Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal Parents Association has welcomed a report released by Equal Education revealing that poor conditions of school infrastructure and overcrowded classes are a cause of poor performance of teachers and learners.
The report was issued on Monday after research examining how school infrastructure shapes teaching and learning and how addressing infrastructure conditions can improve learning outcomes.
Vee Gani, of the KZN Parents Association, said the research done by Equal Education did not surprise him, and the issues of failing infrastructure ignored were a driving force to the challenges faced by underprivileged schools.
“Not so long ago, educators were planning to strike over salary increase while the education departments claimed that there is no funding, and they had to go to the national treasury to get funds for educators. Now, if the department says it is currently facing financial constraints, this means that infrastructure is not a priority. They only deal with emergencies.
“The challenge with the neglected infrastructure which is failing is that the situation on the ground is disappointing. There is no development and progress and schools don't have fences. What’s even worse is that we have seen disturbing incidents led by poor conditions of infrastructure. These schools are not safe because they are not protected. If educators are working in such poor conditions then there are slim chances that they will ever be satisfied with the environment,” said Gani.
Equal Education further stated in its report that despite some progress towards democracy, the country is still experiencing a learning crisis and many schools are still contending with unacceptable physical conditions such as overcrowded classrooms, schools built with unsafe materials, dilapidated toilet facilities and unclean water.
According to auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke, between 2011 and 2021, 29% of the budget allocated to school infrastructure grants was not spent. And between 2018 and 2021, a shocking R5. 7bn was irregularly spent.
KwaZulu-Natal deputy secretary of the National Association of School Governing Bodies Lungisani Makhathini said the failing infrastructure was worrying because it was attributed to the issues of learners who were unable to have extra classes in schools.
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