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There has been no schooling for 1 200 grade 8 to grade 11 learners at Kwadedangendlale Secondary School in Soweto for almost three weeks because the parents have shut down the school due to infrastructure challenges. 

The learners are being deprived of their constitutional right to access basic education due to the department’s incompetency. 

Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) conducted an oversight inspection at the school, and we were shocked to discover that there is no learning and teaching taking place at the school.

It is alleged that the contractor has abandoned the R27 million project of building the brick-and-mortar school because the department owes the contractor money. This project was supposed to be completed in 2019, but to date, it’s still incomplete.  

The disgruntled parents shut down the school and vowed to keep their children at home until the department fixes the terrible learning and teaching environment at the school. Most of the mobile classrooms are dilapidated and damaged and not conducive for learning and teaching.

Most of the parents collected learning material at the school for their children, and some have negotiated with neighbouring schools to accommodate their children.  

Please see the images here and here. 

The principal has pleaded with the parents to allow 216 grade 12 learners to continue being taught in the dilapidating mobile classes and some of the classrooms at the old school building.

Furthermore, the department has now found an interim solution which is to move all these learners to Ithemba Technical College which is vacant.  

However, the DA insists that the MEC must prioritise implementing a permanent solution for unfinished school projects across the province. We have also written to MEC Lesufi to urgently ensure that schooling resumes for the grades 8 to grades 11 learners at this school. 

We will continue to put pressure on the MEC to prioritise completing all abandoned infrastructure projects so that all learners can have access to a conducive learning environment.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education