As the temperature swells into the late 20s, the heat becomes so unbearable that the drenched teacher decides to stop the lesson conducted from a crammed school storeroom to allow her 39 pupils to get some fresh air outside.
Like any typical storeroom, this one at Elsie Ngidi Primary School in Tshiawelo, Soweto, has high, tiny windows that allow little ventilation, risking transmission of Covid-19 as some of the grade 1 pupils are not wearing their masks properly. The “classroom” has desks from wall to wall and the space between them is less than 30cm, making it difficult for the teacher to move around.
It is even difficult for the teacher to stand in front of the class as their desks reach too close to the small makeshift blackboard.
Next to the storeroom there is a staffroom that has been turned into a classroom accommodating 34 pupils in grade 3. It is decorated with learning material and has two small blackboards. Because of this desperate adjustment, teachers have been forced to have their lunch and do administrative work from their cars parked in the yard while those who don't have cars sit in broken chairs dotted along the corridors.
Elsie Ngidi is one of the schools in Gauteng that are struggling with overcrowding, with an average class having 50 pupils. The school is over-subscribed by 300 pupils.
Last week, basic education minister Angie Motshekga announced the end of rotational learning. However, this has posed new challenges as many schools have seen an increased number of new pupils they don't have space for in class.
Sowetan visited three schools in Johannesburg south and Soweto where parents and members of the school governing bodies (SGBs) complained that pupils had to sit on floors of overcrowded classrooms while others were being taught in open spaces in school yards.
A teacher who asked to remain anonymous said they had to sit in their cars as the staffroom is occupied at Elsie Ngidi.
“We have to deal with overcrowded classrooms, which makes it difficult for us to do our job. It's a nightmare when it comes to marking because we are dealing with many pupils,” he said.
Another teacher said the storeroom was dark and hot. “Time and again a teacher has to take the kids outside and that disturbs the flow of teaching,” she said.
Bheki Andrew, SGB chair at the school, said the school’s 156 grade 1 pupils are accommodated in three classrooms, including the storeroom and grade 3s in the staffroom.
“We also have 205 grade 6 learners who are accommodated in four classrooms. The situation has been manageable during lockdown as pupils were on rotational timetable. We need mobile classrooms to ease the congestion. Let's not put the lives of teachers and learners at risk by putting them in dangerous situations,” he said.
He said the school had about 1,300 pupils but was meant to accommodate 1,000.
“Most schools in the area end in grade 4 and for grade 5, so pupils come to our school. We started having the problem of overcrowding in 2017 and we immediately made the department aware. We requested four mobile classrooms but our pleas fell on deaf ears,” he said.
Six classes at Willowmead Secondary School in Lenasia south were vandalised during the lockdown.
“We are having a serious problem at the school as some of the grades are being taught in the open. A number of classes were vandalised and they are still being fixed. Some toilets are also not working. All we want is for the department to bring in mobile classrooms,” said parent Nkosana Luvo.
A parent whose child attends Buyani Primary School in Finetown said she was disturbed to see pupils being taught out in the open.
“Some of them sit on their desks during class. The past few days were very hot and these are just little kids. It's very disappointing that nothing has been done by the department,” she said.
Gauteng acting education spokesperson Oupa Bodibe said the department was aware of overcrowding at schools. “The matter has been in existence before Covid-19 and can be attributed to demand for spaces that exceed the current capacity. Burglaries and vandalism during lockdown and school holidays are a major setback,” he said.
Bodibe said Elsie Ngidi has received approval to build two brick and mortar classrooms. He said mobile classrooms were provided in some of the affected schools and pupils were placed in neighbouring schools where there was space.
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