Gugulethu's St Francis Learning Academy Battles Neglect and Uncertainty

The St Francis Learning Academy in Gugulethu, Cape Town has long been held as a pillar of opportunity for adult learners seeking to enhance their skills and attain their grade 12 senior certificates. However, the stark reality is that the academy is a ghost of its past prosperity, battling severe neglect and the apparent indifference of the government.

Despite the enduring enthusiasm of the local community — demonstrated by the hundreds of individuals who still converge at the academy to pursue various courses — St Francis grapples with dire challenges. Since August, the centre has operated without formal electricity, forcing the institution to resort to precarious measures such as drawing power from neighboring houses through extended wires.

This learning centre, which has roots stretching back to times when it clandestinely served township residents during the oppressive apartheid era, has now been beleaguered by dilapidated classrooms, broken roofing, and inoperative sanitation facilities. The crumbling infrastructure speaks volumes of a bygone era of pride and service, now substituted by visible neglect.

Caretaker of the facility, Sipho Kussie, revealed that the academy had faced a disconnection of water supply in 2022 due to non-payment, although the issue was later rectified. The electricity, however, remains disconnected, leaving the school to rely on the scant provision from rogue connections.

The property's decay doesn't only bear an aesthetic burden; it leaves the centre susceptible to criminal activities, as highlighted by Wilmont Ntshawuzana from the community task team. The theft of valuable assets such as twenty-one laptops from the computer lab in 2022 underscores the vulnerability of the institution amid waning security.

Despite the community's resilience and determination to maintain the academy's offerings, their efforts remain handicapped without governmental support. Both the Department of Higher Education and Training’s local office and central authorities have been repeatedly approached, yet they remain unresponsive to the pleas and correspondence from the task team, including Mzamo Sidelo, a local activist invested in the academy’s revival.

The silent response to the queries of both the community representatives and the press evidences a concerning disconnect between the educational facility's urgent needs and the government's attention to it. With the principal, Phumezo Zita, unable to comment to the media, the story of St Francis Learning Academy hangs in the balance, awaiting an urgent and supportive response that could potentially reinvigorate a once-thriving educational hub.

Community voices echo through Gugulethu as they call for the rekindling of St Francis Learning Academy's legacy — a plea for re-engagement, investment, and administrative intervention that at one point educated and empowered tens of thousands.