Overcrowded classes in Gqeberha school expose municipal failure in education

A second school in Walmer township in Gqeberha could still be years away, as overcrowding, a lack of basic furniture and ageing classrooms at Walmer High School continue to violate learners’ right to basic education — a situation the governing body blames on a “dilly-dally” culture among municipal officials.

Frustration reached boiling point on Thursday, 5 February, when learners and parents took to the streets to protest the “unconducive” conditions at the school, which had reached crisis level, said the chairperson of the school governing body and community leader, Professor Mtyaleka.

Learners share desks

Some learners, said Mtyaleka, were forced to bring chairs from home, while others take turns sharing desks as classrooms struggle to cope with enrolment numbers far beyond their intended capacity.

“The standard is one teacher to a maximum of 37 learners,” said Mtyaleka. “Here we have classes with 60 to 80 learners. That is not justice for children. Teachers simply cannot give individual attention under those conditions.

“The ongoing delays to build a second school are a violation of children’s right to basic education. As a parent of a child at the school, the immediate feelings are frustration, anger and deep disappointment.”

And at a school that has provided excellent education, the frustration is palpable.

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Mtyaleka said overcrowding placed significant pressure on staff and made it difficult to identify learning barriers early.

“In some classes, three learners are sharing a desk meant for two. They have to rotate just to be able to sit comfortably and write properly,” he said.

The problem is worsened by the school’s reliance on prefabricated classrooms, many of which are in a severe state of disrepair.

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“These prefabs were never new when they arrived here. They were moved from other schools and have been in use for years. Over time, they’ve deteriorated badly,” said Mtyaleka.

He said the challenges at Walmer High were not new and stemmed from rapid population growth in Walmer.

Mtyaleka said nearby industrial developments that draw people from across the province and beyond had contributed to Walmer’s population growth. Despite this growth, Walmer High School remains the only high school in the township.

“The school was built to accommodate about 1,050 learners,” said Mtyaleka. “Today we have 2,487. We are effectively accommodating an extra school on the same premises.”

The South African Human Rights Commission has flagged overcrowded classrooms as a violation of learners’ constitutional rights, calling the problem systemic — a warning that has gone largely unheeded in Walmer.

Delays in building a second school

Plans to build a second high school were first discussed more than 10 years ago, and a site was identified and allocated a site number — Erf 11305. However, the project stalled amid regulatory and administrative delays, largely linked to the municipality, said Mtyaleka.

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) was approved in 2017, raising hopes that construction would begin soon after. That never happened.

When community members followed up in 2021, they were apparently told the EIA had lapsed and the process would have to start from scratch.

“That was deeply frustrating,” said Mtyaleka. “To the Walmer township community, it felt like an injustice was being done and that the community was taken for granted.”

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Residents were later assured that a new EIA would be finalised by early 2025, but by the time of Thursday’s protest, nothing had materialised.

“This is all while the Department of Education had a budget for the new school ready,” said Mtyaleka. “But there was a lot of dilly-dally on the municipality’s side, and we still have no EIA. Hence, the protest on Thursday.”

Mtyaleka said the municipality, as the landowner, must be held accountable.

“The municipality is the government, and the land belongs to the municipality. So they are the ones who have to take the fall for this one. They only responded on Thursday when children and parents went to the streets.”

Education department responds

Eastern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said the department was aware of the overcrowding and had taken steps to ease immediate pressure.

“We are in the process of allocating 10 prefabricated classrooms to be erected at the school,” said Mtima.

He said the department would engage with parents and the SGB to explain the plan.

“All technical drawings for the new school have been approved. The only outstanding issue is the land, which we have requested from the municipality,” he said.

Meanwhile, municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said a meeting was held with stakeholders, at which it was confirmed that Erf 11305 had been earmarked for a new school.

He said the metro planned to submit an EIA application to the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism during the week of 16 February.

“Once submitted, the statutory review process is expected to take approximately six to 10 months,” said Soyaya.

However, to ensure transparency and accountability, monthly technical meetings will be convened to track the progress of the EIA and related planning steps.

Mtyaleka warned that even that timeline was worrying.

“That’s only the EIA. After that, there are still several stages. Realistically, construction could be three to four years away,” he said.

Despite the challenging conditions, Walmer township has consistently achieved stellar matric results. However, Mtyaleka noted that these results could have been even stronger had the circumstances been more favourable.

“We are fortunate to have highly motivated teachers and dedicated learners. At Walmer High School, the concept of a Saturday or Sunday is virtually unknown — we are not a typical 8am to 2pm school. With the right conditions, we firmly believe we could have long achieved a 100% pass rate.” DM