The DA accused Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s administration of neglecting schools and failing to provide proper infrastructure.
Theft and vandalism at Wedela Technical High School in the Merafong Local Municipality have left more than 1 400 pupils without access to water and electricity, severely disrupting teaching and learning.
According to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, Sergio Isa Dos Santos, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has failed to safeguard the school’s infrastructure or restore essential services, forcing pupils and teachers to function in unsafe and undignified conditions.
“Theft and vandalism of school infrastructure at Wedela Technical High School is denying over 1 400 learners access to uninterrupted, quality education,” Dos Santos said on Monday.
Seven years without electricity
The DA revealed that the school has been without electricity for seven years. A recent oversight visit found that illegal miners, known as zama zamas, openly stripped underground electric cables and damaged underground water pipes.
“Trenches have been dug both inside and outside the school premises to strip the underground electric cables, and underground water pipes have been damaged. These reckless acts of vandalism have left the school in darkness and taps dry,” Dos Santos said.
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The problem has been compounded by the GDE’s withdrawal of security guards last year.
Without protection, the school’s science laboratories and substations were vandalised, and a generator donated by a mining company was destroyed.
Unsafe water and disrupted learning
With no running water, pupils and teachers are forced to collect water in buckets for ablution facilities.
The only water supply comes from a single Jojo tank provided by the local municipality, which is uncovered and exposed to contamination.
“The Jojo tank is uncovered and exposed to possible contamination, making the water unsafe to drink,” Dos Santos explained.
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As a technical school, Wedela relies heavily on electricity for practical lessons and machinery such as lathes.
Without power, pupils are deprived of critical technical training, leaving them unable to gain essential skills.
Calls for urgent intervention
The DA accused Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s administration of neglecting schools and failing to provide proper infrastructure.
“The continued failure to address the infrastructure crisis indicates that the Premier Panyaza Lesufi-led government lacks a concrete plan to fix our schools. Instead, they are more focused on making empty promises and allocating budgets they cannot even spend,” Dos Santos said.
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The party has submitted parliamentary questions to Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane, demanding answers on the withdrawal of security, past allocations to the school, and measures to restore electricity and water.
DA’s proposed solutions
The party stated that a DA-led provincial government would urgently coordinate with Public Safety and the Merafong Municipality to restore services and enhance security.
“We would ensure that stolen cables are replaced, water is restored, and on-site security is reinstated. We would also move swiftly to provide portable flushable toilets to ensure safe and dignified sanitation,” Dos Santos said.
The DA stressed that without decisive intervention, pupils at Wedela Technical High will continue to face disrupted learning in unsafe conditions.
GDE responds
Speaking to The Citizen, GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona confirmed that the department is aware of the situation at Wedela and raised concerns over disruptions allegedly caused by community members.
“The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) is aware and deeply concerned about the disruption of schooling at Wedela Technical High School, allegedly by community members due to ongoing service delivery issues within the area. Consequently, our Officials and Saps were dispatched to the said school in an effort to mediate,” Mabona said.
He urged the community not to interfere with the learning process.
“We wish to reiterate that there is no justification to disrupt schooling. The community is urged to utilise available structures to raise issues of concern. Lost contact time is not easily recovered.”
Mabona added that the department was prioritising Grade 12 pupils to ensure their studies are not jeopardised.
“Accordingly, we are facilitating a process to intervene especially for Grade 12 learners to continue with their preliminary examination,” he said.
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