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‘It’s a disaster’ — dilapidation, neglect at Soweto schools cast odorous pall over start to 2025

‘It’s a disaster’ — dilapidation, neglect at Soweto schools cast odorous pall over start to 2025
The toilets in some of the schools are unusable as they are in a complete state of neglect. Thabo Secondary school, Soweto. (Photo: Bheki Simelane)
Bheki C. Simelane
By Bheki C. Simelane
16 Jan 2025
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As the new school year begins, pupils’ enthusiasm has been overshadowed by the stark reality of neglect and decay at Soweto schools.

A number of Soweto schools are in a state of dilapidation and neglect. From broken toilets to broken windows and water taps, very little if anything seems to have been fixed in preparation for the new school year.

Pupils in these schools have to contend with the discomfort owing to broken class windows. Some schools have covered these gaps with cardboard, but it doesn’t help much when it rains because the cardboard quickly gets wet.

Paint on the walls is peeling and most schools need broken pipes fixed.

Thabo Secondary School


A very unpleasant sight greets pupils in the toilets at Thabo Secondary School. None work and are all filthy. A pair of stinking, dirty mops hung over what looked like a broken shower.

“No chance of a sit-down in any of these toilets,” one male pupil remarked about the filthy, broken facilities.

The sight caused him to spit on the floor as he walked out with four friends.

“The government is to blame because they have ample time to fix these problems when schools are closed. You have to have your hand over your nose to barely survive the smell from those toilets,” resident Mpilo Mnisi said.

There was an attempt to clean the toilets just before pupils arrived for the first day of school. The dirty mops are evidence of that. However, not even the perfumes of Arabia could eradicate the stench.

The unpleasant sight in the toilets is made worse by what appears to be paint splattered all over. One new pupil said it’s probably Jeyes Fluid which they hoped would get rid of the bad smell.

Soweto schools Covering broken windows with cardboard is not effective when it rains. (Photo: Bheki Simelane)


Kliptown Primary School


In Eldorado Park, residents vowed to prevent Kliptown Primary from operating on Wednesday unless something was done to fix the deplorable state of the school.

Resident Mario Lewis complained that children are being taught in dilapidated classes, while resident and community leader Majiet Amien said: “How can we allow children to go to school on Wednesday? It’s a disaster there, with rats and snakes roaming freely. We are going to shut that school down.”

There is also a dispute brewing over the building of a mega-church on the school grounds. Lewis has written to Llewellyn Brown, secretary of Parliament’s portfolio committee on basic education, about the church.

“The mega-church is built on the grounds and cordoned off from the school, while the school doesn’t have any sports facilities and is not allowed to use the church. Mobile units have been delivered but with no water and proper toilet areas.” 

Lewis said Fabian Kelly, a Gauteng Department of Education official, built the church on school grounds but “none of his congregation’s children attends this school”.

Filthy and stinking mops hang in the toilet in one of the schools in Soweto. (Photo: Bheki Simelane)



On the first day of school pupils returned to broken toilets at some schools in Soweto. (Photo: Bheki Simelane)


Mdelwa Hlongwane School


Pupils at Mdelwa Hlongwane Primary in Pimville were confronted by the same problems as the other two schools on Wednesday.

“The school is in a much better state now than it was previously,” Sphiwe Vilakazi, a resident in the area, told Daily Maverick.

While Vilakazi did not say what had been done to improve the state of the school, he said other schools were in a far worse condition.

More than half of the doors at Thabo Secondary are damaged and have damaged or no handles. Wire is used to secure them. (Photo: Bheki Simelane)



‘No chance of a sit-down here,’ a pupil remarked. (Photo: Bheki Simelane)



The toilets at some of the schools are unusable as they are in a complete state of neglect. This one is at Thabo Secondary. (Photo: Bheki Simelane)



The school was one of a few visited by officials including Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero and health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko on Wednesday.

“The Department of Basic Education is to blame for the deplorable state of some of these schools,” Vilakazi added.

The department had not responded by the time of publication to the question of whether there was a plan in place to fix the schools or why the old problems at the schools were allowed to continue into the new school year.

While some of the schools require wholesale renovations of the walls and roofs and bathrooms, some only need the windows and taps replaced. 

The Gauteng legislature’s portfolio committee on infrastructure development and property management called on the Department of Infrastructure Development on Wednesday to fast-track the completion of school infrastructure projects to address the growing issue of overcrowding in Gauteng schools. DM

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