Merger of schools in Limpopo leaves 80+ learners in one class
The situation is said to be the result of a merger between Magoni and Sobani high schools resulting in a large number of learners instead opting to attend the high school in Sinthumule.
LIMPOPO – The Department of Education’s school merger project in at least one school has had an adverse effect on teaching and learning, as learners of Sinthumule High School are being taught seated on the floor in a desperate situation of overcrowding.
The school has a total enrollment of more than 3 000 learners. With classrooms of a maximum capacity of 50 learners, those in Gr 8, 9, and 10 overflow with more than 80 learners each. So little space is available that the teachers can barely move between learners sitting on the floor in the front row, and the chalkboard.
According to sources, the situation is the result of a merger when the Department of Education announced a merger between Magoni and Sobani high schools, resulting in a large number of learners instead opting to attend the high school in Sinthumule.
“All we need is classes and desks,” one parent, Mpho Nzhiri said.
The school has applied many times to the department for classrooms, but this has not yielded fruit, she added.
“Mobile classrooms could alleviate the situation, or government must build classrooms for our children.”
She said overcrowded classrooms put pressure on teachers and hinder learning and teaching. “It is shocking to see that after all this time, our learners must still sit on the floor being taught. We call upon the Department of Education to urgently intervene. A nation that does not invest in the education of its children is a dying nation”.
Parents at the school have threatened to protest at the department’s offices should their pleas fall on deaf ears.
“Some schools in the province even have air-conditioners, but here our children have to sit on a cold floor,” Nzhiri said.
Asked for comment, Education MEC Mavhungu Lerule Ramakhanya highlighted a shortage of classrooms in many provincial schools.
“Following the closure of Magoni High School and its subsequent merger with Sobani, a significant number of learners opted for Sinthumule High School instead due to parental preferences for quality education or proximity to home.”
The MEC said her department would prioritise the current situation at Sinthumule High School.
