of Viedgesville.

After an interaction with Mda, Nelson Mandela University School of Architecture students embarked on a school design competition that yielded a design of how the school could be upgraded to meet the norms and standards stipulated in the Schools Act. 

“The cost of constructing a new school has been estimated at R46m,” Mda said.

“We therefore ask for funding support to make the much-needed infrastructure upgrade. The community will benefit greatly.

“There will be no need to move children to school kilometres away from their homes or urban areas where there is better infrastructure.” 

Bulelwa Mda, who was born and raised in Viedgesville, said after working in various sectors, she pursued a Bachelor of Education degree through Unisa, graduated in 2021 and made the transition to teaching.

 “My commitment to the village extends beyond my professional ambitions; it’s my home, and its success is my success,” she said.

“Education is the key to individual and community development, playing a major role in eradicating poverty and attaining social justice.

“That’s why I decided to join Viedgesville Senior Primary School as a volunteer educator.”

Her journey as a volunteer began with her managing the school’s mini-library.

“I started as a librarian ... We converted a container into a library with Pindelwa, Janet, my kids and I.”

Mda’s role has expanded to include assisting pupils in the classroom when teachers are unavailable.

“Volunteering my time to educate impoverished children is incredibly rewarding. I aim to start internship programmes, help learners with homework, provide career guidance and be a positive role model.”

This special report into the state of literacy, a collaborative effort by The Herald, Sowetan and Daily Dispatch, was made possible by the Henry Nxumalo Foundation