Act now to prevent the collapse of Gauteng’s education system – Solidarity

The Solidarity Teachers’ Network warns of signs that Gauteng’s education system could collapse without an urgent plan to expand infrastructure, create capacity and fulfil essential responsibilities.

The acknowledgement by Gauteng’s MEC for Education, Lebogang Maile, that 48% of the province’s schools and 64% of its secondary schools are overcrowded, and that there is a shortfall of more than 80,000 places for secondary school learners, is not merely an administrative problem, but a full-blown crisis.

According to Johan Botha, head of the Solidarity Teachers’ Network, the education system is faltering nationwide, but particularly in Gauteng, and it is currently being kept afloat in the country’s economic heartland only by dedicated, overworked teachers and inadequate infrastructure that has long since reached breaking point.

“When nearly half of schools are overcrowded, we are no longer talking about a challenge. This is a systemic crisis. Our children’s future is at stake,” says Botha.

The Solidarity Teachers’ Network demands that the Gauteng Department of Education, as a matter of utmost urgency, move from vague promises to transparent, measurable action.

“There is an immediate need for a public, detailed multi-year infrastructure plan with clear milestones, budgets and timelines.

“The public must be able to see, quarterly, which projects are progressing, which contractors are performing and why there are delays. The time for vague announcements is over,” adds Botha.

According to Solidarity, the current pace at which schools are being built and expanded is wholly inadequate to meet the growing demand. The education authorities are failing in their duty to act by reprioritising budgets, cutting waste and safeguarding the remaining capacity of existing schools.

“The forced placement of learners into already overcrowded schools without the necessary additional resources is irresponsible and undermines the entire education system. In this way, the only functional schools, and the people who are keeping the system going, are being pushed to breaking point,” says Botha.

The Solidarity Teachers’ Network states unequivocally that accountability – or the lack thereof – is also a core issue.

“Who is being held accountable for the recurring cycle of promises without delivery? Year after year, we hear promises of new schools, but the real impact on the ground remains almost invisible.

“In the meantime, teachers bear the brunt of the crisis. Overcrowded classrooms lead to more administration, less individual attention for learners and an increased risk of burnout. Discipline becomes harder to maintain, learner performance declines, and the ability to achieve academic outcomes is severely compromised.

“This is therefore not merely a problem of insufficient infrastructure. It is a direct attack on the quality of education and on teachers’ ability to perform their work effectively. It is also why so many good teachers are leaving the profession,” warns Botha.

Solidarity further emphasises that the department itself acknowledges the problem as a systemic issue, driven by factors such as migration, urbanisation and the slow pace of new school development.

“Education in Gauteng, and in South Africa more broadly, is heading towards a crisis. Without urgent, decisive intervention, the system will simply no longer be able to cope with the pressure and will collapse,” concludes Botha.