Kwikspace classroom units get North West learners back to school faster

To satisfy the local Education Department’s plans for the provision of education facilities, Kwikspace, Africa’s largest supplier of prefabricated buildings, has delivered 24 doublewide units for use as classrooms to two new schools in the North West. Mamoratwa Secondary school and Botshelo Primary school – both new schools in recently-developed informal settlements in Delareyville – each received 12 new classroom units.  

The 56 m² classroom units (which ordinarily accommodate up to 40 learners) will accommodate 25 learners each, in line with Covid occupancy regulations. The delivery and onsite installation were completed on 18 September 2021. Kwikspace Government Sector Sales Manager, Phatlane Kgakgamatso, notes that if this had been a brick-and-mortar construction project, it would have taken between 12 and 18 months for the classrooms to be built.

“The Mamoratwa Secondary School community had land for schools but no classrooms. They had built makeshift classrooms in the form of shacks and had submitted a request to the Education Department for the provision of proper infrastructure. By the time the Kwikspace team arrived on site, the community had been forced to suspend school activities, having been without the proper classrooms to provide shelter for learners. We are pleased that we were able to install the new classroom units within three weeks and now schooling can resume promptly,” says Kgakgamatso.

To ensure maximum comfort for the learners, Kwikspace fitted these units with air-conditioning – a feature that does not come standard with the classroom units, but which is necessary in this case, as the schools are located in remote regions where the environmental conditions are extreme. “An additional feature, which would also ordinarily fall outside of the scope of our standard service offering, is the installation of electrical connections in these units. We partnered with a local service provider to connect external electrical supply to the classrooms, allowing for lighting inside the units,” explains Phatlane Kgakgamatso, Government Sector Sales Manager, Kwikspace. This ensured that learners could occupy the units immediately after installation, without the usual delays required for post-installation electrical connection.

Kwikspace is also in the process of supplying another 14 schools throughout the North West province with classroom units, increasing their maximum capacity and enabling them to meet the Covid regulations for classroom occupancy.

In total, Kwikspace will supply 67 classroom units to the North West Department of Education, as per the terms of Kwikspace’s 3-year contract. “We tendered for the contract alongside another 35 service providers. The Department appointed four suppliers – including Kwikspace – to form a panel of contractors to supply prefabricated mobile facilities, including Grade R classrooms, administration blocks, ordinary classrooms, ablution units and storage units, as needed,” explains Kgakgamatso.

Kwikspace’s manufacturing capabilities means it’s able to produce volumes as required by customers. “The Education Department required approximately 2 000 classrooms, supplied over a 3-year period. They sought to contract firms that can meet this challenge. Kwikspace is well-positioned to do so. We have the proven experience, the capacity and capability to deliver 50 classrooms per month. As such, our pricing is competitive. The Department of Education saw value in a partnership with us,” adds Kgakgamatso.

Kwikspace is of the opinion that the scope for continued supply to the Department of Education is positive, as the Department has reported that it will require additional classrooms during the next six months.

Website: www.kwikspace.co.za