Urgent need for change: Gauteng's schools face persistent overcrowding and teacher exodus

27 Feb 2025

Gauteng’s schools are grappling with severe overcrowding, as classrooms across the province continue to exceed their capacities despite promises of new schools and increased funding. Premier Panyaza Lesufi and the Gauteng Department of Education have outlined plans to address the issue, including the construction of 18 new schools and the introduction of mobile classrooms. However, overcrowded classrooms remain a daily reality for teachers and learners.

During his State of the Province Address, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi highlighted 13 critical issues that his administration must urgently address, ranging from water shortages to rising crime and lawlessness. Among these pressing concerns, Lesufi pointed out the severe lack of schools in Gauteng.

In recent weeks, overcrowding in the province’s schools has been in the spotlight following oversight visits by Sergio Isa dos Santos, the Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education. There were alarming figures at Cosmo City Junior Primary School with a Grade 1 class overcrowded with 92 learners, while a Grade 2 class had 87 — far exceeding the recommended capacity.

To address this, Lesufi announced that R2.5-billion had been set aside for the construction of 18 new schools across the province. This initiative, a path-breaking school infrastructure project, is being funded through the National Treasury’s Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI), and aims to alleviate the mounting pressure on Gauteng’s education system in 2025 and beyond.

A day in the life of a teacher

While Lesufi has announced plans to address overcrowding, the current reality for teachers is dire. At 7.30am, Landi Strydom, a Grade 1 teacher in Gauteng, begins preparing for her first lesson of the day. Her classroom, typically holding 54 pupils, is now packed with 72 due to temporary teacher absences.

Strydom plans to engage the class with Yebo, Jamela!, a story about Gogo and Mama’s little chicken, destined for the cooking pot but adopted as Jamela’s pet. However, the noise is overwhelming. As pupils filter in, the room quickly fills, making it difficult for Landi to move between desks. Engaging each pupil becomes a challenge, and with 72 learners, providing the one-on-one support many need is impossible. As she answers one question, another quickly follows, and the classroom feels more chaotic than educational.

“One of the teachers is off for an operation and won’t be back until April. We’re trying to find a replacement, but every teacher that comes in leaves because it’s too many kids. You cannot manage 70 children in a class, there’s absolute chaos,” she told Daily Maverick.

Policy and reality

The Post Provisioning Norms dictate how teaching posts are allocated based on ideal maximum class sizes, which vary by grade and subject. The highest recommended class size is 40 learners per teacher. Classrooms must also meet minimum size requirements — at least 48 square metres. However, South African public schools frequently exceed these recommendations, especially in under-resourced areas. In particular, learners in wealthier Quintile 5 schools are far less likely to experience overcrowded classrooms than those in poorer Quintile 1 to 3 schools.

“I have 49 students but only 45 desks. Some sit on the floor until I can bring in extra chairs. Many don’t have proper writing surfaces — they use books as desks,” said a teacher at a quintile 2 school in Johannesburg who wished to remain anonymous.

“Doing presentations is impossible. We never manage to get through everyone, even in group work, and providing meaningful feedback is a challenge,” she said. “I’m constantly running around, trying to check in with each student.”

Lost in the noise

The noise of 72 learners packed into a small classroom is deafening. Five-year-old Jamal looks around, wondering how much attention he’ll get in such a crowded space. Sitting between two noisy classmates, he can barely hear the teacher’s instructions. He raises his hand to ask a question, but by the time she reaches him, the class has moved on. It’s hard to focus in this environment, and Jamal isn’t alone — many of his classmates are also disengaged.

In 2021, Equal Education published a report detailing research conducted at nine schools in Etwatwa. The report found that overcrowding severely hampered the ability of both teachers and learners to foster an effective learning environment. This leads to pupils falling behind, higher failure rates, increased bullying, absenteeism, and peer pressure.

The report stated that overcrowding severely hampered the ability of both teachers and learners to foster an effective learning environment. It led to students falling behind, contributing to higher failure rates, as well as increased instances of bullying, absenteeism, and peer pressure. Teachers were burdened with big workloads, leaving them overwhelmed, exhausted, and demotivated. As a result, learners often felt neglected and disengaged from their education.

The reluctant exodus of stressed teachers

Teaching is a highly stressful profession that can negatively affect teachers’ psychological wellbeing and, in turn, the quality of education they offer. Research shows that unaddressed stress can lead to decreased teacher psychological wellbeing, which poses a threat to the provision of quality primary education. Teacher stress is also linked to poor physical health, increasing the risk of pathology, which can result in higher attrition rates and a loss of experienced educators.

Strydom said the situation had taken a significant mental, psychological, emotional and physical toll on her, and she is not alone. In South Africa, 25% of teachers report experiencing significant stress, higher than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 18%.

“At the end of the day, I’m so exhausted I don’t have time for my own kids. You feel stuck, like there’s no way out, and you’re just forcing yourself to go to work. You go because your colleagues need help, and if you don’t show up, they’ll be stuck with your kids,” she said.

“If I could leave teaching right now, I would leave it in an instant, and it’s not because of the children, because teaching is still my passion, but it’s because of what the education system has become. All of my colleagues feel exactly the same way — if they could leave teaching, they would leave it in a heartbeat”.

The cost of overcrowding

For students like Jamal, the long-term effects of overcrowding are concerning. Research shows that learners in overcrowded classrooms often fall behind their peers, which can lead to lower academic performance and higher dropout rates.

Equal Education’s report offers key recommendations to tackle overcrowding. It calls for the Department of Education to establish binding School Capacity Norms, limiting enrollments based on factors like teacher availability, classroom sizes, and school resources. The Gauteng Department of Education is urged to develop a long-term infrastructure plan to address current overcrowding and prevent future issues, considering population growth and learner migration. Additionally, the department should prioritise funding to manage class sizes, teacher workloads, and infrastructure needs.

Unfulfilled promises

This is not the first time Lesufi has addressed the issue of overcrowding. In the 2023 Sopa, he announced that the Gauteng government had allocated R6-billion from its provincial budget to tackle overcrowding, particularly among Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners, who were often left without placements. The funding was intended to construct new schools in high-demand areas, with the goal of ensuring sufficient learning spaces and preventing future placement issues. In the 2024 Sopa, Lesufi reiterated the commitment to addressing the problem, promising the construction of 18 new schools as part of a R1.5-billion investment. Yet, despite these promises, Gauteng’s learners continue to face overcrowded classrooms.

To address classroom shortages and expand learning spaces, the Gauteng Department of Education has implemented several measures, such as the provision of mobile classroom units, the construction of satellite schools, and the allocation of funds to schools for self-build classroom projects. The department has stated that the introduction of satellite schools in 2025 was expected to create over 4,417 additional spaces in high-pressure areas.

While some of these satellite schools are already operational, others are still under construction. As a result, some schools are currently operating above capacity while they await the completion of these new facilities.

On Wednesday, February 26, Strydom resigned, continuing the troubling trend of educators leaving the profession due to overcrowding, lack of resources, and inadequate support. DM

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