Gauteng parents speak out on frequent school closures as water outages disrupt learning

When Sandisiwe Mathamo* wakes up each morning, her school bag looks like that of any other 11-year-old: homework books, lunchbox and a water bottle. But since November 2024, when the borehole at her Gauteng school was damaged, that bottle has become more than just a refreshment, it’s a lifeline. The taps that once supplied water have run dry, forcing Sandisiwe to carry every drop from home. Yet, the little she brings never seems enough. The sweltering heat and vigorous play drain her quickly, leaving her thirsty and fatigued well before the day ends.

“I sometimes spend most of the day without water, and this makes me feel very tired and dry,” Sandisiwe said quietly.

Her story is more than just one child’s struggle, it is a stark reflection of a province grappling with a deepening water crisis. Across Gauteng, from the bustling streets of Alexandra to the posh avenues of Sandton, the reality is the same: dry taps, crumbling infrastructure and broken promises. What started as sporadic interruptions over the years have escalated into a widespread humanitarian challenge, affecting households, hospitals, workplaces and schools alike.

Daily Maverick also spoke to Simon Cotty, a member of the school governing body at Bernard Isaacs Primary School in Coronationville. Coronationville is one of the suburbs that has endured years of unreliable water supply. Last week, protests escalated into road blockades and police stand-offs, leaving people injured, including a Daily Maverick journalist, and communities demanding answers from City officials. 

Read more: ‘Scarily predictable’ — Joburg water crisis reaches boiling point as tyres burn and rubber bullets fly

Cotty described the persistent water shortage crisis haunting the school for the past three years. With about 1,300 learners, the school had faced early closures and complete shutdowns, most recently during the strike when blocked roads and other disruptions made it impossible for teachers and learners to get to school. 

“The lost teaching time has placed an extra burden on teachers who now have to make up for the work students missed. The teachers have to put in extra time, and that places extra strain on them,” he said. 

For the approximately 1,300 learners attending the school, the ongoing shortages were a constant nightmare. 

“It is very, very frustrating,” Cotty lamented.

Regarding support from the Gauteng Department of Education, Cotty acknowledged that some assistance had been given. 

“There are water tankers, and we have a borehole at the school, but these are far from perfect solutions. The water tankers sometimes run dry, and then that affects all the kids; they cannot go to the toilet,” he said. 

Cotty also shared that following the recent strike, Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero visited the community and acknowledged the school’s water problems. 

Gauteng parents battle water cuts and school closures

For many parents in Gauteng, the ongoing water shortages have become a crisis threatening their children’s education. Daily Maverick spoke to some parents across the province about the challenges of managing water scarcity while ensuring their children attend school. One noted that some schools in areas like Midrand had at least maintained communication about water issues.

“Others like myself and my child were less fortunate; schools like Drake Koka where there is no communication, nothing, they just send the kids home twice weekly. It has been happening for months now,” said the mother of a Grade 4 learner who wished to stay anonymous. 

One parent expressed deep frustration over the situation, saying: “Our children are no longer going to school, it’s a disaster! We are on our own, we don’t have a government. The school governing body should attend to this water problem, our kids won’t be educated because this is a weekly problem,” he said. 

Another parent highlighted the urgent need for sustainable solutions.

“The schools should consider getting JoJo tanks, they’re really making our lives difficult at times. We need to leave early at work to fetch our kids, also our kids use transport and we are getting charged extra for always fetching them early. At times, our kids stay at school until 2pm because the transport can’t fetch them alone,” she said. 

Water scarcity deepens educational inequality 

Water outages have plagued Johannesburg and its surrounds for nearly a decade, but since 2023 the situation has worsened drastically.

Kimberly Khumalo, a researcher at the activist organisation Equal Education, painted a stark picture of how water shortages continued to severely disrupt education in Gauteng, especially in township schools. 

The crisis heavily disrupted schooling and afected learners’ dignity and health. 

“Learners need to have water supply when they’re at school. It becomes a very undignified, unhealthy environment to be in a school without water.” Khumalo pointed out that the lack of water affected essential programmes like the National School Nutrition Programme, saying: “Kitchens can’t prepare food if there’s no water at the school; it disturbs schooling, basically.”

According to Equal Education’s observations, the worst affected areas tended to be peri-urban regions where local municipalities struggled more with water infrastructure. She also stressed that climate change was exacerbating water shortages, with schools in some areas suffering when reservoirs dried up during drought conditions.

Khumalo highlighted how water shortages deepened the already entrenched inequalities in education access. 

“In more affluent schools, when there are water shortages it’s challenging but can be resolved. But in township and vulnerable communities, it’s much more difficult,” she said. 

“The extended closures mean losing an entire week of school, no access to the school nutrition programme, and what that means for learning and psychological trauma just compounds the issue.” 

The ripple effects extended beyond learners to their teachers and broader communities. 

“Teachers are overworked and classrooms are overcrowded,” Khumalo said. “Losing school days means teachers have to prepare extra lessons and support learners at risk of dropping out, like Grade 7 and matriculants.”

Water woes threaten learners’ health and education in Gauteng

WaterCAN’s executive manager Ferrial Adam highlighted the severe impact of long water outages on school children and communities in Gauteng. She explained that the outages made it difficult for learners to drink enough water, especially in the heat, while engaging in activities like sports. Beyond hydration, hygiene became a major issue, particularly for young women who were menstruating and for those needing to take medication.

“Young people play sports, they’re outside running around, and they don’t have proper drinking water,” she said. This lack of water not only compromised their physical wellbeing but also their ability to attend school, as some schools were forced to close for days due to an inability to provide safe water. 

“I know schools that are closing like three days a week, or very often, because they don’t have water in their schools, so they send the kids home,” she said. 

Daily Maverick spoke to a Gauteng school grappling with significant challenges caused by frequent water cuts affecting about 1,400 learners.

“Without running water, basic sanitation becomes a nightmare. You can imagine what happens when hundreds of kids go to the bathroom and the toilets don’t flush, so they are either blocked or overflowing,” the school administrator, who wished to remain anonymous, explained.

Such conditions led to severe hygiene problems and discomfort, seriously affecting attendance. Although they had two water tankers feeding one side of the bathrooms, this did not solve the problem when supplies ran dry.

“Sometimes you come to school in the morning, the water is on, there’s running water. Come back two hours later, the water’s off. There is this water shedding schedule, but sometimes they don’t stick to it,” she said.

The crisis extends beyond sanitation. The school struggles to prepare meals and maintain safe conditions. It also severely hinders learners’ ability to keep pace with the curriculum. 

“There is much content to be taught, so intervention needs to happen, teachers have to put in extra time to do after classes and then learners have to stay later and catch up,” said the administrator.

“With teaching time cut short and lessons frequently interrupted, many students find it difficult to absorb material, especially as exams approach. The extra hours of catch-up are vital, but also exhausting for both the teachers and the learners.”

The school administrator said that the Gauteng Department of Education had provided some support through water tankers, but communication about detailed plans for managing exams or long-term solutions remained vague, leaving school staff and learners uncertain about how the crisis would be managed when the stakes were highest.

Gauteng Education Department’s response draws criticism 

Daily Maverick sent questions to the department about how it was managing the water supply disruptions, especially as exams approached. We sought detailed information on contingency plans, affected areas, frequency of school closures, support for catching up on lost learning time, emergency water supplies, communication with schools and learners, hygiene protocols and coordination with municipalities. We also asked about long-term infrastructure plans, support for vulnerable learners, and how the department monitored the impact of water shortages on education and reported on these efforts.

Steve Mabona, the department’s spokesperson, said they could confirm that although most of the schools had JoJo tanks to ensure that basic needs were met, respective municipalities also allocated water tanks.  Areas they were aware of that were prone to water challenges were Westbury, Coronationville and Ebony Park. 

“Where necessary, schools devise catch-up plans accordingly, to cover the lost contact time of teaching and learning. However, it must be noted that preliminary examinations in Gauteng have proceeded without disruption,” he said. 

When asked about the department’s response to water challenges, Adam said that their response had been inadequate and disconnected from reality. 

“The Department of Education needs to help schools, the Department of Health needs to help the clinics and that they all need to do their work. the burden should not fall solely on communities and schools to manage the crisis on their own,” she said.

Adam called out the serious lack of proactive measures and accountability, and expressed frustration that actions were only taken after negative media attention. 

Khumalo was also critical of the department’s reactive approach. 

“The department’s response has overall been a very reactive one and crisis-driven, not very proactive or long term. For example, when schools lose water supply, tankers may be sent, as in the recent case of Coronationville, but it’s simply not sustainable,” she said.

Khumalo insisted that the department must develop proactive risk management plans that incorporated climate resilience and municipal challenges. 

“Is there a risk management plan for when water shortages take place in this context of climate change? Are there conversations happening with municipalities highlighting the illegality of cutting off water supply to school communities? Without such planning, we will continue to see crises erupt and disrupt schooling,” she said. 

Her closing message was clear and urgent: “Water is a basic human right, and without reliable water access, education suffers most acutely in already marginalised communities. It’s a crisis that requires urgent, coordinated and sustained government, community and civil society intervention.” DM

*not her real name