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Flooded Coffee Bay school improves pass rate — despite river washing away matric classrooms

Flooded Coffee Bay school improves pass rate — despite river washing away matric classrooms
Tyelinzima Senior secondary school learners celebrating after passing with 82.4%, in Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)
Estelle Ellis and Hoseya Jubase
By Estelle Ellis and Hoseya Jubase
22 Jan 2024
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In February 2023, Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School’s matric class lost all their books, study materials and classrooms when a devastating flood hit their school. But their principal told them not to give up.

Severe and prolonged rain fell in February 2023 flooding Coffee Bay and parts of Port St Johns. Roads and bridges were washed away. Eight people died in the floods and one school, Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School was destroyed.

When neighbouring schools heard of the disaster that had hit Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School, they started sending what they had to share: books, learning materials and offers for a place to study.

Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School flooding Screengrabs from a video of flood damage at the Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School in Coffee Bay after extensive flooding in February 2023. (Image: Supplied)



On Friday, 19 January 2024, the school and the community celebrated an 82.4% pass rate.

“The flood was very disturbing,” school principal Bayanda Mziba said. “We have received a lot of support from our neighbouring schools who provided our learners a space so that we could study.”

Mziba also paid tribute to the “commitment of teachers and learners [who] assisted us a lot. We were in trouble, we were left with nothing,” he said. “It was a chaotic situation in 2023 but we have managed to get these results.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: Loss and devastation as Coffee Bay residents begin painful recovery following deadly floods

Mziba said they also received support from the Department of Health, which intervened and provided psychological support to the learners.

Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School flood damage Screengrabs taken from a video of flood damage at the Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School in Coffee Bay after extensive flooding in February 2023. (Image: Supplied)



“They addressed a lot of issues facing the students. Some of them were sick and defaulting on their medication but when the exams resumed we were all ready.”

He said he was particularly happy with the results because his school was becoming a “dumping site for other schools” that sent underperforming learners his way. 

“The floods made things worse but we have managed to pass,” Mziba said.

The school has in the meanwhile been provided with temporary classrooms.

Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School Tyelinzima Senior Secondary School's new prefab structures. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)



Read more in Daily Maverick: ‘We are in serious trouble’ — killer floods leave Eastern Cape communities picking up the pieces

“After the floods destroyed the school, Grade 8 and Grade 9 learners spent a month without studying because there were no classrooms. Grade 11 learners lost out on two weeks of school but then were accommodated in other schools in the area.”

Mbiza said he was grateful to schools in the area that had offered their support and had opened spaces for his learners.

“Our Grade 12 learners were affected big time, though. But we have received a lot of support from the Department of Education and other schools that helped us with books and laptops,” Mbiza added.

On Friday, the class of 2023 celebrated those who helped them over this hurdle with a 82.4% pass rate — an improvement of the previous year’s 76%.

It was not a pass rate that anybody in the community had expected. Learners were celebrating and cheering as they welcomed Mziba who was carrying the matric results he went to fetch in Mthatha.

Tyelinzima Senior secondary school, Coffee Bay Tyelinzima Senior secondary school learners celebrating after passing with 82.4%, in Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)



One of the parents, Cynthia Ntlanganiso who was at the school to collect results for her daughter, Inam Ntalanganiso, said she is very grateful that their child managed to pass under those difficult circumstances.

“I still can’t believe that our children passed with 82.4% because all their school materials were washed away in the flood. We are grateful to the school management for supporting the learners,” she said. DM

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