Pe en AZILAND Collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Construction of a primary school in central Swaziland by Susan Miller-Williams Serial No. FMP/ED/SPO/83/184 ) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Paris, 1984SWAZILAND CONSTRUCTION OF A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN CENTRAL SWAZILAND by Susan Miller-Willians Report prepared for the Governnent of the Kingdon of Swaziland by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) UNESCOTechnical Report Ro/isei-1968/1/1.4/01 FMR/D/SPO/83/184(Miller-Williams) First printed November 1985 Reprinted March 1984 © Unesco 1984 Printed in France The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers.co} PREFACE As a follow-up of the International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa held in Geneva from 9-10 April 1981, Unesco received a request from the United Nations to produce a project document for the construction of a primary school for 260 pupile in Central Swaziland. Unesco sent a consultant mission to Swaziland from 22 to 27 November 1982 to consult with the Swazi authorities on the subject with the following terms of reference = To obtain details of the request submitted by the International Conference on Assistance to Refugees in Africa held in Geneva in April 1981. = To consult with the authorities of Swaziland vith a view to up= dating the above request. = To examine sites chosen for the siting of the buildings, and advise on their suitability. = In the light of the educational offerings to establish architects! briefs for the project, giving requirements of the various cate- gories of space as vell as recomendations of materials and building techniques to be employed. ~ To establish the list of equipment and materials required for the project. - To prepare global cost estimates for the buildings, equipment and furniture. - To make necessary recommendations on the procedures to be adopted for the implementation of the project. = In the light of the above, to establish a coherent document for ‘the project for submission to donors for funding.Gi) Preface Summary of Project I Ir Ir INTRODUCTION Government education policy Justification for Project DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT Services Architectural design Schedule of accommodation Implementation of Project Furniture and equipment Costs Escalation Staffing provision Staff housing CONCLUSION ANNEXES 1 = Schedule of accommodation table 2 = Estimate of costs 3 - Summary of Project cost 4 = Map of Swaziland 5 - Map of Eastern section of Swaziland 6 - Plan of Mpaka Township showing site Aerial photograph of site to scale Standard building plans 7 8 9 Equipment list - NYY AAU 10 un 12 13 ou 15 16 1gSUMMARY OF PROJECT 1. The Project consists of the construction of one rural day primary school, together with ancillary facilities including Staff houses and sports facilities. 2. The school will provide two streams of primary education, from grade I through grade VII, and have a total enrolment of 560 pupils. 3. "The coat of the Project is estimated at H634,400-00, This figure includes for the following item (i) Building costs (ii) External services (iii) Furniture Gy) Equipment (vy) Contingencies (vi) Escalation (vii) Staff salaries for tvo years 4, ‘The school will be located within the new Mpaka Township, which will be constructed during 1983-1984, in order to provide accommodation for Swaziland Railways personnel required to man the enlarged junction and railhead at Mpaka. 5. The site lies opposite Mpaka High School, 8l km. from Mbabane, 44 km. from Manzini, and 24 km, from Siteki. ‘The land has been allocated to the Swaziland Railways for the new township, and the school site is part of this land. 6. The purpose of the school is to provide primary places for 3 classes of children, namely:~ (a) Refugees. ‘These are children in exile mainly from the Republic of South Africa. (b) Local children who, because of Government's policy of dispersal of its refugee population, have "given up" their school places to refugee children with official status, and for whose education financial provision has been made. (c) Children re-settled from other parts of the country as a result of industrial development. 7. The cost per place of the school, using a cost of facilities figure as at January 1983 and including furniture and equipment, is 2827-32. I, INTRODUCTION 8. Swaziland has acted as a host country to refugees from several countries, mainly those fleeing from the Republic of South Africa, and also from such countries as Namibia and, prior to independence there, Zimbabwe (as Rhodesia). In 1980, a secondary school - Mpaka High School = was built in the Mpaka area of Central Swaziland, in the Lubombo District, to accommodate pupils of secondary school age among this refugee community.9. To date, no primary school has been built in the area, which is a well populated one. The need for such a school increases yearly. Further, the proposal to establish a refugee Transit Centre at Mpaka, mentioned below, (para 18) will greatly increase this need. 10. The expansion of the Swaziland Railways is the immediate reason for the inclusion of a second stream. A rail system extending not only East-West as at present, but also North-South, is envisaged by Government, and this will open up certain areas requiring intensive development in order to achieve the projected goals. 11. Another refugee school has been built in the country, at Ndzevane, between Big Bend and Lavumisa, also in the Lubombo District, with the assistance of UNHCR funds and Lutheran World Federation implementation. This has been built mainly for refugees from the kvaZulu sections of the Mngomezulu and the Matsenjwa tribes wishing to unite with their Swazi counterparts. Government education policy 12. In the country as a whole during 1981, there vere 60,249 boys and 59,664 girls attending primary school. Eighty per cent of these were in the correct 6-12 year age group, and the balance of places was taken by over-age children. These places were almost exclusively day places, there being only one primary school with boarding places in the country. The number of new primary places planned for 1983 excluding Mpaka Primary School is 3,560, but owing to financial constraints affecting the Education Budget, these may not all be gealized. The nunber of new prigary school places completed in 1982 was 2,040. Curriculus 13. It is Government policy to incorporate practical subjects at primary level into the curriculum - in particular, agriculture, which is of paramount importance to the national economy. To this end the Ministry of Education has, over the last five years, been introducing the provision of a Practical Room to the school building brief, to the extent that no primary school is now regarded as complete until such a facility - one per stream - has been provided. This facility is intended for multi-purpose use, to serve also as a teaching space for elementary handicrafts and hone economics, etc. 14, Mpaka Primary School will have such provision, mainly to provide for the agriculture bias which the school will be given, situated as it is ina rural area with a fertile soil if adequately irrigated. ‘The facilities will therefore include an agriculture block for animal husbandry and a school garden in an adjacent fenced area, in addition to the Practical Room mentioned above. 15. In addition to agriculture, subjects taught in the primary curriculum are (a) eiSwati (b) Mathematics (c) Prewscience (d) Social studies (e) English 16. There is no subject basing at primarly level and therefore the room usage is not critical.Justification for Project 17. As has already been mentioned in para. 5 (b) above, Government policy towards refugees is their dispersal throughout the country into a large number of local schools, instead of concentrating them into one or two special refugee schools. This has had the advantage of assisting the refugees to re~ integrate themselves into society, and prevents the "build-up" of tensions resulting from too many people with the same problems living too close together. Excellent though this policy is, it is a difficult one to implement, since it requires for there to be the sane number of extra refugee places within the country, as if the refugees were concentrated at oue or two special schools, since they displace local pupils in the areas of their dispersal. Unless additional places are also provided throughout the country, there is a nett loss of primary school places. In this way, the Swaziland Governnent has made @ hidden contribution to the provision of refugee places at the expense often of its own nationals. The present request, if funded, will go some way to redress this balance. 18. The existence of Mpaka High School - initially a refugee school and now taking a number of local pupils as a result of the above-mentioned policy, makes it desirable for there to be adequate "feeder" schools in the vicinity. ‘There is also a proposal to establish a refugee Transit Centre at Mpaka, and refugee children staying at this Centre would require schooling facilities. 19. Although the Mpaka area is well~populated and likely to become more 60, primary schools are conspicuously lacking. The Lubombo District as a whole, in spite of a deliberate policy of supplementation over the past five years, is still less well provided with school places than the other three districts. At Mpaka in particular, the need is already felt, and classes are held in makeshift premises such as private houses or in the open air, especially in the Sulutane area adjacent to Mpaka. The nearest school with reasonable facilities is Malinda Primary School, 10 km. West, and Manyevene Primary School, 9 km. to the South-West. Both of these schools are beyond walking distance for primary school children and require"bussing". The pressures outlined above briefly, justify the provision at Mpaka of one primary stream, from grade I through grade VII. 20. The development planned by Swaziland Railways in extending the railway from the northern to the southern border of Swaziland will, as indicated briefly at para.8 above, bring an additional factor into the school age popula- tion problem in this area. The new development will bring 230 new families into the immediate area of Mpaka Station (see map, Annex 5) and it is therefore deduceable that an additional 140 children approximately, from the new population of about 1800, will require primary school places. In addition, there will be about 30 children over the age range of 6-12 (20%) who will also require places, with the number growing each following year. 21. Bearing in mind the situation outlined in para. 17 above whereby the Ministry of Education has already borne the cost of providing many refugee places in its other schools locally financed, together with the urgency with which the needs of this township will have to be met if the new community is to be settled efficiently and with minimum problems for the railway personnel, - bearing this in mind ~ it becomes clear that a second stream is required at this school as a matter of the highest priority, i.e., from its inception.neral 22, Swaziland stretches from a latitude of 25° 4318 to 27° 19'S from its North to its South border, and a longitude of 30° 47"E to 32° O8'E from its West to its East border. The country is almost surrounded by the Republic of South Africa, with the exception of approximately 107 km. common border with Mozambique on the East. It has at present no direct outlet to the sea, and a scheme to extend these borders and provide a passage to the Indian Ocean by including @ portion of what is at present kwaZulu, in the Republic of South Africa, is in process of negotiation at the time of writing. Present ports used are Maputo in Mozambique and Durban in South Africa. Particular lo ion of site 2k. The proposed school site is situated within the boundaries of the new Mpaka Township adjacent to and lying to the immediate West of Mpaka Railway Station, which will be enlarged. The map co-ordinates of this site are 26° 25'S and 31° 47'E, and it lies adjacent to, and to the immediate South of, the main tar road running from Mbabane to Manzini and eastvards to Siteki, Lomahasha and Mhlume. (See map, Annexes 4 and 5.) Quvnership of land 24, The land for the new Township has been allocated by the Government to the Swaziland Railways (which is a Government organization). An area regarded as adequate by the Ministry of Education for a primary school has been allocated within the new Township's boundaries specifically for the school. The Ministry of Education has ensured adequate space for future expansion and development within, or adjacent to, the area allocated, by stipulating that an area of not lees than 4.50 hectares would be required. In fact an area of 4.76 hectares has been designated for the school. Geological and other characteristics of site 25. The site for the new Township and school lies on Karoo settlement consisting of a basis of sandstone, coal and carbonaceous shale. Organic top soil varies in depth but is an average of one metre deep, with the Karoo settlements base starting at from three metres to thirty metres down. For further information on the geological characteristics reference may be made to Geological Survey Sheet 2631 BD (14) scale 50,000. 26. Swaziland is divided into three main climatic zones, viz. the Highveldt on the West, having cool, rainy weather with occasional hot days and many thunderstorms in the summer, the Middleveldt central strip and the Lowveldt, on the eastern side of the country. The latter strip is hot for most of the year with a more stable climate than the rest of Swaziland, and with high to very high temperatures from,December to March. ‘The tenperature range over the year is roughly between 9° Celsius in winter to 40° Celsius plus, in the hot season, falling at night and early morning during most of the year. It is in this Lowveldt area that the proposed site is situated. 27. Rainfall records for this zone show an annual 789 mm, of which 80% falls in the summer months, i.e. between October and March. As a result, the climate in this region is sufficiently trying for this factor to be given special attention in the architectural design.-5- General characteristics of the site 28. ‘The area of the new Township is 600 metres x 600 metres, or 36 hectares. There is possibility for expansion on the South and West sides. The site falls consistently from West to East, with a fall of about 16 to 18 metres between the East-West boundaries (approximately 1 in 35). The site is partially covered by dense bush, sparser bush and some cultivation. There are eight existing homesteads on the site, which will be re-located by the main developer. 29. The site specifically allocated to the primary school is 140 metres x 340 metres, that is 47,6002 or 4.76 hectares. This area includes the necessary adjacent space for a school garden and possible future extensions to the school buildings. A written agreement with the Swaziland Railways is being sought to establish shared use of the sports ground which will include running track and football and netball pitches. This facility will be provided by the Railvays. Ministry of Education standards for si 30. The Ministry requires a minimum area of 1.5 hectgres per stream to 5 accommodate a school with built-up area of 1775n° (2 streams) to 2490a (G streams). A sufficient area for a possible future third stream,is therefore available. The area for the school garden is required to be 1500m", with a milar area for animal husbandry. There is play space provided adjacent to the school buildings to the North, and this area vill be informally landscaped as an ecological area with many of the indigenous trees and shrubs preserved. Zl. Being situated in the new Township, the school will benefit from the infra= structure to be provided by the Swaziland Railways development, greatly reducing costs to the Ministry of Education, and also providing better standards ‘than would have been possible had there been no new town planned for the area. (a) Water 32. Water will be pumped to the site from the Mnjoli Dam, approximately 30 km. distant as the crow flies, and built three years ago to provide irrigation water for the third sugar mill at Simunye. (b) Drainage and sewage disposal 33. There will be a centralized system of sewage disposal and of surface water, the former using oxidation ponds, for which there is adequate room beyond the borders of the site. This design is in the hands of the Railways engineering consultants, Messrs. Bergman International. (c) Power 34. ‘The main high voltage electricity cable passes the site parallel with and adjacent to the main Manzini-Siteki road, and will be transformed and distributed throughout the new Township. Power will therefore be available to the school at the reduced voltage for the connection fee only, as far as the installation costs of bringing the main line to the site are concerned. (4) Telephone 35. ‘There is an existing telephone service to Mpaka Station and this will be tne soittgloped and extended for the new area and available for installation to school.(e) Access 36. Access to the township site is by the main tar road with a branch service road approximately 1 km. long connecting the two. Internal roads will form part of the infra-structure to be provided by Swaziland Rail- ways, and the school site access will be included in its scheme up to the boundary of the site. Architectural design 37. After consultation with the Education Facilities Unit in the Ministry of Education, which will be the implementing agency for the Project, (see velow, para 41) it'has been ascertained that standard Ministry of Education primary school designs using the short-span system of construction will be used to construct the school and, similarly, standard staff housing plans will be used for the teachers’ houses. 38. ‘These systems have been extensively tested in local conditions throughout the country for the previous five years. These standard plans are de- scribed in the Schedule of Accommodation given in Annex 1. Sone typical standard plans illustrating the types to be used are included as Annexe 8 in a reduced form. Schedule of accommodation 39. After discussion with the Planning Section of the Ministry of Education, it has been agreed that the following accommodation is required for a 2= stream rural primary school with an agricultural bias:- 14 Classrooms 2 Practical rooms 1 Agriculture unit Sanitation for 280 boys and 280 girls Administration area with offices for HM and DHM Covered work and recreation area Staff housing for 14 teachers School garden Flay area (informal) Sports facilities (shared with Township) 40. Using the Education Facilities Unit nomenclature, this translates into the following standard blocks:~ 3.No. B. type blocks (3 No, blocks of 3 classrooms each) 2 No. A. type blocks (2 No. blocks of 2 classrooms and 2 stores each) 1 No. J, type block (1 No. block of 1 classroom and 1 practical room 1 and 4 stores) No. L. type block revised (1 No. block of 1 practical room, 4 stores and sanitation for 560) 1 No. M. type block (Administration block and s multi-use area) 1 Agriculture Unit (chicken house, tools stores, fenced area and two water tanks) 2 Staff house clusters (8 units for 12 people including 6 bachelors) 2 Detached staff houses (2 units for 2 families) ff toilets with covered The areas of the basic rooms are - classroom 5ém°, practical room 108m", standard staff house 68m, headmaster's house 9lm°. (For details of other areas, refer to Annex 8.)jlementation of the project 41. This will be carried out by the Education Facilities Unit in the Ministry of Education. This Unit is funded by S.I.D.A and recruited and administered by Unesco. Among the expatriate staff, it has the following personnel: 1 Project Co-ordinator (Architect) ) 1 Senior Architect ) At HQ Mbabane 1 Quantity Surveyor ) and 3 qualified Civil Engineers ) 1 qualified Clerk of Works ) The District Supervisors all have their national counterparts. The Unit is therefore in a good position to carry out the work. in the Districts Furniture and equipment 42. This aspect of school facilities will be handled by the Educational Facilities Unit, or their consultants. A list of items and prices has been included in Annexe 9 based on information received from E.C.I. International (Swaziland) who have hitherto handled the furniture and equipment procurement for the World Bank Project in Swaziland, on behalf of the Ministry of Education. It is expected however, that the Facilities Unit itself will be responsible for the actual procurement and distribution of these items for this school. Costs 43. Costs have been based on prices obtained for similar buildings by public tender in October/November 1982 priced forward to January 1983, and finalized for the purposes of thie document, on the basis of tenders being called in July 1983. 44, Costs have been quoted per unit block for purposes of calculation rather than per square metre, as the Bills of Quantities on which the tenders are based are constructed on this pattern. January 1983 prices recently obtained for the short span system buildings to be used are given below:~ 1 No. B type = 3 Classroom block £28 ,000-00 A type = 2 Classroom block with two stores 26 , 500-00 J type = 1 Classroom and 1 Practical room block — 30,000-00 L type (R) - 1 Practical room and sanitation for 560 44,000-00 M type = Administration block with covered area — 32,000-00 Also to be used ~ 1 Agriculture Unit including chicken house, stores fencing and water tanks. For details of accommodation, see Annex 1. Escalation 45. An escalation figure of 1.5% per month on building works has been allowed, i.e. 9% of building costs over a period of six months. A similar loading of 1% per month for furniture and equipment has been allowed respectively for the same period, and the same figure also for professional services. Five per cent has been allowed on the second year of staff salaries calculated. (See ‘Annex 3.)=8- 46, In Swaziland generally, there has been a very high escalation rate over the last three years in the building industry, exceeding the figures used here, but there appears to be some steadying out at the time of writing, assisted somewhat by Budget constraints affecting the building progrogramme. If, on the other hand, the contract is finalized later than July 1983, there will need to be a proportional increase of capital provision, as escalation is still a major item affecting building costs in this country. Staffing provision 47, ‘This school is expected to require a teaching staff of 15 teachers including the Head teacher. This is made up as follows:— 1 Headmaster/Mistress (administrative)aat ES5040-00 p.a. 1 Deputy Headmaster/Mistress (teaching) at 4572-00 p.a. 1 Agriculture teacher at 3816-00 p.a. 8 teachers at 3408-00 p.a. 4 teachers at 3048-00 p.a. This gives an annual commitment of £52,884~00 in recurrent expenditure, and a total bill of E108,400-00 for two years, including the 5% escalation for the second year. (See Annex 3.) Salaries for two years have been included on account of the factor mentioned in para. 17 above. Staff housing 48, Since this school is rural and in an area where there are no houses available for renting, it has been necessary to provide this item within the overall building budget. Housing will be provided by the Railways Project for its own personnel, but there will be no provision for the school's housing needs. Fully serviced plots however, are provided within the school site at the North end (see plan of site, Annex 6) which will reduce the cost of external services considerably. 49, The Ministry of Education has several standard house plans in use: that used for the Headmaster will be a detached 3=bedroom (or two-bedroom plus a study) house, while the basic housing unit is a two-bedroomed house designed as a cluster of four houses, each vith its own garden and yard, which has proved an economical design. Two such clusters giving eight units, of which one per cluster will be for three single teachers sharing, providing for 12 teachers and two detached houses for two families, bringing the total to 14 teachers, is con~ sidered adequate. It has been assumed that there will be one married couple among the teaching staff, or one teacher whose home is in the area, obviating the need for the additional house. Conclusion 50. This Project will play an important part in assisting Swaziland to meet its commitnents for providing education for the refugees within its borders. It will also augment the primary school places already available within the country as a whole and supplement those which have already been filled by refugees in local schools built by Government funds. Sl. The Ministry of Education is exceptionally well placed to implement the Project at this time, having a well~staffed Educational Facilities Unit already engaged on and experienced in such work. The pressure on Government for primary school places is great and in spite of great efforts in this field, the Ministry has not yet been able to meet the demand fully. 52. The need is therefore great, and early funding and a start on site will be of benefit to both the Ministry of Education, the pupils and the Kingdom of Swaziland as a whole.SCHEDULE OF ACCOMMODATION FOR A TWO STREAM RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL i a a = ‘Aeconnodation | Standard | Facilities wo. of | ay TR required by Block provided in Blocks [TTassrooma [Sanitation | Coverec briet type | one standard | read. area or block verandah va [3 Classrooms 3 9 = i 14 Verandah eee “AY 2 Classrooms 2 4 - 1 2 Stores Verandah 4 2 Practical | "J" [1 Classroom 1 1 2 a Toons & an= 1 Prac. room eillary 4 Stores 7 ator — Sanitation tut [1 Prac. room 1 5 for 1 for 560 4 Stores, 560 work Sanitation area for 260 boys & 260 girls _ ‘dain "we (hy | Start wes 1 2 for 1 fre 2 offices 14 1 Stat fin. stare 1 Book store | T Agric Store-large uiture unit | - | chicken House 1 e Staff Housing |3 Wia/ | 3 No abd fam | 2 5 1 for 14 tea~|1 M18 | S1y houses + 1 cher Custer | for 3 singles with shared kitchen & bth. : 2 2 bed. det. house | _ TOTAL, PROVIDEY 14 tor 574 [2 covered! @ family units areas veran-G bachelors units dahs to teaching blocks = includes stat roomsaor ANNEXE, 2 ESTIMATE OF COSTS (£1000) ITEM TYPE cost/ = NO. COST _IN suB- TOTAL BLOCK —-REQD. EL TOTAL, Teaching & B 28.00 3 24.00 Communal A 26.50 2 53.00 J 30,00 1 30.00 L . 44,00 1 44.00 MR 32,00 a 32.00 ag 8.50 a 8.50 251.50 (A) staff 3HIA/ 48.00 2 36.00 Housing 1H2B H2 15.00 2 30.00 . 6.00 (B) Total of (A) and (B) (Buildings) 377.50 (A)+(B) Site Works and Services at 5% 18.90 Total of (A)+(B)+ Site Works and Services 396.40 Local cost adjustment for Mpaka at 3% 11.90 Contingencies at 5% 20.40 Construction Costs for January 1983 428.70 Escalation at 1.5% per month for 6 months 38.60 TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS 487.3 (c) Furniture & See Annexe 3 31.50 Equipment Contingencies at 10% 3.15 Furniture & Equipment costs Jan- wary 1983 34.60 Escalation at 1% p.m. for 6 months 2.10 TOTAL FURNITURE & EQUIPMENT COSTS 26.7 (D) TOTAL COST OF FACILITIES (C + 0} 504.0 (E) Professional Including escalation at 10% 22.00 Services Teachers’ Including escalation at 5% for Salaries and year TOTAL COST OF PROJECT (E+F+G)SUMMARY OF PROJECT COSTS (An costs x £1000) PROJECT DESCRIPTION constauctron rurnrture & | proressionat. | PRosEcT squisir- | stare | tora TEM awd STTE works | EQUIPMENT SERVICES \aomin. a7 | ton oF SALARIES LaNo Mpaka Primary School 428.70 34.60 20.00 . . 105.76 | 569.06 Cost Escalation 38.58 2.07 2.00 - - 2.64 | "45.29 13 (1.5% p.m.) Op.) at 10x) (Sx for i 1 year) ToraL 467.28 36.67 - - [ccecee esac V/ To be carried out by Education Facilities Unit 3/ 5% on 2nd year only 2/ Miocated by Govt. to Swaziland Railways new Township © XNNY-R- MOMANBIAIE "> === =- =F eee ¢ ca, Se ee ~s. INLANG Ano ~~. ‘SHISELWENI\ - \ . \ \ I, a ‘ 1 ~ LAYOUT OF NEW TOWNSHIP MPAKA , ~ SHOWING SCHOOL SITE/ Sale 1 PERIMETER PANTING \ 1 | ' ‘2 oo toa!HG TG ESE yo tier elictet rors tataDETAR cuPeaAno ‘SELvES 170=19- ANNEX! 9 FURNITURE AND EQUIPMENT LIST School Furniture for new 2-Stream Pr. School £23, 900-00 (excluding furniture for Staff Houses) Equipnent for new 2-Stream Primary School General Office Supplies 90-09 Home Econonies Equipnent 1, 700-00 Sports Ttens 100-00 Science Kits 1,000~00 Maths Equipment 600-00 Agriculture Equip: 1,500-00 Arts and Crafts 600-00 Social Studies 100-00 School Cleaning and Maintenance 500-00 TOTAL £31, 800-00 This figure is subject to contingencies and escalation percentages. See Annexe 2