Schools in Meadowlands, Soweto are facing serious infrastructure challenges that have contributed to the decline of learner enrollment.
During my visit to three schools in Meadowlands today, we discovered that the school’s enrollment is extremely low and some of the classrooms are not being fully utilized.
Emzimvubu Higher Primary School has a total number of 334 learners, Inkonjane Junior Secondary School has 215 learners and Tumelo Primary School has 184 learners. But has capacity to take more learners as there are empty classrooms.
There is a dire shortage of resources in these schools and absolutely no maintenance.
Emzimvubu Higher Primary School has a shortage of chairs. Learners are sitting on top of the desks and some are using teacher’s chairs. The Gauteng Department of Education has supplied the school with poor quality furniture that is not durable.
The same goes with Tumelo Primary School; the classroom ceiling is broken which poses a danger to learners and teachers.
The school is untidy; there are no cleaners and general workers. The teachers are sweeping their own classrooms due to a lack of funds to pay for cleaning services.
Most parents in the area are taking their children out of the township schools and moving them to schools in the suburbs and in the inner city because of a lack of resources and poor infrastructure in our township schools.
We hold the Gauteng Department of Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi accountable to ensure that these schools receive all the necessary resources which includes; support, regular maintenance and refurbishment.
The problem of overcrowding is widespread across our province’s schools; these low capacity schools could be used to reduce overcrowding if they were better maintained.