PICS: Mould on the roof, broken pipes and classes with 50 kids – the state of some Gauteng schools

With serious infrastructure issues impeding students’ educational experiences, the DA on Sunday demanded that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) assess the province’s outdated schools.

The DA made this call during its recent inspections, which evaluated school preparedness for the 2025 academic year.

According to the DA, several infrastructure deficits and overcrowded classrooms were found during, with Fakkel School in Sasolburg having a pupil-teacher ratio of 50:1.

“Over and above dealing with the maintenance of schools, the Gauteng Provincial Government should also focus its attention on building new schools.”

GDE to review classifications

The DA also said that misclassification of schools is impacting funding.

“Schools like Rosettenville Primary School and Laerskool Montanus are quintile five institutions or fee-paying schools; however, most parents are not paying school fees, severely impacting the schools’ ability to self-fund necessary maintenance,” it said.

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These schools urgently require infrastructure repairs due to leaking roofs, broken sewage systems, and rusting balconies, which pose health and safety risks for their pupils.

The DA is demanding that the GDE review these classifications and prioritise maintenance and upgrades to ensure better environments for learning and teaching.

When contacted, the GDE referred The Citizen back to the DA.

“We don’t have information on the subject matter; perhaps [the DA] will have information on the same; please interact with them.

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School quintile classification

The DA said it will re-evaluate the current school quintile classification.

“This would ensure that schools accurately reflect the current socio-economic status of their pupils, rather than relying solely on historical classifications of suburban schools as quintile 4 or 5.”

The DA in Gauteng also said it will pursue top-up funding to ensure that quintile 4 and 5 schools, which receive lower school fees than the state funding allocated to quintile 1, 2, and 3 schools, receive equal funding to those in quintiles 1-3.

This would enable schools to address issues such as infrastructural challenges.

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