Pupils and teachers at Dr Ricardo Mthembu High, a school in KwaDukuza on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, have always been subjected to dangerous and unsafe pit toilets.
However, since schools reopened last week, the school has been dealing with a new problem.
Because classrooms are so crowded, teachers are now holding classes outside in the schoolyard.
Teachers who spoke to Sunday World said the situation is so bad that on hot days, the students are left out in the blazing sun.
In the event of heavy rain, classes must be cancelled.
Teachers who spoke to Sunday World on condition of anonymity out of concern for victimisation said that the affected pupils were in grade eight.
“We can’t deny these learners a chance at education. It’s against the constitution,” one teacher told Sunday World on Wednesday.
“We just have to hope that the department of education will eventually come to our rescue; the situation is untenable.”
The community’s outcry that the nearby secondary schools, Nonhlevu and Groutville, were overcrowded prompted the school’s opening two years ago.
Desperate parents were forced to send their children to schools that were kilometres away as a result, which frequently came with hefty transportation costs.
Nhlanhla Zibane, a community leader, bemoaned the conditions that pupils are forced to endure.
Grade eight learners affected
“This is a serious situation that warrants urgent intervention,” said Zibane.
“We are talking about more than five grade eight classes that have to be taught under trees and in any other available open space in the school yard.
“Besides taking away the learners’ dignity, the learners are subjected to severe weather conditions.”
The KwaDukuza municipality also acknowledged that it was aware of the ongoing issue with Njabulo Cele, the municipal deputy mayor, stating that desperate teachers had also approached him for assistance.
“When teachers and the principal made me aware of their situation, I immediately contacted the department of education. They have committed that additional classrooms will be supplied,” Cele said.
Nozipho Ngwenya, a member of the school governing body, said that the education authorities had let them down.
“This is not a new matter, and the department knows of our situation. But they are moving very slowly,” said Ngwenya.
“Maybe it’s because poor and black children’s education is not important. I can assure you that if it were other races, this thing would have long been resolved.”
The KwaZulu-Natal department of education did not immediately reply to Sunday World’s questions.
Violation of pupils’ rights
Overcrowding, meanwhile, remains a major issue in many schools across the country, according to the education advocacy group Equal Education.
The group adds that this violates pupils’ rights to a safe learning environment and high-quality education.
Elizabeth Biney, the organisation’s head of research, said: “When you have conditions where schools are overcrowded, it impacts other infrastructure demands, such as your water and sanitation infrastructure, because a school might have been built to only cater for 700 students and now it is accommodating 900.
“The extra 200 learners will still be using the same infrastructure that was not planned for.
“The infrastructure wears out quickly and needs to be maintained or replaced at the rate that can be able to accommodate these people.”
