Durban — The official opening of the R140 million Bright Future Special School in Newlands, Durban took place on Tuesday.

The school caters for pupils with disabilities like autism and difficulty with speech, and began operating in February 2023. It has approximately 400 pupils. The school has 21 classrooms, three multi-purpose centres, a media centre, and a computer room. Also, two therapy suites, accommodation for both pupils and staff, as well as a court suitable for a variety of recreational activities.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Education, Mbali Frazer, honoured and paid homage to the late principal Sipho Nkosi for his role and dedication. It is alleged that Nkosi was gunned down inside his car on his way home in December last year. Frazer said the death of Nkosi left people shocked and in a lot of pain. Frazer described Nkosi as a champion for the rights of people living with disabilities.

Frazer said that the best way to honour Nkosi was by taking good care of the school, protecting it from vandalism, and, most importantly, ensuring that it remains synonymous with academics.

One of the workers who spoke anonymously said the day had brought them a lot of emotions because it reminded them of the ever-committed and caring Nkosi.

“This is a very emotional day, you know we will always remember him. It was always good to work with him. We don’t even know if we will find a leader like him. He would be so happy to witness this,” said the worker.

Ncamisile Xulu, a parent from Inanda who has a 15-year-old girl with autism attending the school, said this was beyond what they expected and they were happy for their kids.

“This is very beautiful. As parents, we are very happy that our kids will be attending a high-quality school like this. You can tell from just looking at the school, it is safe, well built, has enough space and it shows that our kids will get proper care,” said Xulu.

She also said that since her child began attending the school she had seen a lot of improvement in her.

“She is now more playful, she has also developed a love for football,” she said. She added that parents must ensure that their kids attend a crèche before going to school so that they could identify any disability in them. Nomathemba Ntombela from uMlazi, whose 11-year-old child suffers from speech difficulty, was pleased with the school.

“The school is very safe and that makes us comfortable,” said Ntombela.

KZN Head of Department, Nkosinathi Ngcobo, pleaded with the community to protect the facility for their own sake and their kids.

“It is also their responsibility to do so because this is for them. We cannot spend money on repairs to infrastructure because of crime and vandalism. The money can be put to better use in building other schools,” said Ngcobo.

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